Oregon Football: Ducks Drop Overtime Thriller To Stanford Cardinal 38-31

Oregon Football played a physical game matching the Stanford Cardinal and building an early lead, but the Cardinal came back capitalizing on Oregon miscues to win the game.

It was the first top 20 matchup of the season for Oregon Football facing 9th ranked Stanford. Both teams entered with something to prove and both would need a full game from their starters after lackluster non-conference matchups in the first three weeks of the season.

Oregon Football won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. Stanford lined up at their own 25-yard line and as scripted Bryce Love helped move the chains for the first conversion of the game. Stanford picked up the first penalty of the game on third down making a 3rd and 3, a 3r and 13. Quarterback KJ Costello’s pass was incomplete bringing up 4th down.

Oregon opened the game sluggish but found a big gain by Dillon Mitchell and a touchdown by Tony Brooks James. The Ducks turned up the tempo early and it a paid off with a 6 play drive ending in a score. The Stanford Defense was caught off guard on the second play of the drive which was a first down scamper by Herbert. That opened things up for a long pass to Mitchell which led to the score.

Oregon 7, Stanford 0 8:30, 1st Quarter

Stanford saw one first down on their next drive that ended with a sack on Costello by Ugo Amadi. The Oregon Defense was swarming. On second down Kaulana Apelu came up to stop Bryce Love to force 3rd and 4. Ugo Amadi took the fair catch on 4th down and Oregon started from their own 12-yard line.

Justin Herbert used the run and pass to again work the Oregon Offense down the field. He would be sacked for a 17-yard loss, but he came right back with a 28-yard pass to Dillon Mitchell for a first down at the Stanford 18 yard line. Herbert would run the ball to the 11-yard line to end the first quarter.

Jacob Breeland was the recipient of the second Oregon score of the game after Oregon used two timeouts on the drive, both inside the ten-yard line to get the play right. Oregon led 14-0.

EUGENE, OR – SEPTEMBER 22: Quarterback K.J. Costello (3) of the Stanford Cardinal is tackled by linebacker Kaulana Apelu #39 of the Oregon Ducks during the first quarter of the game at Autzen Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Oregon 14, Stanford 0, 13:26 2nd Quarter

The Oregon Defense stepped up again when Stanford got the ball back pushing the Cardinal back a yard to 2nd and 11. KJ Costello came through with a 40-yard pass play after Oregon backed the Cardinal up twice on the drive. It appeared that Thomas Graham Jr pulled the ball from O St. Brown’s hands after the complete pass, but the play was never reviewed. Stanford scored on the drive to make it 14-7 Oregon.

Oregon 14, Stanford 7, 9:14 2nd Quarter

The Oregon Ducks next drive appeared stalled on third down but a penalty gave Oregon a first down. It was the third penalty of the game and CJ Verdell made them pay on the next play running 48 yards for a Ducks Touchdown.

Oregon 21, Stanford 7, 7:30 2nd Quarter

On the next drive, Oregon Football had the ball on the 21-yard line. Adam Stack kicked a 38-yard field goal giving Oregon a 24-7 lead.

Oregon 24, Stanford 7, 1:49 2nd Quarter

The eye-popping stat at halftime was rushing yards. Oregon had 134 yards on the ground in the first half. Stanford had just 22. The Ducks started the second half with the football. The Ducks continued to use the power of their running game getting a first down at the Stanford 22 yard line. Two plays later CJ Verdell fumbled the ball on the carry recovered by Stanford. It was reviewed and his knee was down before the fumble. On the next play, Herbert was sacked bringing up 4th down and a Ducks punt.

Stanford would find more penalty yardage than positive yardage on their next possession. The Ducks and Ugo Amadi would see a punt return to the 49 yard line with 7:14 left in the 3rd Quarter. Oregon worked the ball to the one-yard line before the drive fell apart. Cyrus Habibi-Likio mistimed the handoff fumbling the ball back 10 yards with the Ducks recovering. On the next play, Stanford took an 80-yard fumble recovery back for a touchdown to make it 24-14.

Oregon 24, Stanford 14, 2:46 3rd Quarter

Stanford found momentum and took it right down the field on the Oregon Defense with several passes for long yardage and a run by Bryce Love for the touchdown making it 24-21 Oregon. It was a 3 play drive that took 1:11 off the clock. Oregon Football would need a response on their next drive.

EUGENE, OR – SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal looks up at the scoreboard in the third quarter of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. Stanford won the game in overtime 38-31. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

The rest of the game was all Stanford. The Cardinal came all the way back to tie the game at 31 as regulation expired sending the game into Overtime. Stanford used their experience on Defense to beat Oregon 38-31. Despite the loss, Oregon Football showed a physicality that was not seen last season. There were points where Mario Cristobal showed emotion on the sidelines to the delight of some fans on Social Media.

There were plenty of positives to take from the game. Oregon played close and despite some big mistakes, did some things well. Dillon Mitchell played the game of his life finishing the game with 14 catches for 239 yards, good for second most for a Wide Receiver on Oregon History.

Oregon will hit the road for the first time this season next week against the California Golden Bears and Justin Wilcox. The Ducks and Golden Bears kickoff Saturday, September 29th at 7:35 pm PT on Fox Sports 1.

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