Oregon vs. Stanford: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
Two fumbled snaps in the fourth quarter were all it took. The Stanford Cardinal’s College Football Playoff hopes took a huge hit Saturday night as the team lost 38-36 to the Oregon Ducks in Palo Alto, California.
Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan fumbled the crucial snap on 3rd-and-1 with just over two minutes to play. It was the third turnover of the night for the Cardinal, who came into Saturday’s game with only nine turnovers on the year.
On a night when Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey broke the program’s single-season record for all-purpose yards, Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was the star. Adams completed 10 of 12 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Oregon running back Royce Freeman had 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
But the botched snap cost Stanford a chance to strengthen its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff, and Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde seemed to agree:
Stanford had one more chance to tie the game and even scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left on a pass from Hogan to tight end Greg Taboada. But the two-point conversion was no good, sealing the huge win for Oregon and putting a damper on any hopes the Cardinal had for winning the national championship.
The Cardinal wouldn’t have had the chance to tie the game had it not been for a controversial pass-interference call that went in favor of wide receiver Devon Cajuste. Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports summed up the general Twitter consensus after the call:
Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted that Stanford’s loss doesn’t just hurt the Cardinal:
Stanford missed a golden opportunity against an Oregon team that has not played up to par this year. Despite the fact that Hogan threw for 304 yards and McCaffrey ran for 147 yards and a touchdown, it wasn’t enough for the Cardinal to clinch the Pac-12 North. Barring an epic collapse, though, Stanford should still be in the Pac-12 title game.
As for a spot in the College Football Playoff, that’s all but over.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
