Ducks Shut Down Cardinal In Second Half To Hand Stanford First Loss

Eugene, OR (Sports Network) - Darron Thomas passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns while running for 117 yards and another score, as fourth-ranked Oregon used a dominant second half to down No. 9 Stanford, 52-31, at Autzen Stadium.

LaMichael James ran for a career-high 257 yards and three touchdowns for Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10), which allowed 31 points in the first half and looked to be in trouble. But the Ducks entered the game having allowed just seven second-half points all season, and continued that trend by shutting out Stanford over the final two quarters.

Thomas completed 20-of-29 passes and was intercepted twice, while James carried the ball 31 times and punctuated the victory with a 76-yard touchdown run.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns on 29- of-46 passing. He was also picked off twice for the Cardinal (4-1, 1-1), who were aiming for their first 5-0 start since 1951.

Stepfan Taylor ran for 113 yards and a score in the loss.

Stanford began the second half with the ball looking to expand its 31-24 advantage, but had to punt, and the Ducks evened the game on the ensuing drive.

Oregon progressed into Stanford territory and Thomas ran for a 17-yard gain. A five-yard personal foul penalty on the Cardinal moved the ball to the six, and Thomas found the end zone on the next play. He ran to the right side and used a fake lateral to throw off defenders before crossing the goal line with 8:20 left.

Oregon then got a break during Stanford's next drive. Cardinal receiver Chris Owusu caught a pass near midfield but fumbled after colliding with a Ducks defender. Oregon safety Eddie Pleasant picked up the loose ball and was running up the left sideline before being knocked out of bounds by Luck at the three.

Owusu appeared to be knocked out on the play and lay still as he was attended to by trainers. He was helped off the field and looked stunned on the sideline.

Meanwhile, James got into the end zone on the first play of the ensuing drive for a 38-31 lead.

Stanford looked to answer quickly, as Luck tried a deep pass to begin the Cardinal's next drive. But the throw was off the mark, and Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris hauled in the ball to give the Ducks' offense another chance.

Oregon turned the ball over on downs, but its defense forced Stanford into a three-and-out to regain possession at the Stanford 49. The Ducks reached the Cardinal 25 just as the quarter ended, then scored on the opening play of the fourth.

Receiver D.J. Davis lined up in the slot on the right side and ran a slant route to the left. A run fake got the safety to delay, and Thomas hit Davis with an easy touchdown throw to make it a 45-31 game.

Stanford threatened on its next drive, eventually setting up at the one on a 3rd-and-goal. But Taylor fumbled before Luck recovered, and Luck's fourth-down pass fell incomplete as the Ducks took over.

The Cardinal got the ball back, but their next drive ended when Harris picked off Luck in the back of the end zone with a little more than two minutes to play, and James' 76-yard TD dash with 1:10 left put the game away.

Rob Beard kicked a 22-yard field goal on the game's opening drive to get Oregon on the board, but Stanford dominated the first quarter to take control.

Luck led an 11-play, 70-yard march on his team's first possession, which he capped with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Griff Whalen.

Harris fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, giving Stanford the ball at the Oregon 12, and it took the Cardinal just three plays to score again. On a 3rd-and-8 from the 10, Luck scrambled and got across the goal line to push the lead to 14-3.

Thomas was intercepted near midfield by Stanford's Chase Thomas on the Ducks' next touch, which the Cardinal quickly converted into another touchdown. On the first play from scrimmage, Taylor busted out on a 44-yard run, making it a 21-3 contest.

But the Ducks countered with a score of their own to keep the game from getting out of control. The drive went 85 yards in nine plays and bridged the first two quarters, ending when Thomas connected with an open Jeff Maehl on a 29-yard scoring strike.

Oregon then pulled off an on-side kick and took advantage of the opportunity. The Ducks started their drive at their own 46 and found the end zone on James' five-yard run.

The game continued to turn into a shootout, as Stanford countered with its fourth touchdown. The Cardinal reached the Oregon 36 before Luck used a play fake to get tight end Coby Fleener open over the middle. Luck completed the pass and Fleener ran into the end zone, giving the visitors a 28-17 advantage with 7:30 left.

Oregon then went 75 yards in eight plays, scoring when Thomas aired out a 41- yard pass to Josh Huff along the right sideline.

Following that score the offenses slowed, but with under a minute to play in the first half, Stanford re-gained the ball after Delano Howell picked off Thomas. The interception was somewhat questionable, as it appeared the ball may have hit the ground before Howell gained control, but the call was upheld and the Cardinal took over at their own 32.

Luck led Stanford into Oregon territory, but time became an issue, and Nate Whitaker booted a 46-yard field goal as time expired to make it a 31-24 game at the break.

Final Injury Update: Oregon Left Tackle Bo Thran Will Play, As Will Stanford's Chase Thomas and Ryan Whalen

From Oregon Football’s Twitter:

Darrion Weems will start at LT today for Oregon in place of Bo Thran. Thran will play in the game

So will Stanford’s starting safety, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Safety Michael Thomas will play. He practiced Thursday with a bandage/wrap on his leg but moved well in the short time I saw him.

Whalen should play, but how effective he’ll be is still an uncertainty. Ted Miller in Autzen reports.

Whalen is warming up with his teammates, sporting a bulky black sleeve on his left arm. Word is that he will play, which will give QB Andrew Luck one of his favorite weapons back.

That said: The sleeve could be a distraction. It certainly won’t help him catch the ball. And you’d think he might be a little shy leading with his left arm while blocking.

Stepfan Taylor Tries To Step Into Toby Gerhart's Shoes

Last year, Toby Gerhart ran all over the Ducks. In a season full of impressive performances, Gerhart saved his best for Oregon, trucking all over a team that just stomped on USC. Gerhart ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns, dashing the still flickering national title hopes of the Ducks.

Gerhart has departed, but his blockers (the offensive line and fullback Owen Marecic) have returned. Can Stepfan Taylor show that same ability? He might not be racking up the yards like Gerhart, but his head coach and quarterback are effusive in their praise of his talents.

[Coach Jim] Harbaugh would be comfortable giving Taylor the bulk of the carries if it came to that.

"He gets yards after contact," the Cardinal coach said. "He really hustles. There were a few plays he would block two guys."

[Quarterback Andrew] Luck was a little more effusive in his praise of Taylor.

"He's a great back," the redshirt sophomore quarterback said. "He does a lot of little things that you don't realize until you watch the game film. He doesn't say much but he works hard and he's dependable."

Taylor said he worked on his blocking technique this year so he could "keep (Luck) healthy."

Still, Taylor has a long way to keep up with Gerhart - against an okay Notre Dame defense, he put up a modest 108 yards on 3.86 yards per carry. He'll have to replicate those numbers to give Luck the time he needs to pick up apart Oregon's secondary, because if the Cardinal become one-dimensional, they're much easier to beat.

Ryan Whalen, Michael Thomas Practicing

Andrew Luck’s favorite target looks primed to return to action on Saturday, as does the cornerback who stripped Kevin Prince and sealed the victory over UCLA. Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Wide receiver Ryan Whalen, who sustained a reported elbow dislocation against Wake Forest, returned to practice Wednesday, Harbaugh said. … Safety Michael Thomas, who injured an ankle at Notre Dame, is also practicing.

ESPN Already Projects Oregon To Beat Stanford

How do we know this? The BCS Bowl projections has the Ducks in Pasadena and the Cardinal in the second place bowl. That would mean Oregon has beaten Stanford Saturday, or the Cardinal will have beaten the Ducks and then somehow lose two games more than Oregon the rest of the way.

Andrea Adelson thus has the Cardinal in the Alamo Bowl against the Missouri Tigers. Mark Schlabach is a little bit higher on the redshirts from Palo Alto, actually predicting the Cardinal to go to the Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes, which is mildly intriguing, since that probably means Oregon loses one or less games the rest of the way, and Stanford would have to lose only at most one more game the rest of the way. What will be MORE interesting is how many Cardinal fans will make the 3000+ mile trip to Miami, because if they play the Hurricanes, that has the potential to be the most lopsided opposing fan ratio in a bowl game ever.

ESPN Runs Feature On Pac-10 Resurgence Behind Stanford And Oregon

With Stanford and Oregon preparing to do battle on ABC in primetime this Saturday evening (5pm pacific), ESPN is pumping up the matchup with a variety of features on the game and the teams. Today, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel had a puff piece on how the Pac-10 is seeing a resurgence behind commissioner Larry Scott (hired last year) and the various non-USC teams that are providing competitive battles week in and week out this season.

The big difference, according to Maisel, has been the influx of quality coaching, including Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, Chip Kelly at Oregon, and even Mike Stoops at Arizona, who has been given a bit more room to work in spite of a tough start.

They make four teams with 4-0 records. Since the founding of the league in 1959, it has never had that many unbeaten teams ranked that highly in the top 18 of the AP poll — not as the Pac-8 and not as the Pac-10. Before it becomes the Pac-12, the Pac-10 is making its last season one for the record book.

It almost works out for the Pac-10 that USC is banned from postseason play this year. Even though USC is undefeated it seems that people in the media have generally been ignoring them since they’re not going to be playing for the national title (at least the BCS version). Of course, all that might change if they run the table this year and they aren’t in a bowl game.

Darron Thomas And Andrew Luck Get Ready To Duel, Just Like In High School

People might not know this, but it’s not just the Oregon players who might have a grudge against the Furd for ruining their national title hopes last season. The new Oregon starting quarterback is itching to go against the guy who always finished ahead of him in the Houston prep ranks, the guy who is now smelling the Heisman hype.

"Oh yeah, I was always No. 1 and he was No. 2 in the Houston area,’’ said Thomas, who will try to outduel his former prep adversary when Oregon and Stanford meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.

Thomas, who starred at Aldine High School, lost to Luck and the Spartans 34-24 on Oct. 5, 2007 at Stratford’s Tully Stadium. Luck was 13 of 25 for 149 yards; Thomas was 14 of 25 for 168 yards and ran for another 101 yards.

At the time, Thomas was committed to LSU but later switched to Oregon. Thomas said he stays in touch with Luck and his father, former NFL player Oliver Luck.

"Luck’s my boy,’’ Thomas said. "It’ll be a reunion.’’

Luck is clearly a better pocket passer, but Thomas is plenty capable of throwing it around himself. Luck's no slouch  at scrambling when the pocket breaks down and his receivers get blanketed, but Thomas is definitely the better at running. More importantly, he doesn’t have to do the things Luck needs to do to make his offense hum. Both offensive lines are plenty experienced, so they’ll get all the time they need to put the ball in the air and deliver to their receivers.

It’ll definitely be the fiercest test for both quarterbacks in their short college careers. Perhaps since Luck vs. Thomas I.

Stanford-Oregon: Rule Of Tree Relives Cardinal Last Win At Oregon

The latest SB Nation blog belongs to the Stanford Cardinal, and they are certainly living in crazy times. This the first time since 2001 that the Cardinal have been ranked in the AP Top 10. Additionally, 2001 was the last time Stanford won at Oregon, in a wild 49-42 victory over the then-5th ranked Ducks. Naturally our Stanford blog (Rule of Tree) decided to take a look back at those wild days:

Trailing 42-35 with 9 minutes left, Willingham made a gutsy call for an onside kick, and it was recovered by the Cardinal. Eight plays later, Kerry Carter scored from a yard out to tie—er, bring Stanford closer. Mike Biselli’s extra point was blocked, and the Ducks maintained a 42-41 lead. Safety Tank Williams helped ensure the Cardinal would leave Eugene with more than a moral victory. His pressure on Harrington deep in Ducks territory on Oregon’s ensuing possession produced a wobbly pass that was intercepted by defensive end Marcus Hoover. Carter scored from three yards out—his fourth rushing touchdown of the game—with 1:10 left, and Stanford added a two-point conversion to cap the scoring in a wild, wild win.

College Gameday Heading To Stanford-Oregon Game

Now that Stanford is square in the national spotlight, can they seize it and take control of the Pac-10 race with their second straight win over Oregon? It'll be much tougher on the road against the Oregon Ducks.

The Cardinal will get their share of the national spotlight this upcoming weekend. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Erin Andrews are all headed to Eugene for ESPN's big college football show. It'll also be the premier Saturday Night Football telecast featuring Brent Musberger and Herbstreit.

The ESPN "College GameDay'' crew will be on hand Saturday morning in Eugene before the Ducks meet Stanford in a battle of unbeaten teams.

The kickoff has been moved from 8:15 p.m. PT to 5 p.m. PT., and will now be aired on ABC.

Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit were on hand last season for Oregon's win over USC on Halloween and were in Tucson for the Ducks' victory over Arizona.

I believe this is the first Cardinal game that's been featured on College Gameday, unless I'm missing some Notre Dame faceoff from a decade or back.