Another Stanford-Oregon classic
Oregon blew it
... and Stanford earned it.
Oregon’s fumbles and clock mismanagement were responsible for 60 percent of the outcome — a 38-31 Stanford win — while Stanford’s resilience and big plays accounted for 40 percent.
To its credit, the Cardinal staggered but did not fall, and it made all the plays it had to make (with help from a missed PI call in the end zone).
But the Ducks whiffed badly on two occasions: The botched snap that resulted in an 80-yard scoop-and-score for the Cardinal, and the final offensive series of regulation.
Being aggressive is a terrific approach for Oregon coach Mario Cristobal. But being smart is better than aggressive with the game on the line.
Stanford had one timeout. If the Ducks simply take a knee three times — or even better: after the first down run of seven yards — they would have punted with 12-15 seconds left.
Sure, there’s the risk of a bad snap. But because there would have been so little time left and because Stanford would have been without timeouts, the take-a-knee-and-punt course is a far better option than handing the ball to a freshman against a veteran, opportunistic defense.
It’s the second consecutive visit to the Oregon Trail in which a late fumble by the opposition led to a Stanford win.
(Remember Oregon State’s gaffe on a Thursday night last October?)
Whatever happened in Autzen
... however it happened ... the result was another classic in this rivalry.
How we’d rank ‘em (this decade):
1. STANFORD 17, OREGON 14 (OT) IN 2012 >> A threetouchdown underdog, Stanford smothers the No. 1 Ducks in Autzen, a loss that eventually keeps Oregon out of the BCS title game.
2. OREGON 38, STANFORD 36 IN 2015 >> Late Stanford fumbles contribute to the Ducks’ victory, which likely keeps Stanford out of the College Football Playoff. (It was the Cardinal’s second and last loss of the season.)
3. STANFORD 38, OREGON 31 (OT) IN 2018 >> Has the potential to climb the list, depending on the eventual postseason implications.
4. STANFORD 26, OREGON 20 IN 2013 >> Tyler Gaffney and the Cardinal hold off a late Marcus Mario-taled rally to slay the undefeated Ducks, who would lose their second game a few weeks later.
5. OREGON 53, STANFORD 30 IN 2011 >> The sixth-ranked Ducks have too much speed for Andrew Luck and the undefeated, thirdranked Cardinal.
In other news: Impressive efforts in defeats by Arizona State and Washington State.
The Sun Devils and Cougars faced more-talented opponents under difficult circumstances, and were in both games to the end:
ASU was playing its second-consecutive road game, while WSU was the visitor on a short week.
Both played well — so well, in fact, that they look poised to muck up the division races, in a chaos-is-good fashion.
The Hotline was particularly impressed with ASU’s offensive line, which held up well against Washington’s daunting front seven.
In their 27-20 loss to No. 11 Washington, the Sun Devils rushed for more yards (164) than did either Auburn or Utah. And they did it, in large part, by going straight at UW: Eno Benjamin between the tackles, rather than on the perimeter.
I can think of two or three upcoming UW opponents that will find ASU’s tact very interesting.
• Arizona went back in time to reset its future.
Yes, the Wildcats’ defense showed up, holding the Beavers to 14 points and 238 yards.
But the story from Corvallis was an offense that looked, on the surface, a lot like the between-the-tackles zone attack we saw from the Wildcats under Rich Rodriguez.
The difference Saturday was how the Wildcats used Khalil Tate. He rushed just four times, threw only 17 passes and spent the game handing the ball off to JJ Taylor, who rushed for 284 yards, and Gary Brightwell, who rushed for 113.
The Wildcats are 2-2 with plenty of winnable games left. We’re not ready to cross them off the list of South contenders.
We’re not ready to cross anybody off that list, except UCLA.