On Saturday at 3:30 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and KNBR 1050 AM, Stanford football will take on the #9 Oregon Ducks on The Farm. Stanford comes in at 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12 while Oregon comes in at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Stanford fell to Arizona 21-20 last week.
RECAP: Stanford comes up short against Arizona
On Oregon: The Ducks are one of the top teams in the country and looking to win a Pac-12 title before the league goes toes up or at least takes on a radically different form. They’re coming off a 42-6 butt kicking victory over Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes, so they’re on quite a roll as they come to The Farm.
The Ducks are led by senior quarterback Bo Nix, who has thrown for 1169 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 1 interception on a 73.39% completion percentage. On the ground, Nix also has 69 yards and 1 touchdown, so he’s got the ability to run the ball as well.
The Ducks have a pair of good running backs in junior Bucky Irving and sophomore Jordan James. Irving has rushed for 305 yards and three touchdowns on 8.2 yards per carry while James has rushed for 209 yards and six touchdowns on 7.5 yards per carry. Their backfield will be a bit shorthanded as junior Noah Whittington is out, so they’re going to have to rely more on Irving and James to run the ball along with Nix.
The top receiver on this Ducks team is junior Troy Franklin, who played high school ball at Menlo-Atherton. Franklin has 25 receptions for 418 yards, five touchdowns and five touchdowns. The number two receiver is junior Tez Johnson, who has 15 receptions for 203 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, junior defensive back Tysheem Johnson leads the way with 24.0 tackles (15 solo), 2.0 tackles for loss, and 1.0 sack. The number two tackler and only other defender with 10+ solo tackles is inside linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, who has 19.0 tackles (13 solo), 1.0 tackles for loss, and one interception, which was returned 45 yards. The top ball hawk is senior defensive back Khyree Jackson, who leads the team with two interceptions to go along with 14.0 tackles (9 solo) and 1.0 tackle for loss.
On special teams, senior kicker Camden Lewis has made all six of his field goal attempts this season. Three from 20-29 yards out, one from 30-39 yards out, and the other two from 40-49 yards out with a long of 43.
As a team, Oregon is averaging 54.0 points per game while their opponents average 13.25. On the ground, they average 232 yards per game while their opponents average 105.3. In the air, they average 338.75 passing yards per game while their opponents average 158.75.
Keys to the game: The first thing Stanford needs to do is contain Bo Nix. He’s a really dynamic playmaker and if Stanford can keep him contained and not allow him to comfortably do his thing, they’ll have a chance to win this game.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is go for some home runs. Quarterbacks Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson are both capable of throwing the deep ball and they have plenty of targets who can take it to the house. Daniels in particular can really chuck it deep. So, Stanford needs to take their shots, go vertical, and then also see if they can make some magic happen in the return game. That’s part of home run hitting as well.
Finally, Stanford’s special teams needs to be on point. Joshua Karty needs to make his field goals, the punting and return games need to be sound, etc. If Stanford balls out in special teams, they’ll have some ray of hope.
Prediction: If I’m being purely analytical here, Oregon winning 42-10 feels like a sound prediction to make. Oregon is a top ten team and smoked Colorado last week. There’s just no reason to pick Stanford to win this game.
That being said, Stanford did defeat Oregon the last time they faced at Stanford Stadium and Oregon was ranked #3 in the nation at that time. So we’ve seen Stanford upset the Ducks before. Not to mention the fact that Stanford could easily be 3-1 right now had they been able to pull out wins against Sac State and Arizona. One can see growth with each passing week.
So, while the numbers and math all say Oregon, this is one of those games where anything could happen. If Stanford does end up winning this game, it shouldn’t come as a complete shock knowing the history between the two programs.
Further reading and watching:
VIDEO: Stanford safety Scotty Edwards looks ahead to Oregon
VIDEO: Stanford WR Bryce Farrell looks ahead to Oregon
PODCAST: Talking Stanford vs. #9 Oregon on Duckzone 503 Podcast
READ: Troy Taylor, Logan Berzins, and Lance Keneley look ahead to Oregon
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Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
