Autzen Zoo
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Oregon Football: Stanford Defense Without Two Starters

By Justin Phillips

PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 5: Stanford Head Coach David Shaw and members of the Stanford Cardinal football team wait to enter the field prior to an NCAA Pac-12 college football game against the Washington Huskies on October 5, 2019 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 5: Stanford Head Coach David Shaw and members of the Stanford Cardinal football team wait to enter the field prior to an NCAA Pac-12 college football game against the Washington Huskies on October 5, 2019 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) /
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Oregon Football hosts Stanford Saturday night inside Autzen Stadium and the Cardinal will be without two key pieces of their defense.

Both teams have had players who have decided to opt out this season. The Oregon Defense is down Thomas Graham as well as Brady Breeze due to opt-out from the shortened season as both players prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft. Deommodore Lenoir who initially opted out decided to return to school and will likely be the cornerstone (pun unintended) of the defense this season taking over the role from Troy Dye.

For the Stanford Cardinal, an experienced player in Paulson Adebo who is sitting out the season. Now, both Sophomore Cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly and Linebacker Jacob Reid will miss the game due to injury. Redshirt Sophomore Ethan Bonner may see the field at cornerback for the first time in his young career against the 12th ranked Ducks.

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Stanford is looking to bounce back from last season that saw them go 4-8. Head Coach David Shaw is one of the better coaches in the conference, if not the nation, and will look to stay competitive against a team that is expected to win the Pac-12 North. Oregon is favored by two scores on Saturday night despite breaking in a new quarterback after losing Justin Herbert to the National Football League.

We do not know at the moment whether it will be Anthony Brown or Tyler Shough who sees the first snap on offense. In a shortened season where there is more on the line, Head Coach Mario Cristobal did not tip his hand with the release of the Organizational/Depth Chart for the week leaving an ‘or’ between the player’s names.

One thing worth watching is how the Ducks Offense plays early in the game. Will they go after the young cornerback or up the middle with Running Back CJ Verdell who will find a hole?

Oregon Football and Stanford kickoff Saturday night from Autzen Stadium at 4:30 pm Pacific Time on ABC.

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