Oregon capitalizes on Cardinal's bad Luck

Oregon beat Stanford 53-30 to take control of the Pac-12's North Division, while positioning themselves for a shot at a return trip to the national title game.

The Ducks, who had lost their season opener to LSU in Arlington, TX, stayed "under the radar" while Stanford and QB Andrew Luck - long anointed the #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft - climbed up the ladder.  Given their entertaining matchup last season, and with conference realignment, who ever won this matchup would be highly favored to take Pac-12 crown.

In 2009, Stanford stunned a high-flying Oregon team 51-42 on the strength of performances by Heisman Trophy finalist Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck, a red-shirt freshman at the time.  The following year, the Cardinal jumped to a 21-3 first quarter lead, but scored only 10 points the rest of the way (none in the second half) as Oregon came out 52-31 winners, en route to the national championship game.

This time, it was Stanford who had more on the line, with a loss all but eliminating them from the national title discussion.  They had been tested on the road against USC a fortnight earlier, winning in triple overtime when the defense recovered a Curtis McNeal fumble that rolled into the endzone.

And just as they had been tested then, the Cardinals defense really had no answer for Oregon's "unconventional" offense.  Last year, LaMichael James burned them for 257 yards rushing and 3 TDs.  This time around, he ran for 146 yards and 3 TDs - bum elbow and all - while QB Darron Thomas looked like a Heisman candidate himself, throwing for 3 TDs on 11-17 passing.



Brandon Hanna's fumble recovery helped Oregon break
the game open in the 3rd quarter.

Oregon's defense doesn't seem to mind taking a back seat while the offense gets all the love.  Their fingerprints were all over this game, collecting 5 Cardinal turnovers, including an interception that Boseko Lokombo returned for a touchdown to seal the game; just in case Stanford was getting ideas of, y'know, a miracle comeback. 

Stanford runs a "conventional" offense, that relies multiple tight-end sets to complement a strong running game.  While the tight ends are reliable receivers, they can only present so much of a threat.  Stanford's legitimate receiving threat, Chris Owusu, had to sit out this game as a result of having suffered multiple concussions, the most recent against Oregon State.

Rub-a-Duck for Luck?

The Cardinal's "ball control" offense could not afford any margin for error if they were to succeed in keeping their counterparts on the sidelines.  And while they were able to stay within striking distance going into the interval, it was in the third quarter that things fell apart, as Oregon put their foot on the pedal and never looked back.

The next biggest casualty of Stanford's loss is QB Andrew Luck's race for the Heisman Trophy.  Luck, who has been unflappable for the most of the season, committed three turnovers - 2 INTs and lost fumble -, each of them resulting in touchdowns for the opposition.

Every player will have that occasional "off day", but given that nowadays, the preferred recipient for the Heisman Trophy is a quarterback or running back who's team is playing for the national championship, it becomes rather interesting to see just how far Luck will drop.

Since a national title is out of discussion (barring a miracle, and even THAT might not be enough), Stanford still remain on course for an "at-large" invite to a BCS bowl which, considering the payout and perks, isn't exactly a bad way to end the season.

For what it's worth, Luck will still probably have the last laugh come next April.