Oregon Football: 5 Bold Predictions for the Stanford Game

Ahhh, the matchup that we had hoped the USC game would live up to.

No. 13 Stanford will travel north up to the Autzen Zoo in a last-ditch attempt to spoil Oregon's perfect season. They'll also have a shot a Rose Bowl victory that the Cardinal have not celebrated since the Vietnam War was the biggest issue facing college students at either school.

Oregon has owned the past two matchups against Stanford, outscoring the Cardinal 105-61, and won the past 9-of-10 games.

To make matters worst for Stanford from a historical standpoint, the Honor Roll student athletes from Palo Alto have not registered a win in Autzen Stadium since 2001 on a blown punt coverage.

Yet, despite the odds being in favor of Oregon, I'm predicting a much tighter, more physical matchup between these two teams in the final battle for the Pac-12 North. 

1. Kenjon Barner Is Held to Under 100-Yards Rushing

Kenjon Barner was held to an abysmal 65 yards on 20 carries, which gave him a 3.3 yard per carry average, his lowest of the season, last week in a 59-17 win at Cal.

That's extremely bad news for Barner.

Cal has given up an average of 165.3 yards rushing per game this season. On the flip side Stanford has given up an average of 58.8 rushing yards per game and feature the No. 1 run defense in the country.

Even within the confines of Autzen Stadium, don't expect the performance we saw against USC from Barner.

Stepfan Taylor Will Be the Game's Leading Rusher

Taylor has been on an absolute tear this season.

The senior from Mansfield, Texas has achieved his third straight 1,000-yard season for the Cardinal this year, and has topped the century mark five times this season.

Expect a similar performance from Taylor come Saturday.

With Stanford probably being able to shut down Oregon's run game, and most likely wanting to control the time of possession on offense, don't be surprised if his number is called the majority of the time.

Marcus Mariota Will Total Five Touchdowns

Super Mariota has been an unstoppable force this season.

In his past two games, both of which were on the road might I add, he has thrown the same amount of incompletions as touchdowns (10.)

With the resume that Stanford's run defense brings to the table, Mariota is going to be the driving force for Oregon's offense. He will be using his arm to beat the Cardinal Saturday night.

It Will Be a One-Score Game at Halftime

Against Washington State and Arizona this season, the Ducks went into the locker room at halftime with leads of 13 and four points. 

The combined win total of those two teams is eight. That's the same as Stanford's current total, despite facing three teams in the top 11.

Oregon is not going to get off to a quick start as they have in the past against the Cardinal, and will most likely use one of their patented second-half routs to beat Stanford.

Kevin Hogan Will Toss 2 or More Touchdowns

You don't have to be an elite member of the media to know it, Oregon's secondary is hurting right now.

Not only have the Ducks lost their All-American safety to knee injuries, but now his replacement is also lost for the season.

Hogan managed three touchdowns against a very good Oregon State team, in his first start nonetheless. 

Two touchdowns against a wounded Ducks secondary isn't anything anyone should be surprised about.