Stanford or Oregon: Which Team Is the Pac-12 Favorite?

With only two weeks of football behind us, folks out West are starting to wonder who is at the head of the class in the Pac-12.

Coming into the season, Oregon was not only viewed as the conference front-runner but was also on many lists to head to the national championship. BCS title talks came to an end early for the Ducks as they lost their opening week game to LSU in Dallas.

Stanford have come out of the gates and looked impressive against lesser talent and really will not be tested until they hit the road to face USC in late October.

When looking at the teams each will face, it appears both Stanford and Oregon could enter their game on November 12 without a conference loss and would likely decide the division winner on the field.

Stanford's key is simple: keep Andrew Luck healthy and allow him to run the offense for the Cardinal.

Luck was NFL-ready last year but decided to stay in school and lead Stanford through another season. If the defense can hold up their end of the bargain, Stanford will give Oregon all they can handle.

On the other hand, Oregon must look for their young receivers to continue developing and for the offensive line to come together. There is no question Oregon has amazing talent at running back and quarterback but as LSU proved, you need more than that.

While these two teams met early in the conference schedule last year, this late meeting between the two teams appears to have major implications. Last year, the Ducks dominated Stanford after starting slow but this year's game is in Palo Alto.

At the end of the day, Oregon will have had time to get their offensive line in gear and should be humming along offensively. While they may not have the defensive leaders they had in 2010, the defense is faster and will be ready for Luck and the Cardinal offense.

The only place coach Chip Kelly has not won on the road is Stanford, but look for that to come to an end this year.

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