Unbeaten Stanford ready for Oregon showdown
It’s mid-September, and Stanford is headed for a showdown that could have a big say in determining the Pac-12 North champion.
No. 7 Stanford treks to Eugene to face No. 20 Oregon on Saturday. It’s the Cardinal’s second Pac-12 game and first in the North, a week after a break from heavyweights in a 30-10 win over FCS team UC Davis.
Stanford (3-0) was inconsistent offensively last week, despite JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s two receiving touchdowns, but the defense held the Aggies to 50 rushing yards.
“It wasn’t perfect, but we played well,” Cardinal head coach David Shaw said. “I told the team we’re not going to act like we lost because we didn’t win by as much as we wanted to. We’re going to act like we won.”
Certainly, Stanford’s offense was hamstrung without senior tailback Bryce Love, who missed the game with a knee injury. Shaw said on Tuesday that Love is ready to go for Oregon, which is 3-0 but against lesser competition in Bowling Green, Portland State and San Jose State.
“Bryce is great,” Shaw said. “He’s ready to go and fired up for this weekend.”
Regardless, the Ducks have outscored their opponents by an average of 32 points and are scoring 52 points per game.
Stanford will need an improved performance from quarterback K.J. Costello, who was 17 of 30 with 214 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, against the Aggies.
“I never worry about him,” Shaw said of Costello, who began 2017 as third string before surpassing Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns. “He’s unshakable. He missed a couple throws, made a couple bad decisions. He comes back, still bouncing on his toes, and says, ‘OK, coach, what do you want to call next?'”
The Ducks have a balanced rushing attack to counter the dynamic Love and the Cardinal.
C.J. Verdell (211 rushing yards, one touchdown), Tony Brooks-James (177, two TDs) and Travis Dye (122, one TD) have all been productive. The key veteran is quarterback Justin Herbert, who’s been prolific in firing TD passes — but not without mistakes. Herbert is completing 57 percent of his passes for 840 yards, with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
On defense, Oregon relies on Jalen Jenks, Justin Hollins and Gus Cumberlander (combined 7.5 sacks) to get after the quarterback.
“We’ve got to be more efficient (offensively)”, Costello said after the UC Davis game. “We had too many penalties.”
The Ducks are ready for a much more threatening offense than the Cardinal showed against the Aggies.
“Coach Shaw does a great job with calling the offense and implementing schematics that involve heavy physicality. They really stress it,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. “They get downhill in it. But they are athletic and they get the ball outside as well.”
