One Week Later, Oregon Not So Rosy

STANFORD, Calif. -- What a difference a week makes for Oregon.

The Ducks looked invincible and unbeatable a week ago, taking apart USC like they were ... Stanford?

They spent the week answering questions about letdowns and hangovers. No way. Not going to happen. Not us.

But by sunset at Stanford Stadium, the No. 7-ranked Ducks were walking off the field after a 51-42 defeat and there was no doubt they felt the letdown.

"We didn't focus on the past, didn't look to the future. We got beat by a better team," said Oregon coach Chip Kelly. "If you say that we got caught looking behind or ahead, it takes away from Stanford. Stanford is a heck of a football team."

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Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli acknowledged where the postgame conversation was headed.

"People are going to talk about (letdowns) and I guess we kind of did because we didn't win today and that's the bottom line," Masoli said.

Oregon hadn't lost since the now infamous season-opener against Boise State, a run of seven straight wins in which the margin of victory was 22.7 points a game. In the last five games, nobody had gotten closer than two touchdowns.

And then came Stanford, the hard-nose team whose defense didn't look up to the task.

But it turned out the Cardinal, which secured bowl eligibility for the first time in eight years with the win, certainly were. They put up 51 points on the scoreboard, more than Oregon had given up all season. Tailback Toby Gerhart was, as coach Jim Harbaugh called him, "a warrior", rushing for 223 yards on 38 carries with three touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 254 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

And the Cardinal defense, which has surrendered the game in pressure situations before, held up just long enough for the victory after Oregon cut a 20-point fourth-quarter lead to six points in the final minutes.
Oregon's defense couldn't stop Stanford and while it might not have cost the Ducks their Rose Bowl hopes, their inclusion in the national championship conversation would seem to be out the window. He said the team felt no pressure after the USC performance, no additional weight after becoming the darlings of college football, the fashionable powerhouse of the week.

"I have never heard any person on this team talk about the national championship," said senior tight end Ed Dickson.

Stanford led from start to finish, quickly going up 10-0 and holding on despite being out-gained by the Oregon offense, 570-505.

Masoli threw for a career-high 334 yards. Freshman tailback LaMichael James rushed for 125 yards and a 60-yard touchdown. But the Ducks were forced to play catch-up, Stanford held more than a 15-minute margin in time of possession, and time ran out before they could.

The Cardinal have twice finished seasons with five wins (2004 and 2008), failing to reach the postseason every season since Tyrone Willingham left for Notre Dame after the 2001 Seattle Bowl.

This win marked a huge breakthrough in the rebuilding efforts under Harbaugh. Before the game, Harbaugh said that a win in this game would mean more to the program than the 2007 upset over USC, that came in a 4-8 season, his first on The Farm.

Following Saturday's game, Harbaugh again acknowledged the significance.

"This is the best opportunity that Stanford football has had in the past 10 years to express who this team is, and they expressed it and I couldn't be more proud of them," Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh said the goal has always been more than bowl-eligibility.

"Our goal has been to win the Pac-10 championship and we're still alive for that," Harbaugh said.