Stanford vs. Oregon: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
While not as illustrious at face value as showdowns of the past few years, few games this season are more important than Saturday's showdown between the Stanford Cardinal and No. 5 Oregon Ducks.
In each of the past two seasons, David Shaw's team has upended Marcus Mariota and the Ducks, ruining national championship aspirations in the process.
One problem—this year, the Cardinal are in a tailspin, having already lost three games and resorting to tactics seemingly outside the roster's comfort zone in an effort to right the ship. Meanwhile, outside of a hiccup against Arizona, Mariota's team has been as explosive as ever and is in a strong position to contend for the inaugural College Football Playoff.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
It may not be as attractive as in years past, but Saturday's rivalry showdown is ripe with long-term implications.
Old Meets New
The same old Ducks offense has mostly run roughshod on the competition this season, while Mariota, once again a Heisman contender, has looked strong in the process.
Mariota's completion percentage has never fallen below 60 percent in a game this season, and just last week was his first interception, which seems like nothing compared to his 2,283 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Then again, this sort of efficiency is rather par for the course for Mariota, as Dane Brugler of CBS Sports illustrates:
For Shaw, he can only dream of an offense that produces in such a manner this season.
In fact, he elected to attempt to make that dream a reality last week against Oregon State by scrapping his traditional run-first approach and adhering to the spread-it-out attacks widely used in the conference.
The jarring turn of events in a season-saving effort actually worked, too. Quarterback Kevin Hogan threw for 277 yards and a pair of scores, the team rushed for 151 yards and two more scores and the unit managed 438 total yards in the 38-14 win.
Shaw told the media, per The Associated Press, via FoxSports.com, that his staff is willing to bend to cater to what the roster does best.
"We just have to do whatever our guys can do. If we can get like we did last year and get to our big personnel to be able to run the ball efficiently, hey, that's great, we can do that. If we have to spread it out and run and throw and move the football, hey, we have to do that. Nothing is off limits to us.
"
This new approach gets its first big test Saturday against an Oregon defense that is shaky at times and allows an average of 25.9 points per game. In theory, the Ducks will be ready for the attack thanks to other conference matchups, but they also have to prepare for a mix of two styles, one old, one new.
Running From the Past
At some point, most are right to wonder if this is just a mental thing for Mariota and the Ducks.
Stanford is the one team from the conference Mariota has never been able to defeat. The Cardinal defense has rendered him helpless, as he completes just 57.7 percent of his passes and has six sacks over the course of his meets with the team.
In 2012, the Ducks were well on the way to a national title game at 10-0 before a 17-14 home loss to Stanford. Last season was much of the same—8-0, title in sight, the Ducks hit the road and were turned away, 26-20.
Really, though, it is not mental at all—it is all about the rush.
Mariota has struggled because he has had to do it all on his own against the Cardinal. Back in 2012, Oregon rushed for 198 total yards, but 77 of them came on a run from the signal-caller himself. Last year, the Ducks managed a per-carry average of 2.6 thanks to 24 totes for 62 yards.
Led by running back Royce Freeman (748 yards, 13 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry), the Oregon backfield will need to find success if the Ducks are to break an alarming trend.
When: Saturday, November 1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
Television: Fox
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 54.5
- Spread: Oregon (-7.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Brandon Fanaika | OL | 08/31/2014 | is expected to miss the entire season | Out | undisclosed |
| Ikenna Nwafor | DL | 08/23/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | undisclosed |
| Thomas Oser | C | 08/31/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | undisclosed |
| Aziz Shittu | DE | 10/17/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | undisclosed |
| Lane Veach | LB | 08/31/2014 | is expected to miss the entire season | Out | undisclosed |
| Player | Pos. | Date | Details | Status | Injury |
| Bralon Addison | WR | 08/05/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | knee |
| Tyler Johnstone | T | 08/11/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | knee |
| Keanon Lowe | WR | 10/26/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Stanford | Questionable | leg |
| Andre Yruretagoyena | T | 09/08/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | leg |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
As encouraging as the Cardinal looked last week in an effort to turn things around, the team is simply not as strong as the past iterations that have given Mariota and Co. trouble.
That is not to say the Stanford defense will not get stops—it certainly can. But as NFL.com's Bryan Fischer points out, the unit may be without two of its top leaders:
That is an issue in itself, but keep in mind that the Oregon offense has already had a serious test this year against an elite defense in a 46-27 win over Michigan State back in September. There, the Ducks stood tall on the ground with 173 total rushing yards and three scores on a 4.3 per-carry average.
If that game is any indication, this iteration of the Oregon offense is primed for an encounter with Stanford. As the game wears on, the Ducks will run away with this one at home.
Prediction: Ducks 40, Cardinal 28
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
