I think there are two ways to view this loss.
1)Despite what Oregon's record might have indicated - and despite the fact that the Ducks were 3-3 at one point this year - Oregon has a lot of talent. They don't have anything approaching a competent backup quarterback - hence some of the midyear struggles - and the defense is clearly lacking - but there's a reason why they were so highly touted before the year began. With a healthy Vernon Adams, Oregon's probably a one or two loss team ranked somewhere in the top 15. Ultimately, tonight matched two very good college football teams. And Oregon got a few more bounces.
2)Oregon has a lot of talented pieces, yes, but this game could have easily turned out differently if not for Stanford's missed opportunities. Two fumbled snaps (when's the last time that happened for the Cardinal?). -2 in turnover differential. A missed field goal. Some untimely penalties. A non-call on a possible PI on Stanford's third down endzone fade on its first drive. Leaving points on the board in the red zone on field goals rather than touchdowns. Kevin Anderson getting tracked down by an Oregon running back on a potential defensive touchdown. Missed tackles/defensive lapses. And so on. So, from that vantage point this is an incredibly painful loss for the Cardinal that featured its share of "what ifs."
-Stanford punted only once tonight - and lost. They had five non-scoring drives (out of 12 total). Three fumbles, a missed goal and a punt. Oregon scored on six of their 12 drives and punted four times.
-Michael Rector had a rare 100-yard game by a Stanford receiver - he was very effective all over the field. But the game's two best catches belonged to Devon Cajuste. One was a terrific diving 16-yard catch on Stanford's first drive of the game The other didn't count - he was out of bounds - but the one-handed grab on Stanford's final drive was unbelievable.
-Brennan Scarlett had his best game in a Stanford uniform - 2.5 sacks (and they were quite timely), a forced fumble that almost resulted in an INT.
-I thought Kevin Hogan was terrific. He completed a career-high 28 passes (28-37) for 304 yards and two touchdowns (one INT that wasn't really his fault, though it was a bit of a fastball on the screen). He's been playing as a high level basically all year, and tonight was no exception.
-Vernon Adams threw 12 passes - he completed 10 - for 205 yards and two scores. The gaudy yards per attempt average speaks to Oregon's explosiveness and a few coverage issues. The Ducks averaged 6.4 yards per carry and gained 240 yards (net) on the ground.
-Kind of a random note, but Stanford has seven losses between 2012+2013+2015 to date. None of those defeats were by more than 10 points. The seven losses were by a total of 36 points. One was in overtime.
-Justin Reid replaced Dallas Lloyd for Stanford's final few defensive series. Fborg noted that Lloyd went to the locker room and did not return. I didn't notice that during the game (and Shaw was not asked about it postgame), but it will be something to ask about on Tuesday during Shaw's media session.
-So, Stanford's playoffs hopes are now essentially dashed. But they'll have one game to win the Pac-12 North - on Saturday against Cal. Win and they're in the Pac-12 title game. Lose and they need help (Oregon would need to lose to USC or Oregon State). Stanford is, on paper, the superior team, But Cal is of course capable - they put up 700-plus yards of offense tonight, albeit against the conference's worst team.
Also: Utah and UCLA lost tonight. So this sums the conference situation up quite well:
Notes
1)Despite what Oregon's record might have indicated - and despite the fact that the Ducks were 3-3 at one point this year - Oregon has a lot of talent. They don't have anything approaching a competent backup quarterback - hence some of the midyear struggles - and the defense is clearly lacking - but there's a reason why they were so highly touted before the year began. With a healthy Vernon Adams, Oregon's probably a one or two loss team ranked somewhere in the top 15. Ultimately, tonight matched two very good college football teams. And Oregon got a few more bounces.
2)Oregon has a lot of talented pieces, yes, but this game could have easily turned out differently if not for Stanford's missed opportunities. Two fumbled snaps (when's the last time that happened for the Cardinal?). -2 in turnover differential. A missed field goal. Some untimely penalties. A non-call on a possible PI on Stanford's third down endzone fade on its first drive. Leaving points on the board in the red zone on field goals rather than touchdowns. Kevin Anderson getting tracked down by an Oregon running back on a potential defensive touchdown. Missed tackles/defensive lapses. And so on. So, from that vantage point this is an incredibly painful loss for the Cardinal that featured its share of "what ifs."
-Stanford punted only once tonight - and lost. They had five non-scoring drives (out of 12 total). Three fumbles, a missed goal and a punt. Oregon scored on six of their 12 drives and punted four times.
-Michael Rector had a rare 100-yard game by a Stanford receiver - he was very effective all over the field. But the game's two best catches belonged to Devon Cajuste. One was a terrific diving 16-yard catch on Stanford's first drive of the game The other didn't count - he was out of bounds - but the one-handed grab on Stanford's final drive was unbelievable.
-Brennan Scarlett had his best game in a Stanford uniform - 2.5 sacks (and they were quite timely), a forced fumble that almost resulted in an INT.
-I thought Kevin Hogan was terrific. He completed a career-high 28 passes (28-37) for 304 yards and two touchdowns (one INT that wasn't really his fault, though it was a bit of a fastball on the screen). He's been playing as a high level basically all year, and tonight was no exception.
-Vernon Adams threw 12 passes - he completed 10 - for 205 yards and two scores. The gaudy yards per attempt average speaks to Oregon's explosiveness and a few coverage issues. The Ducks averaged 6.4 yards per carry and gained 240 yards (net) on the ground.
-Kind of a random note, but Stanford has seven losses between 2012+2013+2015 to date. None of those defeats were by more than 10 points. The seven losses were by a total of 36 points. One was in overtime.
-Justin Reid replaced Dallas Lloyd for Stanford's final few defensive series. Fborg noted that Lloyd went to the locker room and did not return. I didn't notice that during the game (and Shaw was not asked about it postgame), but it will be something to ask about on Tuesday during Shaw's media session.
-So, Stanford's playoffs hopes are now essentially dashed. But they'll have one game to win the Pac-12 North - on Saturday against Cal. Win and they're in the Pac-12 title game. Lose and they need help (Oregon would need to lose to USC or Oregon State). Stanford is, on paper, the superior team, But Cal is of course capable - they put up 700-plus yards of offense tonight, albeit against the conference's worst team.
Also: Utah and UCLA lost tonight. So this sums the conference situation up quite well:
Notes
