Oregon Vs. Stanford Final Score: Nemesis Ducks Do It Again, 53-30

Now, this doesn’t mean it was a good try. We’ll assume the effort was there, but the execution ... well, not so much. Lined up up the right hash, Whitaker’s attempt was juuuuuust a bit outside to the right. He certainly tried the corner. He certainly missed.

Watch as Whitaker misses everything: the goalpost, the net ... everything.

Head here for Oregon-Stanford score updates and discussion.

For more on this game, visit Oregon blog Addicted To Quack and Stanford blog Rule of Tree, plus Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes.

Over the next three quarters, Oregon would outscore the Cardinal, 49-10. How did they do it, and can they follow the same formula to victory when the two teams meet tonight in Palo Alto?

For the second straight year, the Ducks and Cardinal meet as Top 10 programs; a win and an Oklahoma State loss (and let’s face it: with the way Texas Tech’s last month has gone, they will probably beat the ‘Pokes in Lubbock today just because it makes no sense) would combine to give either team a strong shot a spot in the national title game. The Cardinal are favored this time around, but with so many of the same names playing key roles this year, it is worth it to see if there was anything unique (and replicable) about the last three quarters of last year’s game. What did Oregon do to come back, and would they be able to do the same thing this year?

The Cardinal are about much more than Luck, but the spotlight will be on him. As Stanford Cardinal blog Rule Of Tree explains, this is one of the biggest games of Luck’s career, comparable with last year’s Oregon game and the Orange Bowl. He’s got the chops to handle it.

Oregon is confident though, mostly because of their speed. As Oregon Ducks blog Addicted To Quack points out, the Cardinal defense’s speed is not their strong suit, and it could lead to a bad mismatch.