Stanford vs. Oregon: Andrew Luck Needed More Help Against Ducks

The No. 4 Stanford Cardinal lost to the No. 7 Oregon Ducks at home yesterday, but it wasn't Andrew Luck's fault.

Stanford lost 53-30 at home, proving that just because it has Andrew Luck, the team is not unbeatable. Apparently, Luck doesn't make an entire football team better, and he needed some help yesterday.

Luck did pretty well, throwing for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately he also threw two interceptions, but no one's perfect.

The reason the Cardinal lost was because of their defense. Thirty points should be enough for a team to win a football, game, but they lost by 23 because the defense surrendered 53 points.

The defense got torched, and the Ducks' offense did not even need a lot of time to score.  The Ducks had possession for only 25:35 this game, but that was enough for them to score 53 points.

The Ducks were also able to convert two crucial fourth downs, and were only faced with nine third down situations all game, showing how easily they moved the ball.

While we can't blame everything on the defense, it looked as though everyone was struggling.

Even the kicker, Eric Wright, struggled, missing a field goal and an extra point.  That's not a huge loss, but it demonstrates that everyone struggled in this game.

The Cardinal did not have good field position either.  Their kick returners averaged only 16.6 yards per return, with their long being only 24 yards.  Their punt returners only had two chances for a total of three yards as well, giving them horrible field position.

Stanford only forced two turnovers, while having five themselves (two interceptions by Luck, three fumbles). Stanford was never given an easy route to the end zone, and had to work hard for every point.

There was not a single aspect of Stanford football that did well last night apart from Luck, and we can't blame him for this humiliating defeat.