The Oregon Ducks lost to the Stanford Cardinal 17-14 on Saturday, but the defense did its part.

Defense B+ (17 offensive points against, 411 yards offense against, 21 first downs against, 6 tfl, 0-3 red zone defense)

AJ: The way the defense played Oregon should have won the game. Time and again they stopped the Cardinal, only to have to get back onto the field with only a minute or two rest. Everybody scoffs at time of possession but when an offense can only keep itself on the field for 22 of 60 minutes, the defense is put under a lot of pressure. Obviously Stanford had two players on offense that excelled, RB Taylor and receiver Ertz. Those two are very good football players and will make plays. It was to this group's credit they kept both guys out of the end zone.

JC: In a lot of ways this was an exceptional performance by the defense. They held the Cardinal to 17 points and forced three turnovers despite being undermanned on both the defensive line and in the secondary. The only thing that really hurt this grade was the inability of the Ducks to make stand at the end of the game as Stanford drove to tie the score. Perhaps the lack of bodies wore the Ducks down by the end of the game, but whether that is the case or not, the Duck defense's inability to make that final stop and the 400+ yards they gave up on in total offense to the Cardinal, drop what would otherwise have been an excellent grade from me.

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