Believe it or not, this could have been a lot worse.
The Oregon Ducks scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 31-3 halftime lead and then cruised to an easy 45-27 win over Stanford in front of 52, 218 that stuck it out for the Pac-12 After Dark showdown.
With the win, the No. 15 Ducks improve to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in Pac-12 play. Meanwhile, Stanford fell to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in conference action.
This was a close game after one quarter of play, but Oregon finally put some major points on the board in the second quarter. It all got started on the last play of the first quarter with Chase Cota’s 49-yard touchdown reception to make it 10-0 Ducks. It was Cota’s first score as an Oregon Duck.
Photo courtesy of Tom Corno, Duck Sports Authority
Oregon’s offense couldn’t get out of its own way, however, as the Ducks were penalized 10 times for 90 yards in the first half alone. When they did manage to avoid a flag being thrown, they found the end zone.
Troy Franklin made it 17-3 with a tow-scrapping reception on the end zone sideline. At first, it was ruled an incomplete pass, but replay verified Franklin’s toe was inbounds. After a Stanford fumble that Noah Sewell recovered and took to the 4-yard line, Bo Nix scored on the next play to make it 24-3. That wouldn’t be his last rushing touchdown.
Oregon effectively ended the game on the last play of the half with Jordan James’ 1-yard plunge for the 28-point halftime margin.
Stanford finally found paydirt on a nice wheel route in the third quarter on Casey Filkins 42-yard touchdown. The tailback from Lake Oswego had a good game with 80 yards on the ground and 59 receiving yards.
But what little momentum Stanford gained with its first touchdown was completely erased on the Ducks’ play from scrimmage. Nix, doing his best Akili Smith or Marcus Mariota impression, ran 80 yards for a touchdown. He finished the game with 141 rushing yards on just six carries. Nix was also 16-of-29 passing for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Photo courtesy of Tom Corno, Duck Sports Authority
The final score doesn’t quite show how good the Oregon defense was on this night. Brandon Dorlus finished the game with five tackles, three for loss and two sacks. Bryan Addison led with eight tackles, Bennett Williams had seven tackles and two pass breakups and Sewell had that fumble recovery.
Now Oregon will set its sights on the desert as the Ducks prepare to make a trip to Tucson. They’ll face an Arizona team that is surprisingly 3-2 and is coming off of a 43-20 win over Colorado.