STANFORD 21/17/14/0 - 52
OREGON 6/7/0/14 - 27
EUGENE, OREGON - Once again, the Ducks fell behind early and failed to recover against a PAC-12 foe. Oregon’s defense allowed 38 points from Stanford before halftime, and finished the day with four turnovers committed. The loss meant that Oregon would record their first losing season since 2004.
Oregon and Stanford traded three-and-outs to start the first quarter, but after the Cardinal punted on their first drive they scored on their next six possessions to build a 25-point lead in Autzen just before the half. Stanford’s star running back Christian McCaffrey recorded touchdown runs of 61 and 5 yards to kick-start the blowout, then receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside scored another 61-yard touchdown to put the Cardinal up 21 to 0 in the first.
Justin Herbert and the Oregon offense finally responded by getting Johnny Mundt in the end zone with a 41-yard touchdown pass, but then failed to convert their two-point attempt. Stanford added 10 more points to their lead with a 43-yard field goal and a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Keller Chryst to Michael Rector to cap off an 11-play, 80-yard drive that was fueled by a goal-line interception thrown by Herbert on the previous Duck drive.
A big run from Royce Freeman set up a short scoring run from the back to cut the lead to 18 with 4:01 left in the half, but McCaffrey led a long scoring drive that was capped off by his third and final touchdown of the evening - the Stanford standout finished with 135 yards on 17 carries with three touchdowns. Oregon punctuated the disappointing showing with a missed 41-yard field goal at the end of the half.
It appeared the Duck defense earned the team some momentum when they forced a three-and-out on Stanford’s opening drive of the second half, but a fumbled punt return from redshirt freshman Malik Lovette seemed to deflate any hope of a comeback bid. Three plays after the Oregon turnover, Michael Rector was back in the end zone with a 15-yard touchdown reception, and a 13-yard scoring run from Cameron Scarlett finished a 17-point run late in the third.
Oregon scored twice in garbage time:, a seven-yard touchdown run from Kani Benoit and a 42-yard pass to Charles Nelson. The loss was the final game at Autzen during the 2016 season, and the bright spot was when Oregon legend Haloti Ngata announced the starting lineup while he was there to accept his invitation into the UO Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Our fans were awesome. I apologize to them for how we finished out the home slate.”
- Mark Helfrich
Oregon Offense (total: 500 - pass: 274 - rush: 226)
Stanford Offense (total: 540 - pass: 258 - rush: 282)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 0)
Stanford Defense (forced turnovers: 4 - FUM: 2 - INT: 2)
UO (3-7, 1-6) STAN (7-3, 5-3)