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Blogging with the Enemy: Oregon Ducks

Over the past twelve years of Stanford football, three of the programs biggest -- and most surprising -- wins have come at the expense of the Oregon Ducks. There was the epic game in 2012 when freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan led the Cardinal to an improbable overtime win in Autzen Stadium, the miracle comeback in 2018, and the lone highlight of last season, a 31-24 overtime win on the Farm.

On the other side of the coin, the Ducks have handed the Cardinal two of the more painful losses in program history. First a crushing 53-30 home loss in Andrew Luck's senior season of 2011, and then a shocking 38-36 upset in 2015, losses that left arguably the two best Stanford teams of all time on the outside of the national championship picture.

These two schools have produced plenty of dramatic games, they've crushed each other's championship dreams more than once, and for most of the past decade they were the two best teams in the conference, with one or the other usually representing the Pac-12 North in the conference championship game.

Entering into Saturday's game, however, things are... different.

Blogging with the Enemy: Washington Huskies

Once upon a time, if you were opening conference play against two teams who each were breaking in a new quarterback and also had brand new coaching staffs, you might feel like the schedule makers had smiled upon you. You'd assume those two early wins and begin thinking about bowl game destinations.

For the second consecutive game, Stanford will face an opponent with a brand new quarterback, a brand new system, and a brand new coaching staff. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, USC seemed to be in midseason form when they travelled to the Farm two weeks ago, and the Washington Huskies also look to be adjusting well to all the new faces in the building. 

Washington opened with two sacrificial lambs, Kent State and Portland State, beating them by a combined score of 97-26. It was easy to discount those two wins, but last week they beat #11 Michigan State 39-28 in a game that was essentially over at halftime. September rankings don't mean much, but this was still an impressive win over a name brand team, a statement win for a new staff and a new quarterback.

USC 41, Stanford 28

Two weeks ago we were invited to a family function that coincided with the kickoff of Saturday evening's game between Stanford and USC. It was something that couldn't be missed, so I set the DVR, put my phone on airplane mode, and hoped for the best. We were going to a UCLA house, so I figured there was a decent chance the game wouldn't be on, so there was a decent chance I wouldn't make a fool of myself by huddling in front of a screen while everyone else made eye contact and spoke to each other like normal human beings. I could hope.

Blogging with the Enemy: USC Trojans

In the twelve years that I've been writing about Stanford football in this space, no series has been as consistently consequential as the yearly matchups with the USC Trojans. In fact, if we push back a few years and start with 2007, you can easily make the argument that four of the most important games in Stanford history have been victories over the Trojans. First there was the Greatest Upset Ever in 2007, then there was the "What's Your Deal?" game in 2009 that announced to the world that Stanford football was more than just a flash in the pan, next we had the epic triple overtime win in 2011, and finally the 2015 Pac-12 Championship game.

The Trojans have been a measuring stick for the Cardinal throughout the Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw eras, and just as the Stanford wins have been triumphant, the losses have been catastrophic. At no point in the last fifteen years has either fanbase ever left the stadium feeling good about a moral victory. One side's narrow win is the other's heartbreaking defeat; one's joyous romp is the other's embarrassment. This isn't an official rivalry so no trophy is exchanged, but the loser always leaves blood on the field.

For proof we only need turn the calendar back to last year at this time when a fragile Stanford team came into the Los Angeles Coliseum and stunned the Trojans -- and the rest of the college football world -- with a decisive 42-28 victory. And the Trojans bled. Head coach Clay Helton was fired just a few days later.

2022 Position Preview: Defensive Backs

If we're ranking the greatest Stanford football players of the past 50 years, three obvious names come to mind -- Bryce Love, Andrew Luck, and Christian McCaffrey. (Personally, I hedge a bit. I've got Luck as the best quarterback in program history and Love as the greatest pure running back, which allows me to choose McCaffrey as the best all-around player.)

But if we're talking about the most important players, there's a fourth name that has to be included with those three. In fact, I'd argue that along with Luck, Richard Sherman is one to the two most important players in program history.