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Gameday returns to Autzen Stadium
for clash of the titans
The Advocate
College Gameday got it right when they decided to head to Eugene Saturday for a war between two Top-10 teams from the Pac-10.
Oregon is the No. 4 team in the nation and the Cardinal is No. 9 according to the most recent AP and USA Today polls.
Week five usually doesn't provide such a big treat for college football fans, especially diehard Duckies. But in this case it means the very opposite: everything with a cherry on top.
If this game doesn't have the smell of "roses" all over it, then I don't know what Pac-10 clash does. Both teams are led by high-powered offenses and smart coaches, Chip Kelly for the Ducks and Jim Harbaugh for the Cardinal.
There's a bit of bad blood between the two. Last year on Nov. 7, the Cardinal upset then-No. 7 Ducks with a 51-42 victory, slapping the Ducks with their first (and only) loss in conference play.
Both teams took big hits during the offseason. The Ducks lost thief, doper and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, now with Ole Miss after a thousand different chances to make things right with Oregon. And the Cardinal lost Heisman finalist runningback Toby Gerhart to the NFL draft; he's now an "up the gut" tailback and backup to Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.
The only thing certain is that someone's undefeated season comes to an end Saturday night. Who will it be?
Prediction: Stanford will fall short to the Ducks. They don't have enough gunpower to hang with the Ducks (offense, defense and special teams). Don't get it twisted. We know which of the two teams are smarter (Stanford). It's going to be another shootout one way or another.
Who has the advantages:
Quarterback – Cardinal (Andrew Luck isn't the next big thing for no reason)
Running backs – Ducks ("LaHeisman" James, Remene Alston and Kenjon Barner)
Receivers – Tie
Defensive line – Ducks
Offensive line – Cardinal
Special teams – (Cliff Harris and Kenjon Barner)
Score: Ducks 49, Cardinal 31
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