The Oregon Ducks hosted Stanford football in a #Pac12AfterDark west coast showdown. This late-night overtime thriller did not disappoint.
Both teams entered the night with perfect records. With the exception of Washington, the rest of the Pac-12 has struggled thus far into the season. So the winner of this game knew they were establishing themselves at the top of the conference.
Notable Players
For the Stanford Cardinal, their offensive spark often comes from running back, Bryce Love. Love sat out Stanford’s Week 3 game against UC Davis due to an undisclosed injury. While it was likely Coach David Shaw had Love sit out because it was nearly a sure win against a FCS team. However, the Cardinal only beat UC Davis 30-10 despite the expectation of a much bigger margin of victory. Love was active for this week’s game against Oregon.
As for the Ducks, Justin Herbert headlined the Oregon offense. Coming into the game, Herbert had a 56.8 completion percentage for 840 yards. He had 12 touchdowns to his name along with four interceptions. Herbert is nearly the top of most lists of the top quarterbacks in next year’s NFL Draft.
Late Night Thriller
After another college football game that went into overtime, the Stanford Cardinal came out on top, 38-31. Stanford showed why they are ranked at number seven in this conference road win. However, both teams proved they are competitive teams that can compete with anyone in the country. Here are a few more things we learned after this game.
Justin Herbert’s arm should be insured
One of the most obvious ways Justin Herbert separates himself from the rest of the nation’s quarterbacks is his strong arm. Herbert makes NFL quality throws, not by long lobs, but in his bullet passes across the middle. In the NFL, defensive players are much faster with a greater range of coverage. Therefore, the windows to fit passes into are much smaller. Herbert’s accuracy and arm strength give him that advantage and make him that much more attractive to NFL scouts.
As if his passing ability didn’t make him enough of a dangerous quarterback, Herbert also has great mobility. Many young quarterbacks who can run well are often too aggressive during their runs and get themselves hurt. Herbert does a great job taking as many yards as he can yet still stepping out of bounds or sliding prior to contact. This solid decision making is what will keep him healthy and have the potential to be a great quarterback long-term in the NFL.
At the end of regulation, Herbert had completed 93 percent of his passes for 331 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off in overtime to seal the Cardinal victory.
Keep it simple
The Stanford Cardinal offense is one in which you know what is coming, you just may not be able to stop it.
Okay, maybe you don’t know exactly what is coming, but you have a very good idea. The ball is either going to be handed off to Bryce Love, or K. J. Costello is going to through the ball up high to either JJ Arcega-Whiteside or Kaden Smith.
Kaden Smith is one of those stereotypical Stanford athletic tight end who towers at 6-foot-5. Arcega-Whiteside is slightly shorter at 6-foot-3 and plays the wide receiver position. Prior to the Week 4 game, these two played combined accounted for 67 percent of all Stanford’s receiving yards.
These same players were the same ones relevant for this Week 4 game. Kaden Smith led the Stanford receiving corps with six receptions for 95 yards. Arcega-Whiteside had four receptions for 84 yards, including two touchdowns. Lastly, Bryce Love had 19 carried for 89 yards and a touchdown. These three players accounted for all of Stanford’s touchdowns in regulation time.
Finishing games is important
It appeared as though Oregon was going to put the Stanford Cardinal away late in the third quarter. The Ducks were up 24-7 and had the ball on the Cardinal four-yard line. Justin Herbert lost his handling of the ball and fumbled. The ball was recovered by Stanford’s Joey Alfieri and taken all the way back for a touchdown.
The Oregon offense was then held to a three and out on their next possession and were forced to punt. After a few mid ranged passes by K. J. Costello, Byrce Love broke a 22-yard touchdown run to bring Stanford within three points of the Ducks.
Where only three possessions ago, Oregon was four yards from going up 21 points, the game was now entering the middle of the fourth quarter and Stanford was within a field goal of tying the game.
After another touchdown from both teams the score read Oregon 31 – Stanford 28. Oregon had the ball inside Stanford territory with 1:54 left on the clock and a first down. Additionally, Stanford had only a single timeout left. The ball is handed off to freshman running back, CJ Verdell, and he gains seven yards. second-and-three with 0:59 left on the clock, the ball is again handed off to Verdell…and he fumbles.
K. J. Costello then took his team down the field to the 15-yard line to set his kicker, Jet Toner, for a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime.
This game was in Oregon’s hands way back in the middle of the third quarter. All it took was four yards and the game would have been out of reach. The difference between good teams and great teams is the ability to put games away when you have the chance. The Ducks will need to improve on finishing games if they want to get back to being national contenders.