There’s an old Klingon proverb that says revenge is a dish best served cold.
It’s going to be warm tonight inside Autzen Stadium as the Ducks get a shot at revenge over Stanford in a Pac-12 After Dark special. Kickoff is set for 8 pm and televised on Fox Sports 1.
Oregon may want to forget what happened last season in Palo Alto, but no one can blame them if it’s on their mind tonight as they take the field against Stanford.
For just a brief recap: Oregon rallied in the fourth quarter to take the lead and then flags flew like it was the opening ceremony at the Olympics to give the Cardinal a game-tying touchdown before winning in overtime 31-24. The Ducks felt like they gave the game away, a mistake they’re not likely to make again.
Oregon gets a shot at some revenge over Stanford as it’s coming off a rally that ended with happy faces in the Palouse in the 44-41 win over Washington State.
These are two very different teams in 2022, however.
The Ducks have a new coaching staff, a new quarterback, and a new attitude. Meanwhile, Stanford might have the same make up as it always do, but the Cardinal are uncharacteristically banged up. Tailback EJ Smith is out for the season and both starting tackles, Walter Rouse and Myles Hinton, are extremely questionable to play.
The Cardinal need those two on the field because last week, they allowed eight sacks on their quarterback Tanner McKee in a rough loss at Washington. That Husky game was just the second of three straight brutal Pac-12 games for Stanford. It hosted USC for Game 2 of the season before heading to Seattle and now Eugene. The schedule makers didn’t do head coach David Shaw any favors with Notre Dame coming to town next week.
But when McKee is allowed to be on his feet and not dumped to the turf, the senior signal caller is more than effective. He completes 67 percent of his passes and has eight touchdowns. McKee has been picked off four times already, however.
As for Oregon, that Georgia game might has well have been a few seasons ago. The Ducks are rolling and looking to continue doing so with this late start. But Duck coach Dan Lanning says that when Stanford is the opponent, records mean little.
“We’ve proven we can win in some different settings and some different ways but this is a team that we have to bring our best for and it’s really, just like I’ve said every week, it’s about Oregon and our improvement,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for this team. This team shortened our season last year or at least some of the guys in our room, still have a bad taste in their mouths from playing these guys before. That’s not far from their minds and playing to our best is. That’s really what we focus on.”
Oregon is relatively healthy given it’s Week 5 of the season and Stanford is not. Unless history repeats itself and the Ducks give this one away, they should roll.
Ducks 35, Cardinal 13
GAME PREVIEW; DAN LANNING DISCUSSES MATCH-UP WITH STANFORD