Oregon Shows Signs of Greatness in 45-27 Win Over Stanford – Sports Illustrated

Oregons 45-27 victory over Stanford is just the latest showing of how good the Ducks can be.

A week after Bo Nix threw for a career-high 428 yards at Washington State, he showcased his legs, running wild for 141 yards, while still throwing for an efficient 161 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-29 passing.

At the end of the first quarter the Ducks had 161 rushing yards to the Cardinals 30 yards of total offense.

MarKeise 'Bucky' Irving who has solidified himself as the Ducks'premier back alongside other backs like Noah Whittington and Jordan Jamesand ran wild for 78 yards in the first quarter alone.

The Ducks cruised into the red zone on their first possession before a plethora of penalties stalled the drive, forcing the Ducks to settle for three.

On their second drive Irving once again gashed the defense, moving Oregon into threatening position before penalties once again killed the momentum, forcing Nix to do one of his newly practiced punts which pinned Stanford in their own 10-yard line.

On the Ducks' third possession they finally broke into the end-zone with a 49-yard screen pass to Chase Cota, his first touchdown as a Duck.

From there the Oregon offense began heating up, displaying the capacity to be highly lethal.

Before the half Nix and the Ducks drove into the red zone, where on third-and-nine Nix stepped up in the pocket, then bought time, rolling out to his right, before finding his new favorite target Troy Franklin who toe-tapped in the end zone for six.

The Ducks then forced a turnover on the first play of the next Cardinal drive as Bennett Williamsknocked the ball loose from Benjamin Yurosek, giving the Ducks another chance to capitalize from good starting field position.

This time Nix opted to score it himself, as he craftily used a variety of pass fakes to slow down his pursuing defenders and find a hole to the end zone.

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The play of the night was Nix's 80-yard breakaway run in the second quarter which ballooned the Oregon lead to 28.

After successfully pounding the rock all night resulting in 351 rushing yards, Nix pulled a zone handoff, then checked his targets before darting into an opening in the middle of the field for what looked like a potential 20+ yard gain.

However, instead of sliding as defenders closed in, Nix stepped on the gas, picking up blocks from Franklin and tight end Terrance Ferguson as he left everyone in the dust.

The Oregon defense also shined in the win. Brandon Dorlus, Defensive Line coach Tony Tuiotis preseason Alpha of the defense, had two sacks and three tackles for loss.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalezcontributed with two pass breakups, furthering his case as one of the best cover corners in the country.

If it werent for a handful of early turnovers the Ducks couldve put this game away significantly earlier, which is incredible considering the score was 31-3 at halftime.

The Ducks will look to play a more complete and disciplined game when they travel to Tucson to face Arizona next week.

Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricBerniker

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Oregon Shows Signs of Greatness in 45-27 Win Over Stanford - Sports Illustrated