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Hair of the Dog Needs to be the Stanford Cardinal

Posted By: Nick, Off The Pond under Football  | November 3, 2009 

Sometimes, blogs get hangovers too, so if it seems the place is a bit dead, just know it’s refocusing and getting back up for another round.

Hopefully, so too will the Oregon Ducks football team.

Eugene was some kind of utopia on Saturday and given how early many got started with ESPN’s College GameDay, there was very little of the day that went unused. For the blog, it started with an early morning flight and ended late at a place that would make ESPN’s Neil Everett proud (Rennie’s of course). For all, it was one hell of a day.

But this isn’t so much about the party as it is about how we move on.

All the excitement and hype of the day and the week preceding may have manifested itself into three and a half hours of perfection that vaulted Oregon into a Rose Bowl driver seat, but it’s all for not if the Ducks don’t forget everything they just did. They’ll need to put forth the same preparation and the same effort for a Stanford team that defends its home turf like a rabid animal.

In year’s past, this was a legitimate concern. Oregon played hangover games all the time and left you feeling frustrated by a group so capable and yet so easily distracted.

Now, not so much. Chip Kelly’s stringent policy that the most important game you’ll ever play is this week seems to really work. It’s fun to mock because it’s so silly to fans and media, but it has a genuine purpose that his team has bought hook, line and sinker.

There was no hangover from Boise State, just a win the following week. After beating Cal in an emotional, “we’re back” statement game, they went right back to business and dismantled a Washington State Cougar team in a way no one else has done all year.

I can almost guarantee Stanford has their full attention, LeGarrette Blount’s status notwithstanding. The Cardinal is a team that has only one loss at home in the last two seasons and is still somewhat in the race for the conference crown.

Lose to Stanford and Oregon opens the door back up for a litany of teams to challenge for the top spot. Win and it’s virtually shut to all but Arizona.

No doubt, a big game looms this weekend, one the Ducks can ill afford to lose. If eight games has been any indication, the Ducks know this more than anyone.

2 Responses to Hair of the Dog Needs to be the Stanford Cardinal”

  1. Nautiduck Nautiduck says:

    Rennie’s?? Hell, that game ended after my bedtime! :-)

    I love CK’s “one game at a time” mantra because it is so fundamentally true. THe only time it matters who you beat is in a tie-breaker. Otherwise it is all about the record. And not the record now – the record at the end of the season.

    I’m actually quite a bit nervous about Stanford. The D will really have to be on to stop a bruising Cardinal running game. It will help if the O can light up the Cardinal and force them to go to the air.

    Back to tie-breakers. Nick we need some analysis on that and who we Duck fans should be rooting for to lose this week and subsequent weeks. Get researching!

    Every game is a season. One game at a time. Focus. Win!

    • Someone asking me to research football related issues? Hell, that’s the biggest green light I’ve ever seen. I do that kind of stuff for fun. We’ll start that weekly feature tomorrow. And don’t worry about Stanford. I’m 2-0 attending games against California schools.

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