The Stanford Cardinal are hosting the Oregon Ducks and through the first three quarters, things are not looking as well as Stanford had hoped. The Cardinal are potentially looking at both their National Championship Game hopes and their potential undefeated season dwindling away. Heading into the fourth quarter, they are trailing by a score of36-23
The Oregon Ducks rushing game, led by LaMichael James and De'Anthony Thomas, are looking to be just as fast and formidable as promised. Although the Stanford defense was able to mostly contain them in the first quarter, the Ducks are wearing them out with their nonstop rushing.
For all the talk about how the Ducks rushers would perform on the Stanford grass, quarterback Andrew Luck seems to be slipping and stumbling more than anyone else on the field. Late in the third quarter, Luck managed to piece together a significant Stanford drive and take advantage of back-to-back offsides penalties by Oregon in the red zone. He capped off the 14 play drive by passing to Jeremy Stewart with a 2 yard pass for a touchdown to bring the Cardinal closer and make the score 36-23. Through three quarters, Luck is 18-for-30 with three touchdowns and an interception.
Andrew Luck has had many games this year where he has a shaky first half and an enormous second half. Stanford is probably hoping for another one of those performances as they enter the fourth quarter.
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