Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
5 Things To Watch: Stanford
09/29/23 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks will be on the road to face the Cardinal on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
STANFORD, Calif. — The No. 9 Oregon football team goes on the road in conference play for the first time this season Saturday, when the Ducks face Stanford at 3:30 p.m.
Oregon is off to a 4-0 start, including a win last week over then-No. 19 Colorado in Autzen Stadium to open Pac-12 play. The teams each have a win over Hawai'i, but Stanford is on a three-game losing streak since that win in the Cardinal's season opener, including conference losses to USC and last week to Arizona.
Stanford leads the all-time series between the two, 50-35-1. The Cardinal are 30-15-1 when hosting the Ducks, including an overtime win the last time the two met at Stanford Stadium, in 2021.
Saturday's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, with Roxy Bernstein on play by play and analysis from Lincoln Kennedy.
Some storylines to watch come kickoff …
1. The Ducks are coming off a very emotional win over Colorado, and had to regroup this week to avoid any kind of letdown before heading to Stanford.
"Sometimes after an emotional win where there's a lot of passion and energy in it, you can have a letdown," UO coach Dan Lanning acknowledged. "We're certainly not looking to do that. We're looking to go out and perform again to our absolute best."
Adding to the challenge of matching last week's emotion is that the environment at Stanford typically isn't the same as the raucous atmosphere of Autzen Stadium. The Ducks prepared to "bring their own juice" for Saturday's game by limiting the amount of music played during practices this week.
2. Oregon fans know well the danger lurking at Stanford if the Ducks don't show up ready to play at their best. Recent history in the matchup says the Cardinal is as likely as anyone else to break Oregon's collective heart.
"It's no secret," Lanning said, "and our guys know that."
Twice in the last 10 years, the Ducks have lost at Stanford while ranked in the top 5 nationally. Two of the best seasons in Oregon's history have been 2001 and 2012, and those also featured losses to the Cardinal. Beware, Ducks.
3. Oregon's pass rush is coming off a very impactful game against Colorado, and the Ducks entered this week with 13 sacks for 133 yards of lost field position, the latter stat tied for most in the nation.
Stanford, meanwhile, has allowed 13 sacks, third-most in the Pac-12. But the Cardinal also rotate a couple of quarterbacks, Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson, who between them have three different games this season with 10-plus rushing attempts. So the Ducks may not be able to just pin their ears back and rush the passer, because these quarterbacks will be comfortable tucking and running.
"That's something that has hurt us at times this year," Lanning said. "So we're gonna get tested on that."
4. The depth of Oregon's running back room also could be tested this week.
Backup Noah Whittington will be out for a while after suffering an injury against Colorado, Lanning said. That's a loss that goes beyond statistical production for the UO offense.
"We're going to miss Noah; you don't just replace Noah with a player — especially his demeanor and his work ethic," Lanning said. "But we've got some great backs in that room that are ready to fill those shoes."
The Ducks still have Bucky Irving and Jordan James to carry the ball, and they're both in the top 10 of the Pac-12 averaging more than 7.0 yards per carry. Will a freshman like Dante Dowdell or Jayden Limar also get a look Saturday? We'll see.
5. There are 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year. So far in 2023, only 11 of them average more penalty yards per game than Oregon.
The Ducks are being flagged 8.5 times per game on average, for a loss of 75.0 yards. At some point, that's going to come back and haunt Oregon — unless the issue can get cleaned up, hopefully as soon as this week at Stanford.
Oregon is off to a 4-0 start, including a win last week over then-No. 19 Colorado in Autzen Stadium to open Pac-12 play. The teams each have a win over Hawai'i, but Stanford is on a three-game losing streak since that win in the Cardinal's season opener, including conference losses to USC and last week to Arizona.
Stanford leads the all-time series between the two, 50-35-1. The Cardinal are 30-15-1 when hosting the Ducks, including an overtime win the last time the two met at Stanford Stadium, in 2021.
Saturday's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, with Roxy Bernstein on play by play and analysis from Lincoln Kennedy.
Some storylines to watch come kickoff …
1. The Ducks are coming off a very emotional win over Colorado, and had to regroup this week to avoid any kind of letdown before heading to Stanford.
"Sometimes after an emotional win where there's a lot of passion and energy in it, you can have a letdown," UO coach Dan Lanning acknowledged. "We're certainly not looking to do that. We're looking to go out and perform again to our absolute best."
Adding to the challenge of matching last week's emotion is that the environment at Stanford typically isn't the same as the raucous atmosphere of Autzen Stadium. The Ducks prepared to "bring their own juice" for Saturday's game by limiting the amount of music played during practices this week.
2. Oregon fans know well the danger lurking at Stanford if the Ducks don't show up ready to play at their best. Recent history in the matchup says the Cardinal is as likely as anyone else to break Oregon's collective heart.
"It's no secret," Lanning said, "and our guys know that."
Twice in the last 10 years, the Ducks have lost at Stanford while ranked in the top 5 nationally. Two of the best seasons in Oregon's history have been 2001 and 2012, and those also featured losses to the Cardinal. Beware, Ducks.
3. Oregon's pass rush is coming off a very impactful game against Colorado, and the Ducks entered this week with 13 sacks for 133 yards of lost field position, the latter stat tied for most in the nation.
Stanford, meanwhile, has allowed 13 sacks, third-most in the Pac-12. But the Cardinal also rotate a couple of quarterbacks, Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson, who between them have three different games this season with 10-plus rushing attempts. So the Ducks may not be able to just pin their ears back and rush the passer, because these quarterbacks will be comfortable tucking and running.
"That's something that has hurt us at times this year," Lanning said. "So we're gonna get tested on that."
4. The depth of Oregon's running back room also could be tested this week.
Backup Noah Whittington will be out for a while after suffering an injury against Colorado, Lanning said. That's a loss that goes beyond statistical production for the UO offense.
"We're going to miss Noah; you don't just replace Noah with a player — especially his demeanor and his work ethic," Lanning said. "But we've got some great backs in that room that are ready to fill those shoes."
The Ducks still have Bucky Irving and Jordan James to carry the ball, and they're both in the top 10 of the Pac-12 averaging more than 7.0 yards per carry. Will a freshman like Dante Dowdell or Jayden Limar also get a look Saturday? We'll see.
5. There are 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year. So far in 2023, only 11 of them average more penalty yards per game than Oregon.
The Ducks are being flagged 8.5 times per game on average, for a loss of 75.0 yards. At some point, that's going to come back and haunt Oregon — unless the issue can get cleaned up, hopefully as soon as this week at Stanford.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballDan Lanning: "Work week for us."
Wednesday, October 01
Ducks vs Them | 2025 Oregon Football Game 5 | “A Thousand Cuts”
Wednesday, October 01
Dillon Thieneman | Postgame vs Penn State
Sunday, September 28
Bryce Boettcher | Postgame vs Penn State
Sunday, September 28
