Ducks Leave Cardinal In Their Wake

Saturday, September 30

Stanford, Calif.

3:30 PM

University of Oregon

5-0 , 2-0

Stanford

1-4 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon

Stanford

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

09/30/23 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS - #9 Oregon 42, Stanford 6 Postgame Notes Sign Up For Our Weekly Email Newsletter, "Flock Talk"Photo Gallery

After a slow start Saturday, No. 9 Oregon got rolling and won 42-6 to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2013.

By: Rob Moseley

STANFORD, Calif. — All season long, Dan Lanning has exhorted his Ducks to battle for a full 60 minutes, or as long as it takes. Anybody who counted out Oregon after 15 minutes Saturday at Stanford didn't know how seriously the UO football team takes that message from the head coach.

A game that was one-sided through two possessions for each team ultimately ended up one-sided in the other direction, as No. 9 Oregon overcame a slow start to beat the Cardinal at Stanford Stadium, 42-6. The Ducks trailed 6-0 early in the second quarter and had only 13 yards on six plays, but by the end of the day Oregon had over 500 yards of offense and held an opponent to 10 or fewer points for the fourth time in five games.

The Ducks are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2013, and now have a week without a game before playing at Washington on Oct. 14. Oregon will enter its bye week allowing 11.8 points per game — that would tie for 10th nationally based on scoring averages entering the day Saturday — and the Ducks have opened Pac-12 play with consecutive wins by identical scores of 42-6.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California on September 30, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

For a little while Saturday, it didn't look like such a one-sided result was in the cards. But the Ducks kept battling, made some adjustments and got it rolling.

"We started off a little slow," Lanning said. "But we kicked it into gear."

The surging UO defense held Stanford to less than three yards per play after falling behind 6-0, and the Ducks had five more sacks to give them 18 this season — matching their total from all of last year. Offensively, Bo Nix continued to burnish his Heisman Trophy credentials with another efficient effort, as the Ducks threw for 298 yards and ran for 208 in another balanced effort.

"We knew we were going to get started somehow," said receiver Troy Franklin, who caught seven passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in his homecoming to the south Bay Area. "It was just a matter of when."

For the Ducks, "when" came in the middle of the second quarter Saturday. Earlier Stanford created some tense moments for the throngs of UO fans in attendance, using a power running game reliant on the Cardinal quarterbacks to grind out two long scoring drives, and hounding Oregon's offense into consecutive three-and-outs to open the game.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California on September 30, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

But after the UO defense got its first stop of the game on Stanford's third possession of the afternoon, momentum flipped. Nix scrambled to move the chains on third down for Oregon's initial first down of the afternoon, and three plays later Jordan James raced 30 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

After that the rout was on, and those tense moments early in the game were forgotten.

"We were extremely confident," Nix said. "We just felt like we needed to get a first down and we'd be rolling. And that's what happened."

Bucky Irving also scored in the first half, highlighting a day on which he ran 13 times for 88 yards. Nix had all four of his touchdown passes in the second half — one to Terrance Ferguson, two to Franklin and the last to Traeshon Holden in the fourth quarter.

Nix finished the day 27-of-32 for 290 yards and four TDs. That was more than enough offense to support a UO defense that is making big strides, not only year over year but week over week this season.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California on September 30, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

Steve Stephens IV had eight tackles to lead Oregon defensively Saturday, and Evan Williams had seven tackles including a sack. After allowing 97 yards on 28 plays as Stanford opened the game with two field-goal drives, the Ducks allowed just 125 yards on 42 plays the rest of the way; total yardage after the first quarter was 500 for Oregon, 120 for Stanford.

"It was obviously a really strong response from us," Williams said. "They threw everything they had at us in the first couple drives. … But it definitely felt like the game slowed down after the first couple drives, and we were able to settle in."

Now, the Ducks have a week off before heading to Seattle. A year ago, the Huskies ended Oregon's eight-game win streak and College Football Playoff hopes. The rematch is looking like a meeting of top-10 teams, for the chance to take control of the Pac-12 title race.

"It's going to be an all-out battle, it's going to be an all-out brawl," Nix said. "Especially after last year, and the way both teams have started this year."