Big statement game leaves loud stadium stunned and silent
EUGENE, Ore. — At the end, the most stunning thing was the silence. The loudest, craziest stadium in the West was hushed, its occupants mute witnesses to kicker Jordan Williamson’s sprint of redemption across the field and the Stanford defenders’ final roar of defiance.
As the Cardinals shouted “House!” in their tiny locker room, loud enough to make the concrete walls shake, the Ducks fans who had been making plans for the national championship game a few hours earlier shuffled quietly into the cold night.
Stanford derailed No. 1 Oregon’s bid for a national championship, winning 17-14 in overtime. The subplots within the upset were many — young quarterback Kevin Hogan did in his second start what Andrew Luck couldn’t do: win at Autzen Stadium. Kicker Williamson made a game-winning field goal, redeeming himself for
his misses that cost the Cardinal the Fiesta Bowl last January. Running back Stepfan Taylor came back after a devastating fumble to pound the ball against the Ducks’ defense in the fourth quarter.
But what this story really was about was a ferocious defense that never blinked against the nation’s top-ranked and most feared offense.
All week, the Stanford coaches talked about resolve. That was their word, their message, their touchstone. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t get distracted.
“We talked about resolve throughout the whole week, in pregame meetings,” said sophomore linebacker A.J. Tarpley. “What does that mean?”
Resolve meant not letting Oregon’s offense dictate the game. Not getting down if there’s a big play or two.
“We let a few plays leak out,” Tarpley said. “We could have easily quit and let the crowd get to us and let them get to us with the big play. We knew they were going to throw some haymakers.
“But if you put your head down, that’s when they really excel. We knew we wanted them in a close game because they haven’t been in one.”
Stanford kept Oregon close. They showed resolve, from the first quarter until overtime. After the Cardinal’s second possession, Stanford punted. On the Ducks’ next play, quarterback Marcus Mariota took off for 77 yards, finally brought down out of bounds by safety Devon Carrington.
“That was the play of the day,” said coach David Shaw.
When Shaw saw Mariota take off, he urged his team to “get him! And our guys got him down.”
And Oregon’s drive petered out after an unsuccessful fourth down attempt.
The Ducks, who treat fourth down as just another play and had made 14-of-19 fourth down conversions coming into the game, went for it twice on fourth down Saturday night and failed both times. Oregon Coach Chip Kelly looked baffled by that development.
Over and over again, the Cardinal nullified the Ducks’ offensive speed, ending their drives prematurely. Oregon, which had just 36 punts in its previous 10 games, punted eight times.
Shaw felt confident in his defense, punting the ball back to the Oregon offense six times. He knew his defense was fast, was deep. And the Stanford defense contained the Ducks, bending but rarely breaking.
“We didn’t want to see them go for touchdowns,” Shaw said. “This Oregon team is so fast and athletic! But we are faster on the back end. We have speed.”
Stanford was having none of the Oregon offensive pyrotechnics.
“We’ve been the same on defense all year long,” Shaw said. “We stand mad rushes and then bounce back. There’s no quit.”
Whenever the game seemed to be taking a decidedly Oregon turn — when it looked like things could start to unravel for the Cardinal — Stanford dug deep and held fast. Shaw opted to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter, but the Cardinal failed to convert: Oregon took advantage and scored a touchdown three plays later. But that was the Ducks’ only score of the first half, the seven points their lowest total of the season.
In the third quarter, Oregon put together a 15-play, 95-yard scoring drive to take the lead, 14-7. The Ducks, starting on their 5, marched downfield, undeterred by a near interception and a damaging personal foul. That was when it looked like the wheels might come off. Hogan fumbled on Stanford’s next possession. At the end of the third, Taylor fumbled the ball away. Williamson missed a field goal attempt to start the fourth.
But after every miscue, the defense responded, stopping Oregon again and again. And when it came to overtime, the defense was pumped. Linebacker Shayne Skov rallied the team around him. Mariota was hounded into running out of bounds.
“We’re an emotional team,” Tarpley said. “To be in another one of these games at this stadium is big. We were hyped, but we wanted to make sure not to get emotionally hijacked.”
Instead, they hijacked the Oregon party. And the Cardinal, making plenty of noise, left Eugene in stunned silence.