GameDay: Ducks Burn the Cardinal

Trafton B.

October 3, 2010 - 10:15 AM

Wow, what a GameDay!

Yesterday's game may very well be my favorite game at Autzen Stadium since becoming a student. It's on par with last year's Halloween Night victory against USC, and the October 27th game against USC during my freshman year (2007) when we broke the stadium record for volume at 127.2 decibels.

It was a slow start as we were outscored 21-3 in the first quarter thanks to a Cliff Harris fumble on a kickoff return and a Darron Thomas interception near the 50-yard line. Then we answered with a 21-point quarter of our own in the second quarter.

Senior WR Jeff Maehl and Freshman WR Josh Huff both came down with touchdown passes and Sophomore RB LaMichael James proved himself a worthy Heisman candidate with a short touchdown run, his first of three touchdowns on the night. James finished the day with 257 rushing yards, the longest of which was a 76 yard touchdown run to ice the game with one minute left in the fourth quarter.

Like I said, we had some pregame jitters to shake out, but we remained poised in the face of adversity. I was most impressed with QB Darron Thomas' performance. He's literally growing up not only as a quarterback but also a leader right in front of our eyes. In his fifth game under the helm the NCAA's top offense, he completed 20 of 29 passes and ran for 117 yards and 1 TD.

Kirk Herbstreet, ESPN College GameDay analyst said it best after the game. "This is the first time [Thomas] was tested and he answered the bell, did a great job running and throwing, making good decisions; made a few errors early but didn't allow them to get him down and he put his team in a position to win." I can't wait to see what he's capable of doing as he continues to mature over the next few seasons.

With all this talk about the offense we can't forget about Oregon's defensive effort last night, especially in the second half when we completely shut out QB Andrew Luck and the Stanford offense. In five games this season, the Ducks have outscored their opponents 114-7 in the second half. That may have been another reason the team never seamed worried.

My roommate, Kevin, who works as a student coach for the defense, has always told us about Chip Kelly's rigorous workout regiment. It certainly showed last night as we slowly but surely wore down Stanford on both sides of the ball.

Now, after our 51-38 victory over the then #9 ranked Stanford Cardinal, the Ducks are ranked #3 in the AP Poll. Obviously, we played well enough to put ourselves in the discussion for the National Championship and we took a big step in the right direction by leap-frogging #4 Boise State.

Okay, I've spoken enough now. To wrap things up I want to send a big shout out to Randy and Sue Loftesness, who let my roommates and I run their tailgater for the afternoon. We had a great time and we only hope that we did you proud. After letting half of the 2007-08 McAlister residence hall crash your tailgaters for the past four seasons, we owe you a whole lot. This will be the first of many times we thank you.

Also, those of you that were watching the game might have noticed two strange looking students in green and yellow togas holding us a sign saying "LaHeisman." Well, those were the acclaimed Norris brothers; my former roommate, Cam, wore a yellow toga and green sunglasses and his brother, Trey, wore the opposite. Be sure to check ESPN GameDay's website to vote for their other sign that read, "NATIONAL FORECAST: OREGON REIGN."

Lastly, just for you viewing enjoyment I've embedded the latest hit from Supwitchugirl, "I Love My Ducks (Return of the Quack)."