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Stanford will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-field advantage. They will take on the Oregon Ducks at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Stanford is staggering into the matchup hobbled by three consecutive losses, while Oregon will skip in buoyed by five consecutive wins.
Stanford might have drawn first blood against Arizona on Saturday, but it was Arizona who got the last laugh. Stanford was just a hair shy of victory and fell 21-20 to Arizona.
Sedrick Irvin put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Oregon at home against Colorado on Saturday as the team secured a 42-6 win. With Oregon ahead 35-0 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Oregon relied on the efforts of Troy Franklin, who picked up 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Bo Nix, who threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for nine yards and a touchdown. Nix wound up with a passer rating of 179. It was a true group effort though, as the team also got help from Bucky Irving, who rushed for 89 yards.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Colorado to a paltry 199 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Oregon's ability to keep the quarterback under presure: the team laid him out seven times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Jordan Burch and his two sacks.
Oregon's win bumped their season record to 4-0 while Stanford's defeat dropped theirs to 1-3.
While only Oregon took care of their fans the last time they played, both teams pleased bettors by covering the spread. Looking ahead, the game looks promising for Oregon, as the team is favored by a full 27 points. This contest will be their fourth straight as the favorites (a stretch that saw them go 4-0 against the spread).
Stanford lost to Oregon at home by a decisive 45-27 margin in their previous matchup last October. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Oregon's Nix, who threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Stanford knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
