The matchup of the year in the Pac 12 gets underway on Thursday night from Stanford Stadium, with the No.3 Oregon Ducks taking on the No.5 Stanford Cardinal. The winner of this one will have the inside track to the Pac 12 North Championship, and remain in contention for the BCS National Championship race.
- When:
Thur., Nov. 7th, 2013 @ 9:00pm ET
- Where:
Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA
- Who’s Favored?
Ducks by 10.5 ~ 63 o/u @ BetOnline
- More Info:
Oregon’s path is a bit more clear with a victory over Stanford. Because the Ducks are undefeated on the season, they would likely rise up to the No.2 team in the country with a victory and leap over Florida State. But because Stanford has a loss, they will need to beat the Oregon and still hope for at least one other unbeaten team in front of them to fall. But they can forget about a BCS Championship Game appearance with a loss at home.
This has become one of the marquee games of the college football season over the course of the last several years.
Playing at home should definitely help Stanford. The Cardinal lost one game this season on the road in a shocking upset to Utah. But at home Stanford has been very good. The Cardinal are 4-0 this season against ranked opponents, the latest of which was a defeat over No.25 Oregon State.
Stanford has been able to slow down high-powered offenses so far this season, but Oregon’s will certainly be the best they have faced. But head coach David Shaw seems to come up with an effective game plan, as they allowed just 14 points to the Ducks last season in a 17-14 win.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota has yet to throw an interception this year. For the Cardinal to slow down the Ducks, it will start with turnovers. Oregon ranks No.2 in the country in rushing and No.20 in passing, averaging more than 600 yards per game.
This has the makings to being one of the games of the year in the 2013 season.