OREGON 7/0/0/0 - 7
STANFORD 21/7/7/14 - 49
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA - In his second game as a starter, Braxton Burmeister threw for 23 yards on 3-of-8 passing and two interceptions before being replaced by Taylor Allie. In total, the Ducks only managed to tally 33 yards through the air and one touchdown off a Burmeister run. Two Bryce Love scores set the tone for the contest, and perhaps the most entertaining highlight for Oregon fans was when a rabbit ran free on the field.
Standout running back Bryce Love ran for 34 yards on his first touch, four plays later he scored the game’s opening touchdown off a five yard run. An offensive holding penalty doomed Oregon’s first possession, and Stanford responded with a one-play scoring drive that featured Love blowing past the Duck defenders for a 67-yard touchdown.
The Oregon offense then put together their only successful outing, a five-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that cut the lead to seven. Royce Freeman, who finished with 144 yards on 18 carries, kick-started the possession with a 59-yard run and Burmeister scored Oregon’s only touchdown on a one-yard carry. The drive featured five runs and no passes.
Stanford traveled 71 yards in nine plays to score their next touchdown, a three-yard pass from Keller Chryst to JJ Arcega-Whiteside, then a Burmeister interception gave the Cardinal the ball shortly after. The Duck defense forced a fumble early in the second quarter, but the offense failed to capitalize and Burmeister was picked off again, this time by Casey Toohill. Oregon’s defense showed up again just before the half when Deommodore Lenoir picked off Chryst in the end zone to prevent the deficit from widening. The Ducks trailed 28 to 7 at the half.
Oregon’s second-half possessions consisted of four consecutive punts and a fumble to cap off a lopsided contest against the Cardinal. Meanwhile, Stanford flexed their offensive muscles by scoring three touchdown passes to extend their lead to 49-7: a 12-yard pass to Arcega-Whiteside, then two short passes to Colby Parkinson in the final quarter. Even safety Brandon Simmons joined the touchdown party by taking a blocked punt to the end zone for a two-yard score in the third quarter.
Freeman moved to fourth in PAC-12 history by reaching 4,943 career rushing yards, and Tyrell Crosby, Jake Pisarcik and Tony Brooks-James all left the game showing concussion symptoms.
“We knew we couldn't turn the ball over and beat this football team. We turned it over a couple times early, and I think (Braxton Burmeister) was shook a little bit."
- Willie Taggart
Oregon Offense (total: 309 - pass: 33 - rush: 276)
Stanford Offense (total: 504 - pass: 256 - rush: 248)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 2 - FUM: 1 - INT: 1)
Stanford Defense (forced turnovers: 3 - FUM: 1 - INT: 2)
UO (4-3, 1-3) STAN (5-2, 4-1)