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Oregon Football: More Strengths Than Weaknesses Shown In Loss To Stanford Cardinal

By Justin Phillips

EUGENE, OR - SEPTEMBER 22: Tight end Colby Parkinson (84) of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass over cornerback Deommodore Lenoir #15 of the Oregon Ducks during overtime of the game at Autzen Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. Stanford won the game 38-31. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
EUGENE, OR - SEPTEMBER 22: Tight end Colby Parkinson (84) of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass over cornerback Deommodore Lenoir #15 of the Oregon Ducks during overtime of the game at Autzen Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. Stanford won the game 38-31. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Oregon Football learned something on Saturday night against the Stanford Cardinal and it was a lesson that will not be forgotten.

Despite leading at Halftime by an impressive margin, the better team came back to win the game. Stanford was against the wall at the break down 24-7.

The Ducks played to their strength all season scoring the most of their points in the first half. Despite what you think about the men in black and white, it was not their fault that Oregon was outplayed in the second half. Adjustments needed to be made and it was the matter of two or three plays that were the difference in the game.

Oregon Quarterback Justin Herbert played his best game as the Starter going 26 of 33 for 336 yards. Wide Receiver Dillon Mitchell stepped up to pull off the second most receiving yards in Oregon History pulling in 14 catches for 239 yards against a Stanford Defense that has been stingy all season. Herbert and Mitchell found that the quick out route in the flat was a spot where they could find success and they used the play to their advantage most of the night.

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"All week long we had to trust the fact that we were prepared to take on a difficult situation that we had the ability to overcome anything that didn’t go our way. I’m proud of the effort…we had some really good moments, just need to be more consistent.Oregon Head Coach Mario Cristobal on the loss vs Stanford."

We learned on Saturday that the Oregon Football Offense can get the job done with not only Herbert and Mitchell, but a Defense that can play with anyone in the country, even the 9th ranked team in the nation. Losing is something that no one enjoys, but we had a chance to see something last weekend that probably wasn’t possible last season.

A team that will fight adversity tooth and nail despite being down. Mario Cristobal has a team that echoes his emotion on the sideline. Speaking of emotion, he showed it Saturday night. Emotion from a Head Coach is something that has not been seen in Eugene for a while.

The loss will be felt for a while, but there was far more good than bad with the 2018 Oregon Football team that I saw on the field. The Ducks Defense is getting better under Jim Leavitt. Special teams is adjusting to the new kickoff rule(as best they can) and we have a very special Quarterback in Justin Herbert who almost brought the team back to win the game(this we already knew.)

Oregon Football hits the road this week for their first game away from Autzen Stadium to visit the California Golden Bears. The Ducks, ranked 19th visit the 24th ranked Golden Bears on Saturday at 7:35pm Pacific Time on Fox Sports 1.

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