The #7 Stanford Cardinal watched their College Football Playoff bubble burst on Saturday night after failing to convert on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt with seconds left in a 38-36 home loss to the Oregon Ducks. Here are some notes, quotes and observations from the night that was.
Notes:
Kevin Hogan was fantastic in leading Stanford back down 38-30, but it was his two ill-timed fumbled snaps that will likely end up haunting the Cardinal as they look back on what they could have done better.
Vernon Adams threw just 12 times on Saturday, but he completed 10 of those for over 200 yards and two scores. Even when not called upon a whole lot, Adams is dynamic enough to make things count.
Christian McCaffrey once again broke 250 all-purpose yards for the Stanford Cardinal, but will likely see his Heisman hopes diminished a bit with Stanford out of the playoff picture
The Oregon Ducks defense has been maligned for most of the year, perhaps warranted, but they did just enough on Saturday to salt away the win. Denying Hogan's two-point pass attempt after a gutting 4-yard TD pass with seconds left was the biggest of the big.
Quotes:
"He's got big eyes down field. Just a playmaker mentality." -- Ducks coach Mark Helfrich on QB Vernon Adams
“We needed to make one more play. We didn’t make it." -- Stanford coach David Shaw on the failed two-point conversion with seconds left.
"If I was George Clooney, my wife would be a lot happier." -- Mark Helfrich on if their season would have gone differently if Adams hadn't gotten hurt earlier in the year.
“We gave ourselves a chance to tie, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win." -- David Shaw on the game's closing seconds.
Observations:
The Oregon Ducks need some help, but they're still alive in the Pac-12 North race. They will need to take care of business against USC and Oregon State and have Stanford lose to Cal next week. However, with where this team was after the blowout loss to Utah earlier in the year, just being in this spot down the stretch is remarkable for Mark Helfrich's crew.
Kudos go to #7 Stanford for making it this far. They were completely written off after flailing in a 16-6 season-opening road loss to Northwestern, but they bullied their way back into the hunt with a run of eight straight wins. David Shaw's crew is going to be heartbroken over this loss, and rightfully so, but it was still an impressive run for the Cardinal as they rewrote the narrative of their season on the fly.
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