Stanford Ousted at Oregon

EUGENE, Ore. -- Stanford hung around with the Ducks for more than three quarters but could not make it three straight against Oregon as Stanford lost 45-16 Saturday night in Eugene.

The loss drops the Cardinal to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Pac-12 play, while the Ducks improve to 8-1 and 5-1 in the Pac-12 North. As a result, the Cardinal no longer controls its own destiny in its quest for a third consecutive Pac-12 championship.

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan looked as good as he has all season throwing the ball, finishing the evening 21-29 for 237 yards and an interception, but his fumble early in the fourth quarter led to an Oregon touchdown that ultimately put the game out of reach.

Stanford had fought back from 18 points down to cut the lead to 24-16 late in the third quarter, but successive touchdown runs from Oregon running back Thomas Tyner and quarterback Marcus Mariota quickly widened the gap. Mariota was spectacular in his first-ever victory against the Cardinal, accounting for four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) and 343 yards (258 passing, 85 rushing).

Oregon outgained the Cardinal 525-428 in total offense and 267-132 on the ground. The 45 points allowed by the Cardinal snapped the nation’s longest streak of 31 consecutive games of holding opponents to fewer than 30 points.

Oregon reached the end zone on its first three drives of the game, marking the first time this season the Stanford defense had given up touchdowns on consecutive possessions. The Cardinal had a chance to get off the field on the opening series, but Mariota was able to scramble for 21 yards on fourth-and-5 to get the Ducks in the red zone. Five plays later, Mariota found Charles Nelson for a 6-yard paydirt connection to put the Ducks up 7-0 with 10:52 left in the first quarter.

Oregon’s two other first-half touchdowns came on a Mariota 22-yard keeper and Thomas Tyner 1-yard rush. The Ducks had success on the ground all evening long, rushing for 5.8 yards per carry as a team. Freshman sensation Royce Freeman led the ground attack with 98 yards on 19 carries.

Meanwhile, Stanford’s offense had success moving the football but was having trouble finishing drives when getting in plus territory. Hogan hit on numerous downfield throws to Devon Cajuste and Austin Hooper to approach midfield and move into field-goal range but had to settle for three points with Stanford starting the game 1-for-4 on third-down conversions. Kicker Jordan Williamson was up to the task, drilling a season-long 47-yarder to cut the lead to 7-3 and another one from 43 to get within 14-6 late in the first quarter.

After another Oregon score, Stanford opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 on the Duck 24-yard line, but Hogan’s pass was tipped by linebacker Derrick Malone to stall the drive. Stanford scored just one touchdown on the evening despite snapping the football inside the Duck 35-yard line on seven different possessions.

The offense reached the end zone right after the defense kept Oregon out of it for the first time of the evening. After Oregon’s offense stalled in the red zone and an offensive pass interference penalty pushed Aidan Schneider’s successful field-goal attempt out to 40 yards, the Cardinal traversed 75 yards down the field on a time-consuming drive that went 5:31 over the course of 12 plays. Fullback Patrick Skov put the finishing touch on the series with a forceful 1-yard plow into paydirt behind an offensive line that got great push off the snap, cutting Oregon’s lead to 24-13 at halftime.

Stanford made the game even more interesting in the second half with a 25-yard Williamson field goal to cap off a 10-play, 52-yard drive that started after cornerback Alex Carter picked off Mariota near midfield. Williamson’s third field goal of the game cut the deficit to 24-16 with 2:30 to go in the third and tied him for third all-time at Stanford with John Hopkins with 59 career field goals. That was as close as the Cardinal got, however, as Oregon went 75 yards on seven plays on its ensuing drive to push the lead back up to two scores after Thomas Tyner danced 21 yards into the end zone to make it 31-16 late in the third quarter.

Hogan had an impressive scramble approaching midfield on Stanford’s next possession early in the fourth quarter, but safety Erick Dargan stripped Hogan as he was going down and outside linebacker Tony Washington took it back to the Stanford 30-yard line to set up a short field and an eventual Mariota 7-yard keeper to make it 38-16. Oregon tacked on its final score in the fourth quarter when Mariota linked up with Darren Carrington on a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Stanford got a good game out of Cajuste, who became the first player this year to have a 100-yard receiving game for Stanford with 116 yards on five grabs. In addition to a solid game through the air, Hogan led Stanford with 42 rushing yards on 11 carries.

On defense both Blake Martinez (14) and Jordan Richards (13) logged career highs in tackles. Martinez added a sack to his night.