Oregon Vs. Stanford: Key For Ducks Lies in The Past

This week, the University of Oregon football team faces its biggest challenge of this still young season.

Although they are at home, they will be facing a very hungry Stanford team, and the Cardinal is ready.

Make no mistake about it, the Ducks will need to be just as much, if not more, impressive than they have already been this season in order to beat an absolutely brutal Stanford football team.

Before the season began, I predicted that this would be the most difficult game of the season for Oregon. Sure, they are at home, but if they play the way they did last year against Stanford, not even their imposing home field advantage will save them.

So why is this such a difficult game for Oregon? Stanford represents a near polar opposite of the Ducks. They are a gritty, grind it out offensive team that is capable of imposing their will on most defenses. The Cardinal is a clear reflection of their coach, Jim Harbaugh, who made a career out of being tougher than the other guy.

Some may point out that Stanford will be weaker than they were last year due to Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhard leaving for the NFL. However, through four games, Stanford is still ranked 19th in the country in rushing. Sophomore Stepfan Taylor has looked nearly as impressive as Gerhard, running for nearly five yards per carry.

The offensive line has absolutely dominated in their four wins, basically running the ball down opponents throats.

But the best player on the team, and arguably the best quarterback in the country, is Andrew Luck. The junior has lived up to the pre-season hype by becoming a front runner for the No. one overall draft pick if he elects to go pro next year.

Unlike the other pre-season favorites (Ryan Mallett, Jake Locker), Luck has yet to have a bad game, and is no doubt looking to have his break out game in front of a national television audience.

Defensively, Stanford has been up and down. On the one hand, they shut out a UCLA team that spanked a then No. seven Texas at home. On the other, they allowed Wake Forest to rack up 24 points (although the game was a blow-out at the time).

Overall, this team has been every bit as impressive as Oregon has been thus far.

So should Ducks fans brace themselves for another disappointing loss to their Pac-10 rival? Not necessarily.

The Ducks have likewise been impressive, and although they have had a couple of slow starts (Arizona State, Tennessee), they have proven to be a tough second- half team. However, they can not rely on this formula against Stanford, as the Cardinal is just too tough when they have a lead.

If Oregon coasts in the first half, Stanford is going to shift into ball control mode and just grind it out. If Oregon stacks the line, Luck will have a field day with Oregon's cornerbacks.

So what should the overall strategy be for the Ducks? Look to the past. More specifically, look at last year's Rose Bowl.

In the Rose Bowl, the talk heading up to the game was how Terrell Pryor was banged up and would be unable to fully use his legs to burn the Ducks. Since everyone knew that Pryor was below average as a passer, it seemed to be a pretty basic formula: stop the run and the team will fall.

However, we were all wrong about Pryor, and Ohio State came out throwing. Oregon looked completely unprepared to deal with a mobile quarterback that could actually throw the ball in the pocket.

That is the key to this game. If the Ducks are going to win this game, they will have to do it behind Darron Thomas' arm.

Thomas is going to have to grow up on the spot, and force Stanford to respect his arm. This will spread out the defense enough to allow LaMichael James to carve them up like a Thanksgiving bird.

First off, when running the triple option from the shotgun, Oregon needs to throw the ball the first three or four times. They need to look down-field on at least one of them, and get the Cardinal on their heels. Couple this with the incredible noise, and this defense will be frazzled.

Most importantly, however, this will force Stanford to start guessing, and something tells me that they will be unable to shift gears and fully recover. Especially given that they have yet to play from behind this year, Stanford will be forced to face adversity in perhaps the most unwelcoming environment in the country.

Of course they have the talent at quarterback to come back and make this a close game. However, Stanford just isn't built that way, and if they are forced to throw too often, it will play right into the strength of the Ducks defense which is their speed. Oregon will be able to pin their ears back and rush the quarterback and play with only seven in the box.

After all the dust settles, it is hard to see this as anything but a close game that will be decided by less than a touchdown. But if Oregon gets a lead and Thomas does his best Pryor impersonation, there is no reason to believe that the Ducks won't prevail.

It's either going to be Luck's coming out party or Thomas'...and I have a feeling that the Ducks quarterback will be just too much for Stanford.

For my money, I have the Ducks winning by six.