Good Luck Ducks, Week 7: Stanford Time

The Ducks head to Stanford to take on their Bay Area rival. 

Oregon football is back in action tonight after suffering a rather demoralizing loss at the hands of the Washington State Cougars last Saturday night. It seems like an even more bitter pill to swallow considering last night's results, where the previously undefeated Cougars were even more dreadful than last Saturday's Ducks, losing 37-3 to Cal -- a team Oregon just beat handily with a bunch of backups and frosh running amok. Confused? So am I.

I have no idea what to make of college football sometimes, and it's difficult to imagine what will happen tonight. What we do know is that Stanford has the nation's top rushing leader by pretty much a million yards, which is so incredibly boring because it seems like Stanford always does this. Bryce Love has 1240 yards to his credit, averaging 10.5 yards per carry and basically lapping the rest of the field. On the other hand, Oregon's defense has improved dramatically (although there was nowhere to go but up), especially while defending the run. One could argue that they haven't really been tested in this area, especially not against a Stanford.

There is only one Stanford, fortunately, and Oregon plays them tonight. Late tonight. Talk about #Pac12AfterDark! Tonight's game is set to kick off after 8:00 PM local time, which is after the late local news starts on the east coast. Braxton Burmeister or, whoever, are set to take snaps for the Ducks and will face a team that also sits at 4-2 on the season, but Stanford has won 3 times in the conference versus Oregon's 1. The Ducks should be healthier this week with some key receivers (Charles Nelson and Dillon Mitchell) returning. Stanford really only became a rival to the Ducks in the current decade, but a win would definitely feel very satisfying.

For clicking and/or tapping:

• The Stanford mascot is probably the worst thing on Earth. Well, maybe not the worst worst.
• This game might not even happen because of wildfires. It's been an awful year for environmental conditions.
• Royce Freeman Status Alert: I think I saw him on the field for a spell last week. I blacked out after the first quarter, though.
• Know Your Opponent: Stanford's SB Nation blog is casually tossing out a Bryce Love 200+ yard game prediction, just so you know.
• The Unis!: White with yellow pants and helmets. A classic road look. I am a fan.

The rivalry really seemed to start in 2009, with unranked Stanford knocking off a top 10 Ducks team at home. This was their 2010 response.

Game time is 8:00 PM PDT (seriously?!). Broadcast channel is FS1. Your scheduled broadcasters are hopefully some people that are still awake (Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman and Holly Sonders again.) Go Ducks!