Oregon Football: 10 Reasons Why the Ducks Will Beat Stanford

Last week the talk of the nation was of the impending "Game of the Century" between the No. 1 and 2 ranked LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide. LSU won 9-6 in overtime in a incredibly defensive smash-mouth game.

This week, those college football fans who are a little more interested in offensive showdowns should be excited for the clash between the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks against the third-ranked Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto.

Oregon enters the game as a three-point underdog, but that means nothing. They will pull off the upset over Stanford and threw their names back in the hat for national title contender.

Here is 10 reasons why the Ducks will beat the Cardinal and take control of the Pac-12.

Second-Half Rallies

Oregon is a nightmare for all teams in the second half, and the Ducks have proven that since Chip Kelly took over as head coach.

While they may get out to a slow start, never count out the Ducks as they have come back multiple times to win the game.

The Stanford game last year is a perfect example.

The Cardinal jumped out to a 20-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, and look how that turned out: Stanford lost 52-31.

Speed

Oregon is, without a doubt, the fastest team in the nation.

Chip Kelly's potent spread offense spreads out the field and allowed him to reap the benefits of the speed that he has on his roster.

The Ducks' speed, mainly from LaMichael James, will be too much for Stanford's defense to handle. They did give up 285 yards to a horrible, two-win Oregon State team that lost to Sacramento State.

Depth on Offense

Oregon is one of the deepest teams in the nation on the offense.

Its top three running backs can start on almost any team in the nation, and their backup quarterback led the team to a 45-2 win over Colorado.

Kenjon Barner rushed for 393 yards and four touchdowns while LaMichael James was returning from a dislocated elbow.

And then you throw in the talented freshman De'Anthony Thomas, who can play slot receiver, and you give Stanford a lot of players that they need to account for.

Stanford Missing Top Two Receivers

Stanford will be missing two of its top receivers with Chris Owusu and tight end Zach Ertz out with a concussion and knee injury, respectively.

The loss of these two players will hurt Andrew Luck as he will be without two of his favorite targets in the most important game of his college career.

Owusu and Ertz have combined for 57 receptions, 684 yards and five touchdowns.

Darron Thomas

While Andrew Luck is the better overall quarterback, Thomas still gives the Ducks the better chance of winning.

No one runs Kelly's spread offense better than Thomas. He can beat you with his legs, sell the option extremely well and can make the big pass downfield to get his team in the red zone.

Big Play Ability on Special Teams

The nice thing about having all of that speed, is it means you can make some great plays on special teams.

Thomas, Barner, and James have all brought a punt or kick-off back to the house at some point in their careers, and in the end, that difference gives the Ducks the biggest chance to win the game.

When you know you have an offense that can score a lot of points, but are unsure about your defense being able to make all of the stops, being able to score on special teams is what saves you from the fire.

Defense Getting into a Rhythm

Oregon's defense is finally starting to get it's act together.

The Duck's intercepted two passes from Keith Price and held Chris Polk to only 3.3 yards per carry.

The defensive line sacked Price six times in the game, and that is the exact momentum that they are going to need heading into the Stanford game.

The Cardinal has possibly one of the best offensive lines in the nation, so Oregon's defensive line will have to put pressure on Andrew Luck.

More Balanced Offense

Yes, I will agree that Stanford has a balanced offense, but it is nowhere near as good as the Ducks.

The running game of James, both Thomases and Barner is the best in the nation, far better than Stanford's Stepfan Taylor and Andrew Luck.

If Stanford can find some way to stop the rushing attack, then they still have to stop Thomas' arm.

De'Anthony Thomas plays the slot great and can score any time he touches the ball, and Lavasier Tuinei gives Darron a big target to throw to.

Chip Kelly

The man in the visor is an absolute genius.

No one can create a better game plan than Chip, and in the rare event that Kelly's plan does not work, he is an even better adjuster than he is a planner.

Kelly has really created a different dynamic at Oregon. He got his players on board and has them focusing on winning each individual day, not a potential national championship several months down the road.

Stanford's Loss of Coaches

Absolutely no disrespect toward David Shaw (the man is a great coach) but he is just not at Jim Harbaugh's level.

Stanford lost two of their top coaches from last year, Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, to the NFL.

Those two is what gave Stanford such a good shot at beating Oregon last year; without them, the same outcome will happen this year.