Oregon Ducks entering Week 5 matchup against Stanford with revenge on their minds

Last season, Oregon entered Week 5 still riding the momentum of a thrilling upset win over Ohio State three weeks prior.

The Ducks were the No. 3 team in the country and had lofty hopes of notching another resume-building win over a conference rival when they traveled to Stanford for an Oct. 2 showdown. But it all came crumbling down that afternoon when they found themselves on the wrong end of a heartbreaking 31-24 overtime loss at the hands of the Cardinal.

On Saturday, the Ducks will welcome Stanford to Eugene for another Week 5 showdown, this time with revenge on their minds as they aim to avoid a similar slip-up.

“Last year (Stanford) stung us in a way that wasn’t acceptable,” Oregon defensive end Brandon Dorlus said. “We’ve got to have the mentality we’ve had the past two weeks; forget what everybody else is talking about. We know we’re the most physical team. We know we’ve got the guys to do it. We’ve just got to stay focused on the plan and stay locked in.”

Much like last season, the No. 13-ranked Ducks enter Saturday’s matchup as heavy favorites over the Cardinal. As of Friday, Vegas Insider has them favored by 17 points.

Oregon was an eight-point road favorite when it headed to The Farm last year and found out the hard way that previous accomplishments mean very little when it comes to conference rivalries.

“Over the years, we’ve always known that Stanford is a big, physical team,” Oregon safety Steve Stephens IV said. “Big personnel all across the field — whether it’s in the open field, red zone, short yardage. We’ve just got to play big and play physical.”

That physicality loomed large a year ago when the Cardinal forced overtime on a controversial play at the end of regulation. Quarterback Tanner McKee targeted 6-foot-5 wideout John Humphreys on three consecutive plays at the goal line with less than 12 seconds to go while Humphreys was matched up with 5-foot-11 cornerback Mykael Wright.

Wright prevailed on second and third down. But on 4th-and-4, with the game on the line, Wright was called for defensive holding and the Cardinal were given a fresh set of downs. On the next play, McKee connected with Elijah Higgins for a two-yard touchdown, and the ensuing extra point sent the game to overtime.

Oregon fans don’t need to be reminded of what happened after that.

“That’s definitely part of what (Stanford) are. Especially in the red zone, they’re throwing fade balls because they’ve got those big receivers, big tight ends,” Stephens said. “They try to box you out. We’re definitely expecting that and definitely working on that in practice.”

At this time last season, of course, Mario Cristobal was still at the helm of the Oregon program.

On the same afternoon the Cardinal upset the Ducks, Dan Lanning was 2,528 miles away in Athens, helping the Georgia Bulldogs to a 37-0 thrashing of Arkansas.

This weekend will mark Lanning’s first time facing Stanford, but he has a great appreciation for the rivalry nonetheless. He knows what last year’s loss means to Oregon’s returning players, and how much this year’s game means to them.

“We have a lot of respect for this team,” Lanning said. “This team shortened our season last year. Some of the guys in our room, they still have a bad taste in their mouths from playing these guys before. That’s not far from their minds and playing to our best is. So that’s really what we focus on.”