07-19-2019, 12:42 AM
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Florida State might want to send the Cardinal a thank you card. Tyler Gaffney ran for 157 yards and No. 6 Stanford hammered No. 2 Oregon for three quarters before holding off a furious rally by the fast-paced Ducks for a 26-20 victory Thursday night. The Cardinal made it two in a row against the Ducks, who havent lost to any other team in the last two seasons. "If you control the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball you can beat these guys," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "Were a big, physical football team that plays well together." Kevin Hogan ran for a touchdown and played a mistake-free game at quarterback for Stanford (8-1, 6-1 Pac-12) as the Cardinal put on a clinic in how to play keep away from a team that was averaging 55.6 points. Stanford ran 66 times for 274 yards -- sometimes behind as many as nine offensive linemen -- and held the ball for 42 1/2 minutes. Heisman Trophy contender Marcus Mariota, who said he was playing on a left knee that was a "little banged up," was inaccurate and under pressure much of the night. He finished 20 of 34 for 250 yards with a fumble, but threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, sandwiched around a blocked field goal return for a score by Rodney Hardrick, to pull the Ducks (8-1, 5-1) to 26-20 with 2:12 left. Oregon recovered one onside kick, but couldnt do it twice, and Stanford ran out the clock. "We dont hold the cards anymore," first-year Ducks coach Mark Helfrich said. Those belong to No. 3 Florida State now. The Seminoles dont have to worry about the Ducks nudging them out of second place in the BCS standings behind Alabama. FSU was in danger of slipping to third in the BCS if Oregon could have registered a big road victory against a quality opponent. Now, the Seminoles face a manageable remaining schedule with a good chance to win their way to the BCS championship game at the Rose Bowl in January. Unbeaten Baylor and Ohio State have to be happy, too, with one less hurdle to clear. As for Stanford, it gets first place in the Pac-12 North and the inside track to another league title game and Rose Bowl. And maybe if things get really weird, the Cardinal can get back in the national title hunt. Stanford won a three-point game in overtime at Oregon last year to deny the Ducks a chance to play for the national championship, but it didnt look as if there would be much drama in the return bout on the Farm. Stanford led 17-0 at halftime and added three more field goals by Jordan Williamson in the second half. Oregon looked like dead Ducks, down 26-0 early in the fourth with Stanford hammering away behind Gaffney, who set a school record with 45 carries. "I feel like I just played a football game," Gaffney said with a smile. Even after Oregon finally broke the seal with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Mariota to Daryle Hawkins, the Cardinal went on another time consuming drive and attempted a long field goal that would have sealed it. Instead, the Ducks blocked it, Hardrick scooped and scored from 65 yards out with 5:08 left and suddenly it was interesting. Only 5 seconds later it got even more interesting when the Ducks recovered an onside kick. They quickly moved inside the Stanford 5, but got pushed back to a fourth-and-goal from the 12. Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Pharaoh Brown with 2:12 remaining, but the time it took the Ducks to get in while burning a timeout was key. Stanford grabbed the next onside kick and Oregon was powerless to stop the clock. Stanford put Oregon in a 14-0 hole, the Ducks largest deficit of the season, with a power football clinic that started when the Cardinal came up with a fourth-and-goal stop from the 4 in the first quarter. Stanford followed with a punishing 96-yard drive that included one long strike from Hogan to Michael Rector. Gaffneys 2-yard plunge made it 7-0. With a little help from a pass interference call that wiped out an Oregon interception, Stanford made it 14-0 on Hogans option keeper from 11 yards out with 11:26 left in the second quarter. And just when it looked as though Oregon was about to get back in it, Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov ripped the ball away from DeAnthony Thomas at the Stanford 2. Stanford followed that with another 96-yard drive, this one on 20 plays that ended with Williamson kicking a 19-yard field goal to end the half 17-0. It was the first time Oregon had been shut out in the first half since Oct. 10, 2009, against UCLA, and a lot of people had to be left wondering how Stanford lost to Utah last month. At halftime, Stanford retired John Elways No. 7 jersey and the Hall of Fame quarterback concluded the ceremony by imploring the fans to stay into the game and the Cardinal to keep kicking Duck ... tail. They obliged, and Oregon is again on the outside looking in at the national title race. "It is tough and it is hard because a lot of these guys have really worked hard," Mariota said. "It aint over. It happens. Were going to come back stronger than ever and were just going to take it in stride." Charlie Coyle Jersey . The Professional Referee Organization, which manages game officials for the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS, notified the Professional Soccer Referee Association of the lockout and said replacement officials will be used. Brad Marchand Jersey .9 million deal Thursday. The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.info/authe...ns-jersey/ .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude. Tuukka Rask Bruins Jersey .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. Patrice Bergeron Bruins Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better.HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut went down to the wire with another opponent. This time there was no clutch shot by Shabazz Napier. UConns star guard, known for heroics such as a last-second shot that beat Florida earlier this month, missed three times in the final 40 seconds and the 10th-ranked Huskies lost for the first time this season, 53-51 to Stanford. "With Shabazz, you live with that, because hes put this team on his back a lot of times," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "But he could have taken it to the basket a couple of times, but he settled for the long 3-ball." Chasson Randle scored 22 points and the Cardinal (8-2) beat a Top 25 team away from Palo Alto for the first time since the 2008 NCAA tournament. The Cardinals previous seven wins this season came over teams that were a combined 32-41. "I think its an important win for our conference," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said, referring to the Pac-12. "A number of teams have had some real signature wins, and Im just happy that we were able to have one as well." Josh Huestis added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Dwight Powell had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Stanford which overcame a 10-point halftime deficit. DeAndre Daniels had 15 points for UConn (9-1), which was 6 of 10 from behind the arc in the first half and 0 for 12 in the second. Connecticut this season already had beaten Maryland, Indiana and Florida by a point and won by two against Boston College. But the Huskies could not get a clutch basket down the stretch against Stanford. Randles jump shot with 3 1/2 minutes left gave the Cardinal a 52-49 lead. The Huskies pulled within a point when Daniels tipped in a missed 3-point attempt by Niels Giffey. Napier, who finished with 12 points and eight assists, missed two 3-pointers on a key possession with the Huskies trailing 52-51. Stanford got the ball back with 28 seconds left after a scrum underneath the basket. Napier fouled Huestis on the inbounds play and he hit one of two free throws. Napier missed another shot with 8 seconds left, forcing UConn to foul agaain.dddddddddddd He got the ball back on a rebound after Huestis missed another free throw; dribbled down the court, but instead of trying a contested shot, he passed to Omar Calhoun. His long jumber from the right wing bounced off the rim. "I felt like Omar was the most open guy at the time," Napier said. "I felt like it was going to go in, and I bet he did too." UConn led by 10 points at halftime and pushed the lead to 43-30, before consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Brown and Randle. That started a 14-0 run by the Cardinal, who used a stifling zone defence to hold the Huskies without a field goal for more than 6 minutes. The Huskies were just 5 of 31 from the field in the second half. "It was just a matter of us being aggressive on the defensive end," Randle said. "Just being active, getting our hands moving, getting our feet moving and getting our feet moving and just hustling." A driving basket and free throw by Randle gave Stanford its first lead of the second half at 44-43. The Huskies closed the first half on a 14-3 run that ended when Napier stole the ball from Randle and found Lasan Kromah ahead of the field for an easy layup just before buzzer. UConn came in shooting better than 46 per cent from beyond the arc, with five players having made 10 or more 3-pointers. The loss snapped a 54-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents that dated to 2007. Connecticut was coming off its annual hiatus for final exams. The Huskies had not played in 12 days, since a 95-68 win over Maine, a game in which UConn hit 14 3-pointers. Stanford ended a 13-day break last Saturday with a 27-point win over UC Davis. UConn plays at Washington, another Pac-12 team, on Saturday. The Huskies had dominated that conference, coming into Wednesday they were 17-2 and had won 13 straight since falling to UCLA in the 1995 NCAA West Regional championship. "Well learn from this," Daniels said. "Were not going to have all the time when (Napiers) going to be the hero of the game and knock down a shot." ' ' '