Oregon vs. Stanford: LaMichael James and 7 Ducks Who Will Frustrate Andrew Luck

The Pac-12 game of the year takes place this week when the No. 7 Oregon Ducks head to "The Farm" to take on the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal in an epic Pac-12 battle that will most likely decide the conference champion. 

Both Oregon and Stanford stand at the top of the Pac-12 rankings, Stanford being 6-0 inside the conference and 9-0 overall, while the Oregon Ducks are 5-0 and 8-1 overall. 

No doubt this game features some of the top talents in the nation with players like RB Stepfan Taylor and QB Andrew Luck of Stanford and RB LaMichael James and QB Darron Thomas of Oregon.

While there is no discounting the fact that Stanford has talent on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball, Oregon always seems to have playmakers in the right areas that allow both the Ducks' offensive and defensive units to frustrate and put pressure on opposing offenses and defenses.

Here are seven Oregon playmakers that will give Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal trouble on their path to a perfect season. 

Oregon RB LaMichael James

Though LaMichael James is definitely not the biggest back in the nation, he is, without a doubt, one of the best running backs in college football.

The reigning Doak Walker Award winner has been tearing up the nation and opposing defenses for three years now, and the game against Stanford will not be any different. 

James had a breakout game against Stanford last season, and expect him to keep his production against the Cardinal at an all-time high as he should be completely back from injury now.

Putting the ball in the hands of James will give the Ducks the ability to stretch the field and put points up on the board at a fast rate, forcing Andrew Luck to try to match the production of Oregon, which could force the talented QB into making some mistakes.

Oregon DE Dion Jordan

Dion Jordan is a man and one of the most exciting players to watch on the defensive side of the ball for the Ducks. 

The 6'7", 230-pound defensive end is one of the most explosive players on the football field who was originally intended to be a slot receiver for the Ducks but has since then developed into a talented defensive lineman. 

Jordan has four sacks alongside his 31 tackles during his 2011 campaign, but what he does more importantly is give the Ducks an outside threat on the defensive line that allows the young interior linemen for the Ducks to create pressure up the middle. 

If Jordan is able to get his defensive flow moving fast during this game (and expect him to do so while playing inspired football), he will definitely cause added pressure on Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal offense. 

Oregon ROV Eddie Pleasant

One of the most underrated defensive players in the nation, Eddie Pleasant is the rover in a bend-but-don't-break Oregon defense and is also the hardest hitter on the team.

Pleasant, now in his senior year with the Ducks, is an excellent cover player and is the last line of defense in most cases for the Ducks when plays do go foul. 

Last week against Washington, Pleasant had two interceptions in the first half that eventually led to Duck touchdowns.

Since coming back from an injury that sidelined him earlier this season, the Oregon rover has done nothing but wreak havoc on opposing offenses, and Andrew Luck will definitely have his hands full in trying to find away around hard-hitting Pleasant. 

Oregon LB Michael Clay

Essential to making the Oregon Ducks' defense operate on the successful level that it has in past years has been LB Michael Clay. 

Though he is another player who has been bitten by the injury bug during the year, Clay is only two tackles away from a career high and has been an X-factor on a fairly impressive Oregon Duck defense.

Though Clay is mainly a run-stopper and pass-rusher, he has shown throughout the year that he can cover the short routes as well as make big plays when he is called upon. He always seems to be around the play and is one of the most exciting players to watch on the football field.

Look for Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Allioti to send Michael Clay on a lot of blitz packages to disrupt the timing of Andrew Luck, thus causing the Cardinal to find a way around the dangerous pass rush of the Ducks. 

Oregon QB Darron Thomas

While LaMichael James is the essential part of the Oregon Duck offense for the most part, QB Darron Thomas is the factor that takes the offense from great to completely unstoppable.

When Thomas performs like his talent allows him to, the Oregon offense is firing on all cylinders and cannot be matched by any other team in the nation. 

Though he is still recovering from an injury he received during the Arizona State game this year, expect Thomas to be back to prime form, allowing the Ducks offense to operate at a level that it really hasn't been able to this year. 

With Thomas back in top form, the Ducks will be able to put up points and put them up at an unprecedented rate, causing Andrew Luck to play from behind, something the Cardinal are not used to and have struggled with in the past. 

Oregon LB Boseko Lokombo

Boseko Lokombo is another integral part of a very talented Oregon Duck linebacking corps that will put a lot of pressure on Andrew Luck and the Stanford offensive attack this weekend. 

Lokombo has become a physical force on the Oregon Duck defense and looks to be finding his defensive stride just at the right time as the Ducks head into their Pac-12 Championship stretch. 

Lokombo has accumulated 22 tackles this season, and though that number has been greater in the past, look for him to have an impressive game against the Cardinal and Andrew Luck as the entire Duck linebacking corps should be pressuring Luck all night long. 

Oregon S John Boyett

Although starting safety John Boyett had a statistically better year to this point in 2010, he has still been a huge factor on a consistently improving Oregon defense.

Alongside Eddie Pleasant, Oregon will bring two of the hardest hitting safeties in the nation to the Farm in order to put pressure on the Stanford offense.

Though he is primarily a hard-hitting safety, Boyett has shown throughout the years that he can keep pace with the best of receivers when he plays to the best of his abilities, which he should be able to do on Saturday night against the Cardinal.

Expect Boyett to be an integral part of the Oregon defense against Stanford and Andrew Luck, adding to his 53 tackles this season so far.