The history of Stanford versus Oregon is littered with two dozen moments that almost made me throw a shoe through the TV.
On its surface, this week's Oregon at Stanford has all the makings of a classic letdown game. The Cardinal are in last place in the league, 0-2 in conference and 1-3 overall. Oregon is 4-0, coming off an emotional win on national TV over Colorado with a bye next week followed by a clash with traditional rival Washington October 14.
Most Duck fans know at least some of the sordid and frustrating history of Oregon versus Stanford. In 2012, DAT missed a block and Ertz was out. 1989, Oregon blew a 17-0 lead in the 4th quarter. 2001, two blocked punts in the 4th quarter cost Joey Harrington and company a shot at the BCS playoff. In 2018, this happened:
"Typical Stanford play, you know it's coming, you just can't stop it." In 2021, another nightmare in the daytime, with Stanford grad Rod Gilmore doing the color commentary:
"Number five has been disqualified from the game."
What makes this last PAC-12 meeting with The Cardinal different is the businesslike focus of Dan Lanning's team. The season is a long grind. It's impossible to achieve or even strive for a fever pitch/they're playing for clicks intensity for every game. Some weeks, a team just has to focus on improving, understanding their assignments, and playing to their standard.
This is one of those weeks. Last week and all the brouhaha over the Buffaloes is over. Trust Lanning, Bo Nix, and Brandon Dorlus to lead a team into Palo Alto that understands they have one opportunity to play football this week and the true opponent is themselves and their own potential. They won't let Stanford get in the way of what they're really playing for.
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