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After a rocky start to the season, the Oregon Ducks have won four of their last five games and are currently riding a three game winning streak. This comes at no better time, as Vernon Adams and company hit the road to take on the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, California. Following the returns of Vernon Adams from injury and Darren Carrington from suspension, the offense has been playing at its absolute best and even set a school record with 777 total yards of offense against the California Golden Bears. With the Stanford offense likely to run all over the Oregon defense, the Ducks will need to continue their offensive tear if they want to upset the Cardinal.
Despite the Ducks’ recent success on the offensive side of the ball, Stanford’s defense is one of the toughest they will face in year. The Cardinal rank in the top 30 in both rushing defense and total defense, as well as being the 55th ranked pass defense. The Ducks rushed for 477 yards against Cal, but will have a tough time reaching that mark against a stout run defense. The Stanford defense is very good at stopping the pass, they are more vulnerable to this type of offensive attack. Vernon Adams and Darren Carrington have been on fire since their respective returns, and the duo will need to continue their success in order to put points on the board and make up for the defense and a potentially stagnant running game.
As is often the case, how the Oregon defense performs is likely to decide the outcome of this game. They face a major challenge in a talented Stanford offense lead by star running back Christian McCaffrey, but they must prevent the Cardinal from scoring enough to give the offense a chance to keep up. The Stanford offense currently leads the nation in time of possession, and they do this through a strong running game. McCaffrey has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his past 7 games, is averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and will likely meet or exceed these numbers against the Ducks’ 72 ranked rushing defense. The Oregon defense will have to be at their best in order to limit Stanford’s scoring and time of possession, and keep their team in the game.
Stanford has performed far better than Oregon this season, but the Ducks head down to Northern California following their best performance of the year. It will be far from easy but if they are able to repeat that success, they can potentially upset a top 10 team, save their “lost season”, and vault back into the top 25. Unranked Stanford teams have defeated top ranked Oregon teams several times in past years, and it is time for a little revenge.
Next: Oregon Starts Season With Win Over Jackson State
Oregon and Stanford kickoff at 4:30pm Pacific Time on FOX.