Once A Clash Of Styles, Power Meets Power Saturday

For years, games between Oregon and Stanford were a classic contrast in styles.

Chip Kelly and the Ducks wanted to "spread 'em and shred 'em" out of the read-option. David Shaw and Stanford countered with "intellectual brutality," stacking the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Kelly and Shaw arrived in the Pac-12 in 2007, each as offensive coordinator at the school where he'd eventually become head coach. In the 11 games since, Oregon has six wins and five losses, including three games in which both teams were in the top 10 – wins for the Ducks in 2010 and 2011, and one for the Cardinal in 2013.

As the two teams prepare to meet this week, however, it's a different story. Under new coach Mario Cristobal, the Ducks intend to meet power with power in Autzen Stadium on Saturday (5 p.m., ABC).

"It's been no secret that, since day one all the way back in January, from the offseason program to our approach to practice – heck, everything we do from a mentality standpoint – it's preaching and doing it and working physicality, toughness, effort," Cristobal said Monday during his press conference on Oregon's weekly off day from practice. "Playing smart football, and making sure you control the line of scrimmage."

Offensively, No. 20 Oregon (3-0) is looking to bounce back from a win over San Jose State in which the Ducks averaged just 2.7 rushing yards per game. Play on the offensive line "got away from our standard," junior center Jake Hanson said after the game.

But the Spartans fielded a tough defensive line that threw some schematic twists at the Ducks. And, Cristobal offered Monday, the UO running game is going through an adjustment as coaches look to minimize exposure to hits for junior quarterback Justin Herbert.

Defensively, the Ducks have been consistently dominant, though the level of competition is about the skyrocket. Oregon leads the Pac-12 and is ninth nationally in rush defense, allowing 77.0 yards per game; the 1.98 yards per carry allowed by the Ducks is No. 5 in the FBS.

Jalen Jelks and Justin Hollins have been keys to that production on the ends of the line, combining for 9.5 tackles for loss with 5.5 sacks through three games. On Monday, Cristobal made sure to note how much a key nose guard Jordon Scott is for his teammates.

"You have a guy like Jordon in the middle, who is unheralded because the stat line is not going to light his name up every Saturday," Cristobal said. "What you see is a guy that's done a great job controlling the center and the A gaps (between the center and each guard), forcing things to bounce (outside to Jelks and Hollins). So they complement each other really well."

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That UO defensive front faces something of an unknown this week. The Cardinal feature 2017 Heisman Trophy finalist Bryce Love at running back, but he missed Saturday's win over UC Davis after suffering an injury the week before. In three games combined, Stanford is rushing for just 115.3 yards per game, ninth in the Pac-12 and 112^th in the FBS. The Cardinal's 3.84 yards per carry is more than a full yards off its average from 2007-17.

Still, Stanford's recent history commands respect, particularly from a guy in Cristobal who considers himself an offensive line coach "to the day I die," even while serving as UO head coach.

"Part of the challenge of defending a guy like Bryce Love is the quality of the offensive line play they have," Cristobal said. "They're very big and physical; they complement that with extraordinary large and long tight end body types that are very physical as well.

"And what can't be overlooked that also makes it hard to defend him is the fact that they've got great outside skill. If you try to bottle up the run game solely, you're gonna have some issues outside."

Indeed, in the Cardinal's season-opening win over San Diego State, receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside caught three touchdown passes. He's now up to five on the season, leading the Pac-12 and one more than Oregon's Johnny Johnson III. Arcega-Whiteside had two of Stanford's four touchdown receptions against the Ducks last season, in which the Cardinal's size at receiver proved a tough challenge.

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One of the more compelling elements of this week's matchup is what Cristobal termed "a lot of carryover from what we see from our defense" in Stanford's defense. Hopefully that will help Oregon have more success than the Cardinal's three opponents so far in 2018; Stanford is allowing just 7.7 points per game, fewest in the country.

Because of the similarities, Cristobal said, the Ducks will take care to hold more "good on good" periods in practices Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the UO offense a chance to face Scott, Jelks, Hollins and all that talent on the UO defense, as a way to scout the Cardinal.

ESPN's College GameDay pregame show will originate from Eugene this weekend, the 10^th time it will be produced here and 23^rd time overall for an Oregon game.

The Ducks are 7-2 at home with College GameDay on site, most recently a win over Michigan State in 2014. The program was in Eugene for the 2010 and 2012 Oregon-Stanford games, which the teams split.

"You acknowledge it as one of the reasons you come to Oregon, to be on the biggest stage in the national spotlight," Cristobal said. "But at the same time always know that, it's still about playing the game. All the outside elements don't have anything to do with the result of the game."

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The matchup is timed well on the University of Oregon's academic calendar – classes begin next week, bringing students to campus just in time for this weekend's game.

"It's exciting," Cristobal said. "Autzen is unmatched as it is; throw in the extra ingredient of GameDay and ABC and everything that goes with it, and we expect and we want and we need Autzen to be Autzen at its finest. And we expect that to happen. It's gonna happen."

When the Ducks and Cardinal met a year ago, it was in the midst of Herbert's monthlong absence due to injury.

Two years ago, Herbert completed 21-of-30 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford, with two interceptions. Needless to say, the Ducks are happy to have him available this week.

"We all know he's a difference maker," Cristobal said. "Certainly it does help."

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The backup to Herbert, for at least another week, is true freshman Tyler Shough. Sophomore Braxton Burmeister, who started and was 3-of-8 for 23 yards with two interception at Stanford last fall, recently underwent a minor knee surgery and it out for a couple weeks.

Shough has made two appearances so far this fall, without throwing a pass.

"He's a great football player; he takes a ton of pride in what he does," Cristobal said. "He's more than ready to run our offense. To the level of Justin? I wouldn't say that. To a winning level? I would confidently say that."

The Ducks returned to practice with a light workout Sunday, and both Dallas Warmack and Penei Sewell were full participants, Cristobal said.

Both offensive linemen had to be helped off the field by athletic trainers during the course of Saturday's win over San Jose State due to ankle issues. But neither will linger into this week, it appears.

The biggest injury concern from Saturday's game would seem to be receiver Brenden Schooler, who left after a big collision and didn't return. The Ducks were still awaiting further evaluation before make a final assessment of Schooler's availability for the Stanford game.

Cristobal said placekicker Adam Stack, who has yet to appear in a game this season, was able to kick Sunday. And safety Mattrell McGraw (lower leg) is expected back this week as well.