Oregon Ducks Football: Why Did They Lose Against Stanford?

As great as all the wins have been for Oregon this season, it’s time to breakdown their first loss of the year. Obviously they were held below their normal offensive averages and missing two field goals was unfortunate, but if you watched the game, was there a key moment or something you saw that cost the Ducks a victory?

Nov 17, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks linebacker Derrick Malone (22) recovers a fumble near the Stanford Cardinal goal line in the second half at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE

Raymond: The Stanford front seven controlled the game. It wasn’t a key play to me but watching a 6-foot-6, 260 lb linebacker (Trent Murphy) chase down Marcus Mariota on a scramble really made me think this game would be different.  Stanford’s front line was in the backfield the whole night so Mariota didn’t look comfortable and they couldn’t get Kenjon Barner on track.

Brian: Something I saw was a lack of Stanford giving up any big plays. What Oregon thrives on are taking advantage of missed tackles, exposing defenses when they blitz, and their underrated offensive line giving Mariota, Barner, and De’Anthony Thomas time to run. None of that happened.

Ricky: The key moment for the Ducks came in the overtime period. On their last 3rd down of overtime, Mariota threw a pass to Huff that fell incomplete. It looked like Mariota was expecting Huff to cut to the corner of the endzone while Huff thought he was suppose to cut to the middle of the field. That 3rd down will play in the heads of Mariota and Huff all week. That is for sure.

Mike: Play calling at the end of the fourth quarter and OT. I think that Chip had an opportunity after the Stanford “TD” to get into field goal range but had a confusing set of plays called. In addition what he did in overtime was also maddening to me, but the last time the team played a close game was the Rose Bowl in January.

The Autzen Zoo staff includes lead editor Brian Spaen along with staff writers Mike Vamosi, Raymond Mencke, Jr., Ricky Widmer, and contributor Joe Soriano.