Ducks Charge Into Stretch Run That Begins With Stanford
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
A week after two of the best offenses in the country faced off, and the Oregon football team bested California 59-41 on the road, Marcus Mariota and the UO offense truly will go head-to-head with an opponent’s strength.
Two of the best units in the country will be matched up this week when the Ducks have the ball against Stanford, which visits Autzen Stadium on Saturday (4:30 p.m. PT, FOX). The UO offense is among the best in the nation by most metrics, as is the Cardinal’s defense.
Coming off its most prolific performance of Pac-12 play this season, with 59 points and 590 yards against Cal, Oregon (7-1) is fifth in the nation in points per game (45.5), third in yards of offense per snap (7.45) and second in plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer (57). Stanford, which beat Oregon State on Saturday to improve to 5-3, has allowed the fewest yards per play (3.72) and plays of 20 yards or longer (16) in the nation this year, and is second in points allowed (12.5).
“They’re really, really good on defense,” said UO coach Mark Helfrich, whose preparations for the game had focused on that side of the ball at the time of his press conference with reporters Sunday evening. “A ton of depth, a ton of guys playing at a high level. … Their personnel, unfortunately, hasn’t missed a beat.”
The Cardinal have won the last two Pac-12 titles, beating Oregon in both cases to win a tiebreaker in the Pac-12 North division. The Ducks, who moved to No. 5 in the AP poll of media Sunday and No. 6 in the coaches’ poll, enter Saturday at 4-1 in the Pac-12, a game up on the Cardinal for first place in the North as November opens.
Stanford is thriving on defense yet again despite the loss of the likes of linebackers Trent Murphy and Shayne Skov from the 2013 team. Junior linebacker Blake Martinez has stepped into a starting role in their absence and leads the Cardinal with 60 tackles, and A.J. Tarpley has 53.
The Cardinal offense, meanwhile, unleashed a wide-open attack to beat the Beavers on Saturday, employing such elements as a hurry-up tempo that flew in the face of their reputation as a powerful, methodical rushing team.
That said, the Ducks still will be prepared for Stanford’s power attack. Against California this past week and also against Washington State, Oregon’s defense got a preview of the “ogre” packages Stanford will sometimes employ featuring seven or more offensive linemen. “We’ve seen more than five from a bunch of people, and I’m sure we’ll see it this weekend,” Helfrich said.
Oregon, meanwhile, used its own heavy package on defense against Cal at times, using four down linemen with four linebackers and three defensive backs. That was despite the absence last week of starting defensive end Arik Armstead, with depth players such as Sam Kamp, Tui Talia, T.J. Daniel and Danny Mattingly stepping up to aid the rotation.
“The depth has been tested, that’s for sure,” Helfrich said. “Some of those guys are playing a little bit more; they’re playing a little bit better, (though) still not where we want to be.”
While the losses suffered by Oregon and Stanford this season have lowered the intensity of the national spotlight that was on this game over the summer, it still figures to be accompanied by a couple of pregame storylines – the Ducks’ chance to avenge their losses the last two years, and beat a team with a reputation for playing a particularly physical brand of football.
UO players and coaches will do their best this week to block out those narratives, though they know the questions will be posed. “Our guys have to be wholly focused on having great preparation for who’s next,” Helfrich said. “I’m certain the competitors among them, which are all of them, aren’t excited to talk about those things or to have been in those situations. But Stanford is a great program.”
Oregon’s players of the game against California as selected by coaches were Dwayne Stanford on offense, DeForest Buckner and Troy Hill on defense, and Charles Nelson and the punt return unit on special teams.
Stanford caught two touchdown passes, Hill broke up four balls as California looked to avoid throwing at fellow cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu most of the night, and Nelson had a punt return touchdown, a tackle on kickoff coverage and a forced fumble on punt coverage.
“That was just a rare football performance on Friday night,” Helfrich said of Nelson. “He basically played fullback, tailback and receiver on offense in essence, goes down and forces the fumble on a punt, has a couple other tackles, and then the punt return for a touchdown, which was phenomenal.”
Oregon’s scout-team players of the week leading up to the Cal game were receiver Austin Daich on offense, lineman Jonathan Kenion on defense and safety Juwaan Williams on special teams, in particular the kickoff coverage unit.
Individually among national statistical leaders, Mariota is first in quarterback rating (192.18) and 10th in total offense (326.0); Royce Freeman is sixth in rushing touchdowns (13) and 39th in rushing average (93.5); Hill is eighth in passes defended (12) and Erick Dargan is ninth in interceptions (four); and Matt Wogan is second in kickoff average (64.75).
Nelson doesn’t have enough punt returns to qualify for the national leaderboard, but his average of 17.14 yards would be sixth if so. He’s one of five players in the country with multiple punt return touchdowns, a quintet that also includes Ty Montgomery of Stanford.
