FREAKIN' STANFORD REDUX: Stanford bland and boring assault too much to overcome

FREAKIN' STANFORD REDUX: Stanford bland and boring assault too much to overcome

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on November 9th, 2013

It is often said, “those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it,” yet sometimes even those keenly aware of the past must still struggle through a sick replay of painful memories. The 26-20 Stanford victory over Oregon before a national audience Thursday night played out eerily similarly to a game played four years earlier to the day, with predictable outcomes.

It wasn’t flashy, but Stanford ran all over Oregon. (AP/Ralph D. Russo)

Freakin’ Stanford…

In 2009 it was a confident Oregon team with grandiose plans that came to Palo Alto, and were humbled through a slow plodding methodical attack like a thousand paper cuts. Then it was Toby Gerhart, setting a Stanford school record with 38 carries for 223 yards and 3 TDs, grinding out gains at 3-4 yards a carry, with a young Andrew Luck making timely passes to move the chains. That day Oregon simply couldn’t get Stanford off the field, and a late 4th quarter rally fell just short in a 52-41 loss.

It was supposed to be different, the recent series being traded back and forth with benefit to the road team, it was supposed to be Oregon’s turn. Some Oregon fans with grand visions sported “We Want Bama” shirts along the eucalyptus grove weaving through tailgate parties in an abhorrent display of look-ahead syndrome, already booking plans for a January trip to Pasadena, and buying trophy polish for that BCS national championship and Heisman trophy that were deserved, right? After all, this was OUR year…wasn’t it?

For those who follow trends and stats, this was a game of contradiction and counterpoint. Oregon hadn’t lost an official road game (18 in a row) since 2009…at Stanford. Stanford carried an 11-game home winning streak, their last loss in 2011…to Oregon.

Bralon Addison can’t reel in a 4th down pass in the endzone. (AP/Jeff Chiu)

The two programs are identical opposites. In 2009 when USC’s Pac-10 crown was relinquished, it was Oregon and Stanford in back-to-back weeks humbling the mighty Trojans, ending their glory days and Pete Carroll’s reign. In the time since it has been Oregon and Stanford fighting back and forth for conference supremacy, each showing their dominance over all others while parity is the key word in this game of thrones. Stanford the big bruiser, Oregon the beautiful mind, when these two meet up sparks will fly.

1954, 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2009, 2012…and now 2013, all years when Stanford played the role of nemesis, destroying Oregon’s dreams. 1995 Oregon was in line to go back-to-back for the Rose Bowl until Stanford. 2001 was supposed to be Oregon’s year too, until Stanford ended that run. 2012 it was the Cardinal once again preventing Oregon from reaching the highest plateau. Let’s face it, if Oregon is Batman with all the coolest toys, then Stanford is Bane.

Fast forward four years to Thursday night, and it was more methodical, more frustrating, more of the same. Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney broke Gerhart’s record set four years prior by rushing 45 times, while quarterback Kevin Hogan completed only seven passes on the night, but each at timely points that kept the chains moving in the ultimate cruel game of keep-away.

By the 2nd quarter, it appeared as though Stanford was already trying to bleed the clock, grinding out first downs in an impressive display of composed molasses-slow blandness. There was nothing flashy or fun about Stanford’s attack, but if there is a check to counter everything, history has now proven that there is no greater kryptonite to the glitz and glamor that is Oregon and the spread option than the Stanford mold.

John Elway’s #7 was retired at halftime. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

With Stanford legend John Elway on hand for a halftime ceremony where his #7 was retired, “time to kick some ass in the second half” was his message to the crowd, but with the game already 17-0 and Oregon’s defense proving incapable of stopping Stanford from getting first downs, the damage had largely already been done.

Despite a torrid 4th quarter comeback, Oregon blocking a field goal and recovering an onside kick on their way to a 20-point quarter, just like in 2009 it was a little too late. Just as it had repeatedly on multiple fumbles throughout the game, the prolate spheroid’s unpredictable bounce once again fell Stanford’s way on an onside kick with two minutes remaining, and Stanford ran out the clock.

It was an impressive showing, one of composure and basic X’s and O’s football. Nothing fancy–run, tackle, control the clock, move the chains. These are the fundamentals that football coaches have emphasized as the keys to winning since the game’s inception, and Stanford did it to near perfection, dominating the line of scrimmage throughout.

Under Chip Kelly for four years and now under Mark Helfrich, Oregon has routinely boasted that time of possession is the most overrated statistic imaginable. While Oregon has been dead last in that figure for years, they have consistently been at or near the top in total scoring. This game showed that it does in fact play a role, Stanford’s ability to keep Marcus Mariota & co. on the sidelines the clear difference maker in the contest. For once, all that sarcastic time of possession talk proved folly, as Stanford showed that to reach the top a team must first master T.O.P.

Yet Oregon had more than its fair share of opportunities. Twice in the first half Oregon drove to the two-yard line, both times coming away with no points. An interception at the goal line was called back on a penalty, and Stanford scored shortly thereafter. Again in the second half Oregon was driving for a potential score, until a fumble ended it. Penalties, fumbles, missed tackles, errant throws, poor reads, missed blocks…it was a textbook performance of everything not to do in a game for 3 ½ quarters, yet Oregon still made it come down to the final minute, despite a whopping 42 to 18 time of possession advantage for the Cardinal.

Then of course there is the matter of the 4th and goal play selection of a low percentage fade pass, a play that earlier in the season under near identical circumstances didn’t work then, didn’t work against Stanford, and won’t work next time offensive coordinator Scott Frost decides to dial it up.

Marcus Mariota looks great against every team except Stanford. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

For the second year in a row, Marcus Mariota looked human vs. Stanford, a microcosm for the entire team’s performance. No team is flawless regardless of how unrealistically high fan expectations may reach (and certainly did in 2013…”We Want Bama” shirts, seriously?). Every team has an off-day. Stanford already experienced theirs in 2013, falling to Utah earlier in the year. Thursday, it was Oregon’s turn.

Mariota’s troubles though specifically against Stanford though are, well, troubling. Against every other team Super Mariota is the epitome of calm, cool, collected, and nearly perfect from a collegiate quarterback perspective. For two years in a row vs. Stanford, Mariota has looked skittish, rattled, hesitant, and choosing to drop down rather than hit open receivers downfield.

These games have become a familiar sight for Oregon. Once a year for whatever the cause, the Ducks fall flat. Receivers are overlooked or overthrown, opportunities are not capitalized, and as fans squirm the inevitable shortfall comes around. It happened against Boise State in 2009, Auburn in 2010, LSU and USC in 2011, and for the last two years Stanford has been the backdrop for Oregon’s self-inflicted woes.

What this game specifically taught us is that when Oregon speed meets Stanford size, size wins. Oregon’s philosophy of recruiting tall, lanky defensive linemen resulted in a line getting pushed backwards every play just enough to slowly churn out enough yards to move the chains. In order to get over the proverbial hump a change in approach is needed. Oregon got pushed around in the trenches on both sides all game, therefore more size is needed. Not the height approach Oregon has utilized, the Ducks need some bulk, time to get big.

This can’t be blamed on a kicker, on a missed block, or a clearly-down wrist not being ruled correctly (even on replay)…this was a team effort, both in Stanford playing to their strengths, and in Oregon ignoring theirs. It was history repeating itself, whether Luck or Hogan, Gerhart or Gaffney, the outcome remains the same.

DeAnthony Thomas and the Oregon run game was completely shut down by Stanford’s defense. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The national championship so highly coveted is not out of reach, but not attainable without help. Oregon has three games remaining, and much can still occur within that time frame. For those that touted “national championship or bust,” ask for the world beyond what can reasonably be expected from amateur athletes, and inevitably end up disappointed. If this is the measuring stick for a successful season, then every year 124 teams walk away disappointed.

It is after all a game. One filled with an incredible amount of dedication, passion, hard work, money, and emotion for it, but just a game. It is a cruel, brutal, painful, heartbreaking, tragic, frustrating, agonizing, beautiful, amazing, uplifting, magnificent game–one that can sway even the most passive of individuals to fits of rage or joy in an instant. Amidst it all, it still remains a game, one where one teams wins and the other loses. Please keep that in mind, because after one loss, Oregon still has plenty to play for. Congratulations to Stanford, celebrate the win and prepare for the next. For Oregon, take account of all that has been accomplished to date, and finish strong focusing on what can be controlled.

Perhaps in the long run it is a good thing to occasionally be brought back to earth with a devastating loss, a necessary evil to be knocked back a peg, to be reminded of how a team must be both incredibly good and lucky to end up the supreme champion. Every now and then the king must be toppled. That was USC, then Oregon, now it is Stanford’s turn to sit atop, but for how long?

Oregon has come close several times now, yet remains a work in progress, and that should be perfectly acceptable. Put away the embarrassingly arrogant and ignorant “We Want Bama” chants/shirts, stop nitpicking over every single incomplete pass, and enjoy the ride. It is after all a game, one that is pretty fun if you stop shooting for the moon, and simply take note of the immediate surroundings.

FREAKIN' STANFORD: Why…Why Must it always be freakin’ Stanford?

FREAKIN' STANFORD: Why…Why Must it always be freakin’ Stanford?

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on November 1st, 2013

    With next Thursday night’s big football matchup between Oregon and Stanford, a game that has been highly anticipated for a solid year now, it is difficult not to dwell on the past and ponder…why is it always freakin’ Stanford?

    Long before Stanford was considered one of the top football powerhouses in the country, before the days of Harbaugh and Luck and Shaw, the Cardinal continued to be the thorn in the Duck’s webfoot, the fly in the ointment, the pain in the…part of a duck that is considered to be water tight. Damn you, freakin’ Stanford…

    Even when the Stanford Cardinal have been at their lowest point, even when Duck fans outnumbered Cardinal fans in their own stadium, even when Oregon manages to come out with the W, somehow it’s always freakin’ Stanford that makes life miserable for Oregon.

    It is difficult not to be worried about the pending matchup, even as Stanford has looked less than stellar on the year considering their lofty incoming expectations coming off a Pac-12 Championship year in 2012, losing earlier this year to Utah and having difficulty getting past UCLA and Oregon State.

    Yet no team on the schedules seems to bring out the stomach butterflies for Oregon fans more than the team named after a color (they were the Stanford Indians until it was decided to switch to a more P.C. name of simply “cardinal”), and there is historic precedent to completely validate those concerns over next Thursday night’s primetime battle in Palo Alto, CA.

    There is no team in the Pac that has done a better job of playing spoiler for Oregon’s plans over the years than Stanford. Washington and Oregon State may get the blood boiling more than any other team, but a glimpse through the past reveals that perhaps it should be Stanford that draws our ire.

    When expectations are raised, Stanford plays the role of the roadblock providing the biggest challenger and pooper of parties, nobody plays the role of Oregon’s arch-villain better than the Stanford Cardinal.

    It is one of Oregon’s oldest rivals, the first game between the two schools held in 1900, the first game Oregon ever played against an out-of-state opponent. Stanford won that game 34-0, and for over a century have found a way to create Duck tears ever since, but their ability to bully Oregon around has reached a new level of frustration over the past three decades, starting in 1980.

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1980 – Stanford 35 Oregon 25

An Ogburn-Elway showdown never came to be, and the Cardinal have been terrorizing Oregon ever since. (courtesy: CBSsports.com)

    In 1979 Oregon had shown signs of life, after a decade of mediocrity. The team had won six games behind the showstopping play of JC transfer quarterback Reggie Ogburn, and with Ogburn returning for his senior year in 1980 the Ducks were thinking the long bowl drought since 1963 would finally be over…the opening game of the year was hyped up as a matchup between Oregon’s Ogburn and Stanford’s John Elway, but an off-season NCAA probe revealed that four schools including Oregon violated rules. Coaches were fined, players were suspended, scholarships were docked, and the great matchup of Ogburn and Elway never came to be.

    Stanford won the game 35-25 to open the year at Autzen Stadium, while Ogburn had to watch from the stands. Once Reggie returned, Oregon was off and running, winning six games including a 34-10 victory over Washington in Seattle (Oregon’s wouldn’t win in Seattle again until 1997), but that opening season Stanford loss prevented Oregon from reaching a bowl.

    With Ogburn’s graduation following the 1980 season Oregon’s winning ways dissipated, slipping back to seasons of two and three wins, Oregon wouldn’t make it to a bowl game for almost a decade until the 1989 Independence Bowl.

1987 – Stanford 13 Oregon 10

Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave had a great career, but Stanford proved a problem.

    With Bill Musgrave at quarterback, there was energy and excitement back in Oregon football. The Ducks were on the rise in the Pac-10 with a group of young players making a big impact, but a 13-10 loss to Stanford would once again be the hindrance from Oregon finally breaking its bowl curse.

    Oregon had led the game 10-0 at halftime, but a 3rd quarter safety and field goal had given the Cardinal hope. Stanford took the lead on a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the game, but Oregon quickly drove back in position to score, reaching Stanford’s 21 yard line. Rather than attempt a field goal for the tie, Coach Rich Brooks gambled and elected to go for the win, but Musgrave’s pass intended for Terry Obee was knocked down as time expired.

    Just like in 1980, Oregon would finish with six wins, lamenting the Stanford loss as the roadblock to reaching a bowl.

1989 – Stanford 18 Oregon 17

    In 1989 Oregon had cracked the top-25 rankings, but Stanford still managed to spoil the party. Just like in 1987, Oregon had led the game at halftime, holding a seemingly commanding 17-0 lead late in the game, but with seven minutes left on the clock in Palo Alto, Stanford quarterback Brian Johnson found Gary Taylor for a 21-yard touchdown. Johnson would be knocked out of the game, but after Oregon was forced to punt, Johnson’s backup led a touchdown drive and two-point conversion to bring the Cardinal within striking distance at 17-15.

Stanford quarterback Brian Johnson (courtesy: Fanbase.com)

    Stanford executed a perfect onside kick, recovered by Corey Booker, setting up what would be the game-winning field goal as time expired, 18-17.

    Oregon would recover from the loss and finish the year with seven victories, enough to be bowl eligible. But with fewer bowls in this era, it wasn’t guaranteed the Ducks would have a postseason game. Having to buy-in with a promise of ticket allotment sales, Oregon was finally able to reach a bowl game, the first since the 1963 Sun Bowl, reaching the 1989 Independence Bowl.

    Oregon beat Tulsa 27-24 in Shreveport, LA at the Independence Bowl, on a night memorable for the freezing weather as much as the on-field play, and for its importance in establishing the trend of Oregon’s changing uniforms that have come to largely define the program on a national perspective. Despite yet another painful Stanford loss, Oregon had finally made it over the hump. Unfortunately there would be Stanford heartbreak to come.

1992 – Stanford 21 Oregon 7

Glyn Milburn led the nation in yards in 1991. (courtesy: Fanbase.com)

    Oregon entered Stanford the underdog coming off an opening season loss to Hawaii, but the Duck defense came prepared, forcing four turnovers. Oregon led 7-0, but after two years of stymieing Stanford’s superstar Glyn Milburn (the 1991 all-purpose yardage leader in the country) for two years, Milburn finally broke loose against the Ducks. Stanford racked up three scores on a record-setting day for Milburn and quarterback Steve Stenstrom, while Oregon’s offense was anemic, the lose score being the result of two penalties.

    By the 4th quarter Oregon coaches had seen enough, benching quarterback Danny O’neil in favor of backup Doug Musgrave, but the Musgrave pedigree couldn’t muster the same magic as his older brother, and the Ducks lost 21-7.

    It was the first 0-2 start for Oregon since 1983, but the Ducks would win five of the next seven to salvage a year filled with much promise, finishing with six wins and an invite to return to the Independence Bowl. The Ducks lost to Wake Forest in the return trip to Shreveport, 39-35.

1993 – Stanford 38 Oregon 34

    Again, a year of promise proved disappointing, and Stanford twisted the knife deeper. The Cardinal weren’t the ones to inflict the initial damage, that happened when Oregon (3-0) gave up a 30-0 halftime lead at Cal to lose 42-41, the largest deficit ever overcome in NCAA history.

Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom was a repeat offender in breaking Oregon’s heart. (courtesy: Bleacherreport.com)

    The season spiraled out of control from there, losing four of the next six games leading to the November 13th, 1993 Stanford game at Autzen Stadium. With a win, Oregon would still be bowl eligible, and Oregon looked motivated to salvage to the season, walking right into the Stanford buzz saw.

    Once again Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom broke the record books, surpassing marks set by Stanford quarterback John Elway a decade earlier. Stanford at one point led by as many as 22 in Autzen Stadium while holding Oregon to only a field goal at the half, then kept the Ducks at bay during a late surge, Stanford again spoiling Oregon’s chances with a 38-34 victory.

    The loss to Stanford eliminated Oregon’s chances for a bowl game in 1993, further cemented by the lackluster loss in the Civil War game the following week. After two disappointing years in a row, little was expected of Oregon in the 1994 season, picked to finish 9th in the conference, thankfully for one year at least Stanford wouldn’t prevent Oregon’s dreams.

1995 – Stanford 28 Oregon 21

Safety Jaiya Figueras broke his leg on a day Oregon would like to forget.

    After the Rose Bowl run of 1994, expectations were through the roof for Oregon in 1995, and rightfully so, returning a team arguably more talented than the 1994 Pac-10 champion team. Three big wins to open the season, the last two being last-minute victories over Illinois and UCLA in back-to-back weeks thanks to herculean efforts by safety Jaiya Figueras had the Ducks rolling, but a somber wake-up call came the next week vs. Stanford. Not only did the Ducks lose to Stanford, but Figueras suffered a devastating leg injury that would take until the 1997 season to fully recover from.

    The 28-21 loss to Stanford on September 23rd, 1995, grounded the 12th-ranked Ducks, once again in heartbreaking fashion. Oregon had rallied to tie the game 14-14 as the third quarter ticked down, but on the ensuing kickoff following Oregon’s score Stanford’s Marlon Evans returned it 96 yards for the go-ahead score. Three interceptions thrown by Oregon quarterback Tony Graziani didn’t help the cause, setting up Stanford for another score, which proved the game-winner.

    The loss proved to be extra bitter, in not only losing a rising star in Figueras, but the loss would prove to be the deciding factor in Oregon not repeating as Pac-10 conference champions. Resigned to the Cotton Bowl vs. Colorado, the Ducks would get throttled by the Buffaloes 38-6, noted and definitely not forgotten for Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel’s decision to fake a punt late in the game while ahead by nearly 30 points. It spawned the start of the “neweasel” catchphrase and hatred of ‘Slick Rick’ that has never subsided among Duck fans during Neuheisel’s follow-up coaching stops at Washington and UCLA.

1996 – Stanford 27 Oregon 24

    Oregon’s 1996 season derailed halfway through following an injury to quarterback Tony Graziani, but there was still a chance for redemption…until Stanford.

Kailee Wong beating Oregon was extra painful knowing he grew up in Eugene a Duck fan. (courtesy: Bleacherreport.com)

    The Ducks had opened the year with the first regular season overtime game in NCAA history, defeating Fresno State 30-27, but the overtime rule would come back to bite hard, as Stanford took down the Ducks in Palo Alto on a field goal in overtime, 27-24. It was Stanford’s fifth win in the last six matchups, Oregon’s lone victory coming in the 1994 Pac-10 championship season.

    Oregon seemed assured of victory following Patrick Johnson’s 95-yard kickoff return to give the Ducks a 24-14 lead, the return sparking vindictive memories of Marlon Evans’ return the year prior at Autzen sinking Oregon’s chances. Then came the 4th quarter, where Stanford scored on two of their last three possessions while Oregon couldn’t muster a single first down, sending the game to overtime.

    The Stanford late defensive effort was led by Kailee Wong, a North Eugene High School graduate. In the first overtime, it was Wong who tracked down Graziani from behind as the quarterback scrambled, causing a fumble that Stanford recovered. A short field goal later, and it was all over.

    The 1996 loss was the fourth in a row for Oregon, and would be followed by a bad loss to Washington before Oregon rallied to finish off the year with three straight wins. However the mid-season stretch was too much to overcome, the Ducks finishing 6-5, and left out of a bowl game when Cal (6-5) was picked to represent the Pac-10 in the Aloha Bowl over Oregon, despite Oregon beating Cal 40-23 that year. It was one of only two years that Oregon would not go bowling during head coach Mike Bellotti’s tenure.

1997 – Stanford 58 Oregon 49

    In a season where defense was optional for Oregon, the 1997 matchup against Stanford proved a microcosm of the whole year–at times invigorating, other times frustrating. At one point in the game Oregon scored two touchdowns in seven seconds, in a back-and-forth battle of two offenses showcasing their firepower.

    In the end though, Oregon’s offense blinked, while Stanford continued to roll over the Ducks D in a whoever-scores-last-wins matchup more akin to a basketball game. Stanford’s 58 points was the most scored against an Oregon team since Oklahoma racked up 62 on the Ducks in 1975, while Oregon’s 49 were the most at the time ever scored by a losing team in a regulation Pac-10 game.

    Jason Maas threw for five touchdowns and wide receiver Patrick Johnson had the best game of his career, pulling in 13 receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as Stanford scored its highest ever total vs. Oregon.

     The game was capped off with a safety by Stanford’s Kailee Wong, the local Eugene, OR product who had forced a fumble in overtime setting up Stanford’s victory the year prior.

2001 – Stanford 49 Oregon 42

    The Oregon-Stanford series thankfully took a scheduling respite for a few years following the tumultuous 90s, but the Cardinal came back in a big way with arguably the most devastating, heartbreaking, jaw-dropping victory in history between the two teams.

Oregon had no answer for Teyo Johnson’s size. (courtesy: AP/DonRyan)

    2001 had #5 Oregon rolling on a rampage through the Pac-10 seemingly destined for the Pac-10 title and a shot at the national championship. Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington was a legitimate Heisman trophy candidate, and Oregon touted the longest-active home winning streak in the country at 23…they would hold the record for only one week.

    Oregon was handling Stanford cruising to a hard-fought but apparent victory…then the 4th quarter happened. In a mind-boggling display of WTF and disbelief with Oregon ahead 42-28, Stanford blocked two punts and intercepted a pass leading to 21 points, taking full advantage of a height advantage of over a foot between Stanford’s Teyo Johnson and Oregon’s Rashad Bauman, repeatedly throwing up jump balls that Johnson brought down like an easy rebound in the paint over a point guard.

    A last second hail mary pass fell flat, and Stanford walked away with a shocking 49-42 victory, ending Oregon’s home winning streak and undefeated season. The Ducks wouldn’t lose again that year, capturing the Pac-10 title, but the loss to Stanford would prevent Oregon from playing in the BCS national championship, a 10-1 Nebraska team that finished 3rd in the Big-12 getting the nod over the Ducks.

    Oregon would destroy Colorado, the Big-12 champions, in the Fiesta Bowl 38-16, forever leaving a what-if and shoulda-been hypothetical matchup lingering in people’s minds, would Oregon have put up a better fight against the 2001 Miami Hurricanes than the pathetic showing of Nebraska? Yeah, probably, but we’ll never know. Thanks Stanford.

2004 – Oregon 16 Stanford 13

    For as painful as Stanford had made the 1980s and 1990s, the 2000s were Oregon’s chance for revenge, 2001 not withstanding. While Oregon walked away with the victory in 2004, it wasn’t without a lot of wrecked nerves. In pouring rain at Stanford Stadium Oregon had ground out a tough victory behind the legs of Terrence Whitehead, but a Whitehead fumble late in the game set up Stanford with a chance.

    A dubious catch that appeared to be out of bounds and after the clock had expired was ruled in-bounds and with one second left on the clock, giving Stanford a chance for a field goal to send the game to overtime. For once karma actually swung back Oregon’s way, as the bad call on the catch didn’t matter once Stanford’s kick went wide.

    Oregon escaped with a W, but the luck in the bay area went the other way two weeks later, when Oregon receiver Keith Allen dropped a pass on 4th down that hit him in the hands, which would have likely led to a game-winning score over Cal in Berkeley. The Cal loss gave the Ducks a 5-6 mark on the year, it would be the only losing season in Mike Bellotti’s head coaching career at Oregon.

2009 – Stanford 51 Oregon 42

    The coming out party for then freshman Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and the start of the short-but-memorable Jim Harbaugh era at Stanford, Oregon and Stanford battled on the farm in a back-and-forth affair with Jeremiah Masoli and Andrew Luck both having career days.

Toby Gerheart set a school rushing record vs. Oregon in 2009. (sfgate.com)

    Oregon had its chances to come back, but a dropped pass on a wheel route by LaMichael James that would have scored proved too costly to overcome, while Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerheart repeatedly moved the chains on Oregon’s defense grinding out yards between the tackles, racking up a school-record 223 yards rushing.

     Jeremiah Masoli threw for 334 yards and 3 TDs, while LaMichael James rushed for 125 yards a touchdown plus 89 more through the air, but it wasn’t enough as time simply ran out on Oregon’s comeback against an unrelenting Stanford attack. Whether on the ground behind Gerheart or Luck’s precision passing, the Ducks defense simply couldn’t get off the field on 3rd down.

    The Stanford loss was the only in-conference defeat of the season, as Oregon captured the Pac-10 title and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl, but the game signaled a changing of the guard. Both Stanford and Oregon defeated USC that year in back-to-back weeks, giving the Trojans the two worst defeats in school history, marking a transition in the traditional powers. For the foreseeable future, all roads to the Pac-10/12 championship would go through either Eugene or Palo Alto.

2012 – Stanford 17 Oregon 14

    If the 2001 loss wasn’t devastating enough in hindsight preventing Oregon from a shot at the national championship, Stanford’s BCS-blocking ways came back with a vengeance 11 years later. Oregon had beaten Stanford two years in a row, but the wins hadn’t come easy, in high scoring affairs.

    The 2012 game was a shockingly defensive battle. Oregon was plagued with self-inflicted wounds, repeatedly dropping passes, and quarterback Marcus Mariota looking uncomfortable for the first time all season amidst a relentless Stanford pass rush.

    Two ominous signs early in the game showed that it might not be Oregon’s day, as a long run by Mariota was stopped short of a touchdown when De’Anthony Thomas outpaced Mariota for the endzone rather than blocking the lone defender capable of tackling him. Oregon would be stopped on 4th down, followed not long after by a missed easy field goal by Alejandro Maldenaldo. The two plays would come back to bite Oregon badly.

…and Zach Ertz is STILL out of bounds! (courtesy: nwsportsbeat.com)

    A highly controversial call swung the game in Stanford’s favor late in the game, when an apparent touchdown catch by Stanford tight end Zach Ertz showed on replay to be out of bounds, yet was upheld by the referees as a touchdown, tying the game 14-14. The replay proved that Ertz had bobbled the ball, not retaining possession until his shoulder and head both were clearly out of bounds.

    In overtime, Oregon kicker Alejandro Maldenaldo missed wide on a field goal again, giving Stanford a chance to once again break Oregon’s heart. Still, Oregon had a chance to push it to double OT, as linebacker Michael Clay stripped Stanford QB Kevin Hogan of the ball, but was unable to reel it in, and Stanford kicked a game-winning field goal to take it 17-14.

    Just like in 2001, Stanford’s win ended Oregon’s chances at playing for the national championship, and ended a winning streak for the Ducks, coming into it with a 13-game streak, the longest active streak in the country.

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     Then of course there is 1954, 1964, 1972, 1976…Dammit, Stanford. Why, why does it always have to be freakin’ Stanford?

    With Oregon and Stanford still atop the Pac-12 conference as the two premier football powerhouses west of the Mississippi, the battles are destined to be tense, nerve-wracking experiences…and chances are Stanford will at some point again in the future break Oregon’s heart. As history has proven, they are quite adept at playing the role of spoiler when it comes to Duck dreams of grandeur. Hopefully come Thursday night, it will be a game that won’t be added to this list of painful memories.

Record-Setting Night For O’Neil and McLemore Set The Stage For 1994 Rose Bowl Run

 Record-Setting Night For O’Neil and McLemore Set The Stage For 1994 Rose Bowl Run

Originally posted on FishDuck.com on August 10th, 2011
 
It was only one game in a season to remember for the Oregon Ducks, a time when the dream that seemed beyond reach for so many years might finally be attainable.  For two teammates in particular, it was a night that permanently etched their names in the Oregon Ducks record books, while moving one step closer to the Pac-10 championship.

Football is known as the ultimate team sport, so maybe it is not surprising that few on the sidelines recognized that in one single game teammates Danny O’Neil and Cristin McLemore had set multiple all-time records for the Oregon Ducks, during their 55-21 victory over Stanford in Palo Alto, CA on November 12^th, 1994.  Individual records were not on their minds, there was a greater goal for the team to accomplish.

The 1994 season remains close to fan’s hearts for many reasons.  It wasn’t the year that began the slow road to redemption; that had occurred years earlier with the 1989 team reaching the Independence Bowl, but ‘94 was the year when Oregon officially crashed the big boys’ party.

Oregon runningback Ricky Whittle perfectly stated the sentiment of the moment to the cameras in the final seconds of the game that night, “Y’all don’t understand, these Ducks are serious!”  It was the time when a group of student-athletes, supremely confident in themselves and each other’s abilities, changed the perception of what Oregon football meant, putting the state on the map and the nation on notice.

Yet for observers of the events that transpired, it was clear that for quarterback Danny O’Neil and wide receiver Cristin McLemore something special was working that night, both teammates displaying an athletic connection and understanding rarely seen before.

In the overall context of that magical season, the Stanford game can be easily overlooked.  Following a string of epic close battles, a blowout victory on the road over a 3-7-1 Stanford team was expected for the favored Oregon Ducks, but Stanford was no pushover, having soundly defeated Washington the previous week.  The Cardinal was a team reeling despite being led by a coaching legend, albeit in the twilight of his career, Bill Walsh.

Senior quarterback Steve Stenstrom was out for the year with a broken finger suffered in the game vs. Washington, ending Stenstrom’s collegiate career 4^th on the all-time passing yards list in NCAA history with over 10,000.  Featuring multiple players that would play in the NFL, including Eugene native Kailee Wong and future Oregon Ducks wide receivers coach Scott Frost now leading the team, the hard-luck Stanford Cardinal had lost three games by a single point, and tied another, that season.

With the annual Civil War game vs. Oregon State coming up a week later to close out the regular season, the game against Stanford was a stepping stone to the Pac-10 title, and for the first time a noticeably obvious aura of total confidence could be felt by the team and fans alike.

It was in this setting that Oregon quarterback Danny O’Neil had arguably the best game of his career, throwing six touchdown passes, a feat that had never been accomplished before by any Oregon quarterback, and has only been matched once since, by Joey Harrington vs. ASU in 2000 (though Harrington required double overtime to do it).  Add to that Cristin McLemore setting the all-time Oregon career receptions and career touchdown receptions record in the same game, and this was no ordinary night.  The victory would also tie O’Neil with Bill Musgrave for the all-time school record for wins at 21, a mark which has since been broken by Joey Harrington.

The legends of Oregon’s past had flown in to witness the festivities, Ahmad Rashad and Dan Fouts both roamed the sidelines while Len Casanova watched the proceedings from the press box.  The largest group of Duck fans to travel to an out-of-state away game in some time packed the corner endzone, thousands of fans clad in green and yellow sensing the history that was taking place, by night’s end vastly exceeding the number of Stanford fans present.

“I remember some of the old guard being there,” said Cristin McLemore, reflecting on the 1994 Stanford game.  “The guys from the lean years, they all sensed that something was changing.  We were focused on our goal of a championship, but there was a trickle down effect from them sensing something larger.  Ahmad Rashad and Dan Fouts were there, other legends of Oregon, and there were so many fans, I’ll always remember how many fans came out for that one.”

“The Stanford game wasn’t a change in team confidence, it was the last of a 3-stretch series where if we won we could get the title,” said Danny O’Neil, now a pastor in the Eugene area and the Oregon Ducks team minister.  “If we won it we’d be closer, but so much was on the line, we were already established with the championship in reach.  If we won out, then nobody could take away our championship, so there was added pressure and excitement to get the job done.”

Things immediately started going Oregon’s way early, the first pass of the game was tipped by cornerback Alex Molden right into the hands of linebacker Paul Jensen for an interception.

Oregon LB Paul Jensen intercepts a pass on the first play of the game.
 

Cristin McLemore’s record setting night though almost ended abruptly, as on the first play from scrimmage for Oregon McLemore took a big shot to the ribs and had to be helped off the field.  “On that first play I got hit hard, they fitted me with a flak jacket on the sidelines and it was hard to breathe, it hurt but I wanted to keep playing.”

Nothing was going to keep McLemore from having a big night, having crushed Stanford the previous year with an 11 catch, 230 yard, 3 TD performance; yet Stanford had long been the thorn in Oregon’s side, repeatedly preventing the Ducks from becoming bowl eligible, consistently a formidable foe regardless of overall record.

It did not take long for the O’Neil-to-McLemore connection to make its presence felt, as early on in the game McLemore was left completely unguarded for an easy 21 yard touchdown catch.  Chalk up one TD pass for the duo…there would be more to follow.

Oregon WR Cristin McLemore gets probably the easiest touchdown catch of his career thanks to a blown coverage by Stanford.
 

“The field conditions were so bad that day at Stanford, they always were,” McLemore remembers.

“Everyone was slipping, I was worried about my footing too but we thought that we might have an advantage in beating Stanford deep with all of the misdirection and play-action we did on that bad turf.  I remember the safety came up short and I just shot by him and Danny lofted it to me perfectly, maybe they got their call in late and didn’t have time to line up right, or one or two guys just weren’t on the same page because I was left wide open.  Plays like that are so debilitating for an opponent, to not only score but completely embarrass them at the same time.”

Oregon’s defense continued its gang green tendencies from the opening snap, constantly in the backfield forcing Stanford QB Scott Frost to scramble running for his life in the pocket or outside of it on nearly every passing play.  Frost’s phenomenal athleticism bailed out Stanford time and again, picking up yardage on plays that would have likely been sacks had Stenstrom been healthy enough to play.  When Stanford’s line did give him enough time, he made Oregon pay with several long completions, but getting to the endzone for the Cardinal proved elusive.

The first half remained close, with Oregon leading 10-0 in the second quarter, but with Oregon’s defensive tenacity pressuring Frost, O’Neil throwing on target, and the running combination of Dino Philyaw and Ricky Whittle pounding the rock it felt like Stanford was about to break at any moment.  However it was in that chaos that Stanford found a way to strike back, when on a broken play Scott Frost somehow managed to elude seven tacklers and run sideline-to-sideline getting great blocks downfield for a 28 yard touchdown.

Scott Frost’s 28 yard touchdown run was the lone highlight of an otherwise dismal night for Stanford.
 

The game remained close well into the 2^nd quarter until O’Neil found Cristin McLemore on a deep post for a 22 yard touchdown, their second touchdown connection of the night, to extend the Ducks lead to 17-7.  Stanford was clearly reeling, and nobody in the secondary could keep pace with McLemore.

Even when receivers were covered, O’Neil was somehow finding a way to squeeze the ball into tiny windows for big gains downfield time and again.  The touchdown for McLemore was the 18^th of his career, tying Lew Barnes and Ahmad Rashad for the all-time career record at Oregon.

Danny O’Neil throws to Cristin McLemore for a 22 yard touchdown, the pair’s second touchdown of the game.
 

McLemore knew there was a bigger goal at the time to focus on, but he was aware of the records he was inching closer to owning, and the legends on hand to witness the passing of the torch.

“Having Ahmad Rashad there to speak to the team before the game was fantastic, it was interesting having him there to support me knowing I was about to break his records.  My cousin played in the NBA and is a close friend of Rashad, so it was great to be around him growing up and hearing stories about watching Michael Jordan and playing ball.  For him to do that, fly cross-country for that game to congratulate me when I broke his records, it meant the world to me.  If he hadn’t been there I was going to call him regardless.  He’s a family friend, an icon, and to get congratulations from somebody like that was special.  He walked up to me on the bench, shook my hand, and said ‘these records are made to be broken and you did it, congratulations.’  I look forward to when others will break my records so I can do the same, it’s all part of the brotherhood of being a Duck.”

What had been a close battle slanted decidedly in Oregon’s favor in quick order, as a screen pass to Ricky Whittle turned into a 51-yard touchdown, Danny O’Neil’s third touchdown pass of the first half.

Oregon RB Ricky Whittle was a master of disguising screen passes and picking up big yardage after the catch, here taking a screen 51 yards for a touchdown.
 

“Man, Ricky Whittle was so good at those screen passes, he was like an actor, he’d set them up so well, he was amazing,” Cristin McLemore recalls, laughing.

For the Ducks, the big plays were coming quickly now, things appeared to be getting easier as desperation set in for Stanford.  Shortly after the Whittle touchdown an Alex Molden interception again set up Oregon in great field position ready to strike once more.

Oregon CB Alex Molden intercepts a pass vs. Stanford, the second turnover of the game by the Cardinal.
 

Mere seconds later O’Neil would once again find Cristin McLemore near the goal line for the hat trick, their third touchdown connection of the game, O’Neil’s 4^th overall.

“Cristin is a great receiver, we always had a strong connection.” Said Danny O’Neil.  “Often times we’d have a sense of where he’d be and what we were thinking, and we just had a correlation that night.  It’s not like we did anything drastically different, things just clicked.   I’ve had great games where I threw for a lot of yards and I’d only get 1 or 2 TDs, but things just went well for the team that night.  But honestly I was much more focused on the championship than my numbers.”

“That third touchdown was a case where the bad turf helped me, I caught the ball and turned and the safety fell down losing his footing in the grass.  From there it was an easy run to the goal line,” McLemore recalls.

Cristin McLemore sheds one tackler and another slips on the muddy field giving a clear path to the endzone for his third touchdown of the game, setting the all-time Oregon Ducks career receiving touchdown record.
 

The floodgates had opened, and the career night for McLemore and O’Neil by halftime was certain.  Stanford had actually led the game in total yardage, but their inability to finish, matched with untimely turnovers, had turned the game into a laugher.

This dropped touchdown exemplified the kind of night, and season, Stanford had in 1994.
 

Oregon kept the pressure on when in the third quarter O’Neil hit paydirt once more, finding wide receiver Dameron Ricketts in the endzone for his 5^th touchdown pass of the game.  No Oregon QB in history had ever thrown for more than four in a single game, but the history that had been made went largely unrecognized by O’Neil and the team.

Oregon WR Dameron Ricketts pulls in Danny O’Neil’s fifth touchdown pass of the game.
 

“I knew I was having a good game, but I didn’t really realize at the time I had thrown that many touchdowns.  Everyone else was as excited because we knew we were one step closer to the championship, that’s all we cared about.  We felt like everything was clicking, we knew what was riding on the game.  It was just another game to us, one that we HAD to win.

With so much on the line, our thoughts were really just about winning the game, so when you play well there’s more a matter of relief that we did it,” O’Neil reflected, still unaware until the time of this interview  nearly 17 years after the game that he had set the all-time school single-game record for touchdown passes.

“Nobody on the team recognized that Danny O’Neil was having such a great game,” McLemore remembers.  “I didn’t even realize he had done that, we were caught up in the greater moment of the drive to the Rose Bowl.  Danny was never one to be about himself, he would never boast about such things.  It wasn’t about me or I, it was about the team, so no Danny didn’t get recognized for having what was statistically the best night any Oregon QB had ever had.  We knew he was playing well, we all were as a team.”

McLemore continued, “It doesn’t surprise me though…Danny had the most perfect touch on his passes, he could thread the needle like nobody else.  I used to play basketball with him and in that sport too he’d get you the ball on these crazy bounce passes where you’d be so stunned that it was suddenly in your hands, wondering how that just happened…people don’t give him credit for being such a good athlete.  He was able to float a football so well to let the receivers get under it, finding a way to put just the right touch on the ball like nobody else I’ve ever seen.”

Danny O’Neil had the uncanny ability to float balls that seemed to defy the laws of gravity waiting for the receiver to get open, here throwing to WR Patrick Johnson for a big gain.
 

The scoreboard reflected the dominant showing by the Ducks, 38-7, in the third quarter, despite Stanford chewing up big chunks of yards against the Ducks’ bend but don’t break defense.  Oregon was fine in bleeding the clock out, but O’Neil’s night wasn’t quite done yet.

With many of the reserves in the game, Danny O’Neil put the cherry on top of his record-setting night by hitting wide receiver Damon Griffin in stride for a touchdown, Griffin’s first career score.

Damon Griffin’s first career touchdown was the sixth of the night for Danny O’Neil, a record that has only been matched once since in Oregon history.
 

O’Neil’s night was officially done, relieved by backup QB Tony Graziani, as was McLemore’s, and was it ever one for the ages.  Danny O’Neil finished the evening 21-37 for 339 yards and six touchdowns.  McLemore had 5 catches for 83 yards and 3 touchdowns.  In one single game multiple records had fallen in both passing and receiving, but both teammates barely reveled in their individual achievements, sharply focused on the Rose Bowl within grasp for the first time for Oregon in decades.

With the reserves all playing, Oregon would add one more passing touchdown, with backup Tony Graziani lofting a ball deep intended for Damon Griffin that instead got tipped right to Patrick Johnson, making it 55-21.

Sometimes when things are going good, they go really good!  A tipped pass falls right to Patrick Johnson for a 43 yard touchdown.
 

The few Stanford fans that had arrived to watch the game had long since left, leaving cavernous Stanford Stadium as a site for an all-Oregon party, and with the massive contingent that had made the trip south party they did, as well as the Duck players.

 
 

Cristin McLemore fondly recollects the postgame celebration and the sheer number of Duck fans in attendance.  “I remember going up to the walls after the game and it felt like we were back at Autzen, there were so many people wearing green.  It was amazing to see that many Duck fans at a road game.  It was one of the most fun games I remember playing in my entire career, there were even a ton of fans waiting for us back at the airport in Eugene at 1am when we get off the plane, that’s true fanaticism at its greatest.  It made us feel like we had already won the championship.

“We recognized that a lot of fans and alumni showed up for that game, we were getting the sense that there was something big here, that we were doing something that hadn’t been done for a very long time,” O’Neil remembers.  “The amount of fans at the game was spectacular, and when we got back to the airport in Eugene there were so many fans waiting for us to arrive.  That kind of support was amazing.”

 

In the overall context of a season to remember, the 55-21 victory over Stanford was a mere blip on the radar.  The legacy of that 1994 team was yet to be written, but everyone involved could sense it.  The atmosphere surrounding the program and excitement in the community was like nothing that had been felt before.

“It was a feeling, quite apparent and obvious.  We didn’t have to be reminded that we were playing for the title because everyone could sense it, it was there within grasp,” said O’Neil.

Oregon the next week would win the Pac-10 title in a hard-fought game in Corvallis, earning its first berth to the Rose Bowl since 1958.  The dream that seemed so close during the Stanford game had become reality.  The Ducks would lose the Rose Bowl, but that didn’t matter much to Oregon fans and players, the larger sense of history easily apparent that from this moment forward Oregon would never be the same.  O’Neil again performed in record-setting fashion in his final game as a Duck, setting the all-time passing record for the Rose Bowl at 456 and named game co-MVP.  It was one more notch in the belt for O’Neil in the record books, but he would be the first to tell you that doesn’t matter, he’d rather have won the game.

Still, for Oregon fans watching the O’Neil to McLemore combo during their time in Eugene, it seemed only fitting that on one night in November against Stanford the two teammates would set their all-time records together, their careers forever entwined leading the Ducks into the history books.