One of my favorite weekly columns across the Pac-10 is The Register Guard's Ken Woody Sunday breakdown of the Oregon game the previous day.
This piece in particular deserves a re-post for those interested in the X's and O's of the game.
Here are some game observations from Woody on the big win for the Ducks:
Stanford’s offense, lead by sophomore Andrew Luck had six possessions in the first half and scored four touchdowns (consecutively) and a field goal; the Duck defense seemingly could not stop the Cardinal, who have improved greatly the past few years under the intense leadership of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
The Cardinal running game, behind the speed and power of Stepfan Taylor, piled up 88 yards by halftime and Stanford averaged over nine yards per pop. More importantly, the Cards averaged 10.1 per rush on first down and converted four-of-six third-down conversions in totally dominating the Duck defensive front seven. Harbaugh’s offensive staff would seemingly forget about this as the game wore on.
The Ducks pulled to within 21-10 and in a masterful move (because it worked), Kelly called for an onside kick. Kicker Rob Beard topped the ball, getting a big hop and the Duck cover team on the right side cleared out the front players which allowed Beard to lunge and cover the ball. Oregon wasted no time in scoring again, closing the gap to 21-17.
Stanford regained the momentum and some breathing room 28-17, but the Ducks gamely came back to make it 28-24. They got the ball back with a little over a minute in the first half, just short of midfield, but Thomas, on a first-down pass, threw his second interception deep down the middle to a receiver who was double covered. That play is probably on the coach who decided to call it because the Ducks, who have scored several times on drives of less than a minute this year, did not need to try such a play. Because of that turnover, Stanford was able to get within field goal range and Nate Whitaker hit a 46-yarder with no time left on the clock; Stanford 31-24.
Little did Jim Harbaugh know at that time, but that was it for the Cardinal. Although they had 31 points and averaged 8.0 yards per play, they would score no more. Credit a Duck defense that never gave up and Harbaugh’s play calling, which seemed to be in the panic mode. In the second half, Stanford only averaged 2.3 yards per play on first down, which put the Cardinal continually in long-yardage situations.
Instead of sticking to the run, Harbaugh went to the pass and Luck had a poor second half. As in the Tennessee and Arizona State games, the Duck defensive front four kept coming and began to pressure Luck, causing off-target throws. One of the plays of the game came when the Ducks got their only sack, by Kenny Rowe, to force a Stanford punt with Oregon up 38-31. From then on, Stanford had three more drives: turning the ball over on downs, giving up an interception and having the clock run out at the end of the game. On the second drive, Luck mishandled the snap on third-and-a-foot-and-goal, which resulted in a five-yard loss. On fourth down, the Ducks pressured Luck and he threw incomplete, basically the last hurrah for a dangerous Stanford offense.
Kelly had his team focus at halftime and the Ducks performed brilliantly against a Stanford team that swaggered into Autzen aiming to play with “class and cruelty.” Frankly, when I read that in the Guard on Wednesday, it made me a bit scared. Later, I hoped the Ducks had read it, because one thing they really needed to understand coming into this game was that it was going to be a slug-fest and they would need to win the game in the trenches.
And that is just how it worked out. The big boys in green upfront outfought and outlasted the Cardinal, which does not have the depth Oregon does, especially on defense. Owen Marecic, the excellent athlete from Jesuit High School in Portland, started on both offense and defense for the Cardinal. In case you’re interested, he played 119 plays; 40 on offense and 79 on defense. He was not a factor in the outcome, although you had to admire his toughness, athleticism and conditioning in playing that much. On an Oregon touchdown in the third quarter, he missed a tackle square on with LaMichael James and you could see that fatigue was a factor in his effort.
In the early second half, it became apparent that as long as the Ducks could get Stanford’s defense on the field, they would win, because the pace of the game was working against the Cardinal and their depth up front. I would rank the Cardinal offensive line higher than Oregon’s, but the Ducks’ first and second string on both offense and defense were obviously better than Stanford’s.
Nick Aliotti, defensive coordinator, had to experience the widest range of emotions possible during this game. Stanford looked unstoppable in the first half, and the Ducks looked hapless. Although they tackled and pursued well, the Cardinal just blocked the feathers off the Ducks. In the second half, Aliotti got Oregon to defend tenaciously on first down which forced Stanford into long yardage situations.
I was surprised that Harbaugh wrote his own offense off in second-and-eight situations, because it seemed that he forgot the advantage his team had with his offensive line against Oregon’s front as witnessed in the first half of the game. In the end, that lack of follow up, or belief, worked to the disadvantage of his quarterback, who is truly one of the best in the land. Luck took more and more punishment as the game wore on. The other element that came into the equation was that leaning on the passing game ended up giving Oregon more time on the clock to play offense against his withering defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment