University of Oregon
Stanford
Ducks Escape Stanford with 16-13 Win
10/23/04 | Football
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Terrence Whitehead ran for 131 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, and Oregon's defense got 10 sacks in a 16-13 win over Stanford on Saturday.
Mike Bellotti earned his 100th career victory in 15 years as a head coach at Oregon and Chico State, but it certainly meant less to him than the boost to his team's bowl chances that came with this win.
Stanford had a chance to force overtime after getting the ball back with 16 seconds left and completing two long passes, but Michael Sgroi's 49-yard field-goal attempt fell short as the clock expired.
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Click here to watch the the Ducks take down the Cardinal: |
Jared Siegel kicked three field goals for the Ducks (4-3, 3-1 Pac-10), including a 51-yarder, to become Oregon's career leader in field goals with 46, surpassing Gregg McCallum's 45 from 1988-91. Oregon's Kellen Clemens was 22-for-33 for 275 yards, completing a 36-yard pass to Keith Allen on fourth-and-3 to set up Whitehead's 2-yard scoring run with 10:39 left. |
Whitehead nearly cost Oregon the game with a fumble on the Ducks' next series, but the defense came up
huge once again. After Haloti Ngata's 15-yard face-mask penalty gave Stanford first down at the 28, Oregon sacked T.C. Ostrander on consecutive plays to get the ball back.
Whitehead's big day didn't stop with his third 100-yard game of the season. He also had a 51-yard reception among his eight catches for 92 yards.
The Ducks' first trip to Stanford Stadium in seven years was quite a contrast from the last time the teams met in the Bay Area.
Oregon and Stanford combined for 107 points and 1,108 yards of total offense in the Cardinal's 58-49 victory on Sept. 27, 1997, Stanford's highest-scoring game in school history.
Both defenses performed well Saturday in the Cardinal's homecoming game, which drew only 33,250 on a rare rainy afternoon. The Ducks recorded what is an unconfirmed school-record 10 quarterback sacks.
Ostrander, playing in place of injured starter Trent Edwards, threw his first career touchdown pass for the Cardinal (4-3, 2-2), hitting Patrick Danahy for a 2-yard score with 13:40 left. Ostrander was 18-for-29 for 236 yards.
Alex Smith had nine catches for 110 yards for the Cardinal, who lost Edwards to a bruised left shoulder and hand in the second quarter.
Oregon has won the last three meetings and four of the last five with Stanford, routing the Cardinal 35-0 last year and sending them to their fourth straight defeat.
Stanford's overmatched offensive line struggled to protect Edwards, who was sacked three times in the first half, including on back-to-back plays in the Cardinal's second offensive series. The Ducks pounded an offensive line that was missing starting center Brian Head because of a knee injury. Freshman Mikal Brewer replaced Head, giving the Cardinal a freshman and four sophomores on the line.
Edwards left the game following a hard hit by defensive tackle Robby Valenzuela and didn't return. Ryan Eklund briefly replaced him, then Ostrander took over.
Sgroi also missed a 38-yard field goal wide right with 11:01 left in the second quarter to end his streak of 10 straight field goals after missing his first three of the year. Sgroi booted a 28-yarder 2 1/2 minutes earlier and hit a 43-yarder to tie it at 6 in the third quarter.
