Oregon vs. Stanford: 10 Keys to Watch During Epic Pac-12 War

Remember, remember the 12th of November. 

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, the Oregon Ducks will travel to Palo Alto, California to face the Stanford Cardinal in what has to be considered the Pac-10/Pac-12 game of the century.

To the victor will go the driver's seat to the inaugural Pac-12 Championship, while the loser will be left wondering, "what if?"

Stanford, coming off one of its most impressive seasons in school history in 2010, where they boasted a 12-1 record (with their only loss coming to Oregon), is once again preparing for a historic run--this time with their eyes on the BCS National Championship.

Led by Heisman front runner Andrew Luck, the Cardinal stand at an impressive 9-0, including a 7-0 record inside of the Pac-12, and are currently ranked fourth in the BCS polls behind LSU, Oklahoma State and Alabama.

With a win over the Ducks, the Cardinal would at least jump over an Alabama team that suffered a difficult 9-6 overtime loss in what was dubbed "the game of the century."

Oregon is also coming off perhaps their greatest season in school history, making an appearance in the BCS National Championship game, where they lost on a last-second field goal to Auburn 22-19.

After suffering an opening day loss to the No. 1 LSU Tigers (where they put up more points and yards than No. 4 Alabama did), the Ducks have rebounded to the tune of an 8-1 record, including a perfect 6-0 record inside of the Pac-12.

Flying under the radar inside of the Pac-12 for the first time in awhile, the Ducks are not only priming themselves for a run at the Pac-12 title, but also a run at the national championship. They currently sit at No. 7 in the polls, a ranking that would surely improve with a big win over the Cardinals this Saturday. 

Though the "game of the century" was supposedly played last week between LSU and Alabama that actually seemed rather lackluster in comparison to all of the hype that it was given, Stanford and Oregon are set up for a historical clash in the Pac-12 that will most likely determine the conference champion and also give the winner a better case and relevance for the national championship game.

Here are 10 keys to watch during what is sure to be one of the most memorable Pac-12 games ever.

Darron Thomas' Heatlh/Confidence

While many may believe that the Ducks rest on LaMichael James' shoulders and that he is the lone dictator as to how well the Ducks perform, this is just not true.

Essential to the Ducks' recent success and 2010 BCS National Championship run has been QB Darron Thomas, one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the nation.

When he performs to his fullest abilities, Darron Thomas takes the Duck offense from great to absolutely unstoppable. However, after an injury against Arizona State that saw the Oregon QB sit out a game-and-a-half, Thomas just does not seem to be back to normal yet.

Returning from injury against an improving Washington State team, Thomas consistently overthrew the ball and looked nervous operating the offense en route to throwing two interceptions in the first half and eventually being replaced by Bryan Bennett in the second half, mostly due to precautionary measures with his injury.

Though there was improvement last week on the part of Thomas against an impressive Washington Huskies team, there were still a few errant throws and misreads that Thomas will need to shore up if he wants to lead the Ducks to victory this week.

If Darron is healthy and completely confident operating the Oregon offense once again, look for the Ducks to hit Stanford hard and fast en route to a big win.

Can Stanford's Defense Find Its Groove?

It's always not a good sign when, going into the biggest game of the season and perhaps in school history, your starting safety says that your team's defense is not in sync. This is even more concerning when you are playing a team like Oregon.

And unfortunately for Stanford, that is exactly what safety Michael Thomas had to say about the Stanford defense.

Specifically, Thomas said, "Right now everyone is not playing well together," to which he later added, "Guys are playing well, but we're not playing well together."

Uh-oh.

With a team like Oregon coming into town looking to become nationally relevant again, this is the worst thing that could be coming out of a Stanford Cardinal mouth right now. Oregon is an opportunistic and explosive team, meaning that they take advantage of teams in the situation that Michael Thomas says the Cardinal are in.

Oregon loves to exploit weaknesses and confusion in the defense and will excel against the Cardinal if Stanford is unable to play together.

When Stanford's defense does play as one cohesive unit, as we have seen in the past, they are one of the best defenses in the league. But after surrendering 48 points to USC, the Stanford defense has just looked out of place--even against Oregon State where they were lucky to not have given up more than 13 points.

In order to make this a competitive game, the Stanford defense must be able to play well as one single unit and not allow Oregon to exploit their weaknesses.

Oregon's Defensive Line vs. Stanford's Offensive Line

Stanford is a traditional offensive unit, powered by big men up front who lead the way for a prolific running game that will gash you up the middle.

Oregon's defensive unit and line is built for speed, best used in limiting the run to the outside.

How these two will come together and factor into the outcome of this game will be very interesting.

Although the Ducks have made strides to get bigger on the defensive line, especially in recent years, Oregon's line is still mainly built for speed and to stop the presence of an outside rushing attack.

As witnessed before, this presents a problem for the Ducks against teams with big offensive lines, just like Stanford has. Teams like Ohio State, Auburn and LSU have used their advantage in this category to exploit the Ducks' inside rushing attack and gash Oregon for yards up the middle.

Without a doubt, Stanford will try this same strategy on Saturday night, placing their big men against the best that Oregon has to offer. And, the outcome will be very interesting to watch.

This week, look for Oregon to try to plug up Stanford's rushing attack by incorporating Wade Keliikipi and Ricky Heimuli in the same defensive package in an effort to have more of a physical presence on the defensive line in order to slow down the powerful rushing attack of Stanford.

The question is, will this be enough?

Is Stanford an Elite Team?

Without a doubt, a 9-0 start is an impressive feat for any team, especially one that plays within one of the most heralded conferences in college football.

Stanford has come out from the depths of the Pac-12 and looks to be the front runner for the Pac-12 Championship and a legitimate BCS National Championship contender While Stanford has had games against some fairly impressive teams, they still have yet to have a defining moment in their 2011 season that propels them to "elite" status.

The best teams that Stanford has played this year have been USC and Washington, with other wins coming against teams like San Jose State, Duke, Colorado and Washington State.

Don't get me wrong, Washington and USC are good teams, and the game against USC was extremely important in defining the Cardinal as a football team, but USC and Washington are no Oregon.

Though both of those teams have had their moments in glory in the past, Oregon is the team of the Pac-12 now, and the Cardinal must be able to put the Ducks down if they are to be considered a truly elite team.

Stanford needs a signature win against the Ducks in order to be considered true national title contenders and will definitely have their abilities tested against one of the best teams in the nation that has already proved that they can play with the best.

Stanford has the talent and pieces in place to be one of college football's best teams, and this week will dictate just how good the Cardinal are.

Oregon's Secondary Play

One of the weaknesses for the Oregon Ducks this year has been the play of their secondary, which has been giving up quite a few yards against the passing attack--something that will need to be addressed against Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal.

Already a young secondary with redshirt freshmen Dior Mathis and Terrence Mitchell receiving ample playing time, the Ducks took a huge blow when Cliff Harris, one of the nation's most explosive football players, was suspended from the football team after being involved in multiple police encounters.

The young secondary of Oregon has looked good at times, but at others, there are definitely glaring weaknesses. The defensive backs have to become more comfortable with playing close to receivers if they are going to be able to close up some of the windows for Luck to throw into. However, they have been improving upon this recently.

A bonus for the Ducks is the reemergence of Eddie Pleasant as a big factor on their defense. One of the hardest hitters on the team, Pleasant has returned from injury and has done nothing but scare opposing receivers and quarterbacks, even accounting for two interceptions last week in the first half against Keith Price and the Washington Huskies that led to two Ducks scoring drives.

Oregon's secondary will definitely be put to the test against Andrew Luck's meticulous mind and will have to play smarter football than they ever have this season if they want to limit Andrew Luck as a factor in this game.

Can Stanford Match the Speed of Oregon?

In last year's game against Oregon, Stanford jumped to an early 21-3 lead in the first quarter, only to watch it eventually disappear as Oregon's speed and explosiveness got the better of the Cardinal en route to a 52-31 victory at Autzen Stadium.

If the Cardinal do not want this to be the same outcome in Palo Alto, the Cardinal will need to be able to keep up with the speed of the Oregon Ducks, which is arguably even faster this year, especially with the addition of outstanding true freshman DeAnthony Thomas.

Stanford, when it does play together on defense, is one of the better defenses in the nation, but even if they do gel as a unit, will that be enough to stop all the threats the Ducks have on the offensive side of the ball?

The Ducks are averaging 7.4 yards per play and have scored on 21 of 22 explosive value drives (at least 10 yards per play) and are looking to keep this on track against the Cardinal.

Stanford will need to find a way to hinder the progression of the Ducks' quick-strike offense and force them to come up with more methodical drives, something that the Oregon offense is not exactly used to.

Putting Oregon in this uncomfortable position will lead to mistakes that Stanford could ultimately capitalize upon.

Will Chris Owusu Be Ready to Play?

Can this Stanford Cardinal wide receiver find a break?

After sustaining a head injury in their win over USC, Owusu suffered yet another concussion against Oregon State last week, this time being carted off the field in an ambulance. 

Though he was mobile and able to respond to the wishes of the training staff, coming back from a concussion is extremely risky and many are doubting whether or not Owusu will be able to play in the big game against Oregon.

While Stanford does have other options at wide receiver, Chris Owusu is one of those players who can change a game with the skill set that he brings to the table. If he remains absent from the field on Saturday, the Cardinal will suffer and have to look for other ways to move the ball down the field. 

Owusu's health is definitely something for both Oregon and Stanford fans to keep an eye on this week. 

Can Oregon's Offensive Line Dominate the Trenches?

As with any team that hopes to win a football game, the Ducks offensive line must be able to hold back the Stanford front seven as well as open up gaps for the backs to break through.

One of the most unique aspects of Oregon's offensive scheme is that they can both run the ball up the middle as well as to the outside at an equally effective rate. This is much attributed to the play of the offensive line and how well they play together as a unit.

The key to Oregon's offensive line success will be how well they handle the power rush of the Cardinal, and they will have quite the test in stopping the big men from Stanford. Although the Ducks are generally able to compete fairly well with the other lightly built Pac-12 teams, the Ducks have struggled in the past establishing a rushing attack against big defenses such as Auburn and Ohio State.

No doubt the Duck offense will key on the running game at first, but also watch for Stanford to do the same, thus forcing the Ducks offensive line into pressure situations where they will have to truly show how good they are as a unit.

Watch for the Ducks to incorporate new schemes to help their offensive line deal with a bigger Stanford defense, such as a toss sweep that we saw them execute to perfection last week in their victory against the Washington Huskies.

Can Stepfan Taylor Have a Breakout Performance Against Oregon?

One of the biggest misconceptions in college football is that the Cardinal operate on the shoulders of Andrew Luck.

Not to discredit the man, he is an amazing athlete and quarterback, but Stanford's offense is built around their running-game, much like Oregon's offense is just a different kind of style.

Stanford's running game hits you hard and in the face and will keep pounding the line until they are able to finally break through for a big gain. The factor back behind this power running game is Stepfan Taylor, who I believe is the most underrated running back in the nation and a player that is quietly putting together a fairly good season.

Taylor has carried the ball to the tune of 891 yards on 147 carries for a 6.1 yard per carry average and has also tallied 8 TDs on the ground this season.

But, for how good a back he should be, Taylor has yet to have a breakout performance and could very well do so against Oregon.

If Stepfan is able to assert himself as an every down threat against Oregon, not only will he open up the passing game for Andrew Luck to dissect the Ducks, but he will also keep the ball away from the Ducks' quick-strike offense, giving his defense some much needed rest.

Chip Kelly vs. David Shaw

To do what David Shaw has done with the Stanford Cardinal in his first year as head coach is nothing short of impressive. He has taken the reins from Jim Harbaugh and kept a continuous winning attitude flowing into the 2011 college football season.

He has led the Cardinal to a 9-0 record and is looking to be part of an elite group of coaches that lead their teams to a national championship in just their first year coaching a team.

While David Shaw is undoubtedly one of the rising coaching stars in the nation, just how skilled he is as a coach will be tested when he goes against Chip Kelly's offensive mind and the Oregon Ducks offense.

Right now, Chip Kelly is the head coach in the Pac-12 and has demonstrated that he is one of the best coaches in the nation ever since taking over as head coach for the Ducks in the 2009 season, where he led them to a Rose Bowl appearance--their first since 1994.

Chip Kelly is one of the most adaptive minds in the nation and this game will definitely be interesting to watch unfold as the two coaches go head-to-head for a grueling 60 minutes that will pit two of the brightest coaching minds against one another.