Oregon Football: With Win over Stanford, Ducks Have Playoff in Sight

The past two seasons, Oregon has had its national championship hopes dismantled at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal. 

In 2012, Chip Kelly’s last season in the college ranks, a controversial Zach Ertz touchdown catch paved the way for a dramatic Stanford overtime win.  Last year, it was a dominant Stanford performance, in which the Cardinal controlled the ball for more than 42 minutes en route to a 26-20 win that was not as close as the score suggests.

So this time around, with Stanford having a down year by its standards and Oregon needing to win all of its remaining games to have a chance to make the College Football Playoff, the Ducks were a solid favorite.

However, the Ducks were ostensibly the superior team in the two previous meetings as well.  Despite the differing seasons, there was still the notion that Stanford just has Oregon’s number and its defense would once again be up to the task of slowing down the Ducks’ spread attack.

That makes what Oregon did on Saturday night even more impressive.  The Ducks ended the mini losing streak in dramatic fashion, pummeling the Cardinal on the ground and through the air, and even pouring salt on their wounds at the end of a 45-16 drubbing.

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The running back duo of Royce Freeman and Thomas Tyner found plenty of running room against the stout Stanford defense—running for 161 yards—and quarterback Marcus Mariota chipped in 85 yards on the ground.

Overall, Mariota accounted for 343 total yards and four touchdowns, making a compelling case that he is the best player in all of college football.

This convincing victory is a statement game for Oregon—ranked fifth in the initial College Football Playoff rankings—telling the college football committee that it deserves to make the four-team playoff despite its one loss to Arizona.

Not only does it show the country that Oregon belongs in the discussion as one of the best teams in America, but it also proves that its offense can be productive against a vaunted defense like Stanford’s.  If there was a mental block before this game that the Ducks couldn’t beat Stanford, then it probably isn’t there anymore.

The Ducks got on the board first on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that included a 21-yard Mariota run on fourth down.  They also finished the game with a flurry, scoring three touchdowns to end the game after Stanford cut the lead to 24-16.

All in all, it was a complete display of dominance by the Ducks, and it should put them in the top four in the next playoff poll, especially with Ole Miss’ loss to Auburn. 

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The Oregon offense has looked simply unstoppable so far this year.  It leads the nation in total offense, and it has scored at least 38 points in each of the Ducks' eight wins.  If Stanford, who is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense, couldn’t slow down the Ducks, then I’m not sure if anyone can.

The Ducks have already gotten their toughest tests out of the way with Michigan State, UCLA and Stanford, but next week’s matchup with Utah could be a bit of a trap game.  Oregon is the better team and should win handily, but the Utes are a scrappy team of overachievers that has beaten USC and UCLA, and whose two losses are by a combined four points.

With this victory over Stanford, the Ducks have put themselves in a prime position to run the tables.  In previous years, it was the Cardinal who derailed Oregon’s championship aspirations, and with them out of the way this year, it should be smooth sailing for Mariota and company.