Oregon Ducks Football: Scouting Stanford’s Special Teams
By Ricky Widmer
Everyone might be focusing on the offense and defense for the Stanford Cardinal, but they still have some talent in the special teams department. Just like most teams, Stanford might not have to lean on their special teams, but still came perform on that side of the ball.
Stanford is currently ranked ninth in the Pac-12 with 516 total kick return yards. However, they are ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with an averaged 23.5 yards per kick return. The biggest player for the Cardinal on kick returns has been Ty Montgomery.
October 27, 2012; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal kicker Jordan Williamson (19) kicks a field goal out of the hold by punter Daniel Zychlinski (36) during the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
Montgomery is a sophomore wide receiver for Stanford. He has 293 kick return yards on eleven returns. He is averaging 26.6 yards per return and has no touchdowns.
Punt returns are a different game for the Stanford Cardinal. They currently rank second in the Pac-12 with 237 punt return yards and 13.2 yards per punt return (Oregon is first in both). The player returning punts for Stanford is Drew Terrell.
Terrell is a senior wide receiver for the Cardinal.
He’s recorded 237 punt return yards on 18 punt returns. He is averaging 13.2 yards per return and has one punt go for a touchdown.
Don’t expect field goals to factor much into this game because Stanford is not ranked very high in the conference. They currently rank tenth in the Pac-12 with a field goal percentage of 60%. Stanford is also 3-of-7 from beyond 40 yards this season.
Stanford’s kicker is Jordan Williamson. He has made 12 field goals on 20 field goal attempts. Most of his attempts have come between 20 and 39 yards where he is 9-of-13. Beyond 40 yards is shaky though. However, he shouldn’t hurt the Cardinal because kicking will not be center stage.
Duck fans can only hope that if the game winning field goal needs to be made that Stanford is beyond 40 yards away.
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