Oregon Ducks vs Stanford Cardinal: The Time Has Arrived

The time has arrived.

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Oregon Ducks vs Stanford Cardinal; November; Big Game. 3 weeks ago, I doubted that I’d be able to say that. The Oregon-Stanford games have been hyped dating back to the Chip Kelly vs Jim Harbaugh era. Oregon has played National Championship spoiler to Stanford, and the Cardinal played the same role in 2012 and 2013, crushing then-undefeated Oregon’s championship hope. This year however, it’s Oregon’s turn to spoil the fun.

I’m really impressed by what I’ve seen from Oregon the last 3 games. No game in the Ducks’ current 3 game win streak has come without a bit of ugliness. The Ducks nearly collapsed late against Washington, won on a miracle at Arizona State, and fell down 10-0 early to Cal last week. Interestingly enough, I like that. This team has had no shortage of adversity. Nothing fazes anybody on the current roster. The culture of never giving up and fighting until the last snap has been reestablished.

I was wrong about Vernon Adams. He’s proven me wrong. I didn’t believe that he was the right quarterback for Oregon football. His heroics at Arizona State, his toughness, which was on display against Washington when he played through cramps, amazes me. More importantly, I love his confidence. He has a huge arm, and belief in every teammate around him.

Of all the highs, none have been more encouraging than the improvement of the defense. Yes, 55 points allowed at ASU is far from acceptable, and CAL had no business getting off to a 10-0 either. What some fans don’t understand, is that it takes a real mentally tough team to put all that baggage aside and make a game-winning play in the 4th quarter. It’s not easy for a 19 year old to shake off a poor performance and clear his head in time to make a season-saving play. There’s progress, and a year from now, all of people who claim to be “fans” calling for defensive coordinator Don Pellum’s head, will be begging for him to get a contract extension.

I circled the November 21st game against USC before the season started; I had hope that it would feature two top 10–possibly top 5–teams. However, my gut feeling was that this was going to be a game between two teams that are trying to get their programs back on the winning track. I thought that this game would be more of a decider for divisional implications, rather than the National Championship, which means this game will be about pride. If the Ducks fall at Stanford, the game against USC won’t mean as much, but a dream scenario is still present.

If the Ducks go on the road and beat Stanford, the Cardinal only have 1 more conference game–the big game. Oregon will have two games remaining in conference: USC and the Civil War. Oregon would then need the Cardinal to lose to CAL, along with the Ducks winning out in conference.

My hope is that PAC-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and the conference TV scheduling reps will do their best to ensure that the Ducks and Cardinal play at the same time on November 21st, should Oregon beat Stanford, putting the pressure on each team. The announcement for November 21st kickoff times for Oregon and Stanford has been postponed to Sunday, which indicates that the conference may have the same thought process as fans.

Time will tell.

Next: Ducks In The NBA: Abdul-Bassit Makes D-League Team

Oregon plays Stanford on FOX at 4:30 PT on Saturday.

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