No. 5 Ducks Run Over Stanford, 45-16

Saturday, November 1

Eugene, Ore.

4:30 PM

University of Oregon

8-1 , 5-1

Stanford

5-4 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stanford

Oregon Ducks

Photo by: GoDucks.com

11/02/14 | Football

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com

EUGENE, Ore. — Fifth-ranked Oregon won its fourth straight and rebounded from two losses to Stanford by beating the Cardinal 45-16 before 58,794 in Autzen Stadium on Saturday evening.

How It Happened: After failing to score until the fourth quarter in a loss at Stanford in 2013, the Ducks scored on their first four possessions Saturday — and the first three were touchdowns. Oregon by that point had become just the second team this season to score as many as 20 points on the Cardinal defense, which had been allowing 12.5 points per game, second-fewest in the country. The Cardinal's first touchdown got it within 24-13 at halftime, and Stanford received the second-half kickoff. But after driving his team past midfield, Kevin Hogan provided the game's first turnover, an interception by Erick Dargan at the UO 1-yard line. Marcus Mariota answered with an interception of his own, however, and Stanford drove to a field goal. The Ducks quickly responded with another touchdown, however, the second of the game for Thomas Tyner on a beautiful spin move, taking a 31-16 lead into the fourth quarter and ending Stanford's 31-game streak holding opponents under 30 points. Mariota added a rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter to break the game open, 38-16, and later threw a TD pass to Darren Carrington.

Who Stood Out: On a night when Mariota wasn't particularly sharp, completing 19-of-30 passes for 258 yards, the Ducks pounded away in the running game. Oregon rushed 46 times for 267 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry after averaging 2.6 against Stanford a year earlier. Royce Freeman nearly had his fourth straight 100-yard effort, finishing with 98 yards, and Tyner added 63 yards with two touchdowns. Defensively, Dargan added a forced fumble to set up Mariota's rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Dargan also led the Ducks with 12 tackles.

What It Means: Oregon (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) took a two-game lead over Stanford (5-4, 3-3) in the race for the Pac-12 North title, with three games remaining for each. The Ducks also remained in the thick of the race for the College Football Playoff field, on a night when No. 3 Auburn beat No. 4 Mississippi in the SEC.

Odds and Ends: Tyner, Arik Armstead and Matt Wogan all returned to the lineup after not traveling to California the week before. Armstead had two tackles in the first half, and Wogan handled kickoffs. … Keanon Lowe returned to the starting lineup after a two-game absence and had two catches for 31 yards. … Aidan Schneider's 40-yard field goal in the first half was Oregon's longest in either of the past two seasons. … The sellout was the 102nd in a row at Autzen Stadium.

Up Next: The Ducks head back out on the road to play at Utah next Saturday (7 p.m. PT, ESPN). The Utes entered this weekend a half-game out of first place in the Pac-12 South at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play, ranked No. 17 in the initial College Football Playoff selection committee poll entering a game late in the evening at Arizona State.