New on Sports Illustrated: Stanford Upsets No. 3 Oregon in OT, Leaving Pac-12 With No Unbeaten Teams
The Cardinal shocked the Ducks in a 31–24 overtime win to make the Pac-12 the only Power 5 league with no unbeaten teams.
It was just three weeks ago that Oregon was being celebrated for its impressive road win at Ohio State and heralded as the savior to end the Pac-12's dubious College Football Playoff drought. Now, those national title dreams have hit an enormous, tree-sized speed bump.
Stanford upset No. 3 Oregon, 31–24, in overtime on Saturday to hand the Ducks their first loss of the season. The result leaves the Pac-12 without an undefeated team as the calendar has barely turned to October, making it the only Power 5 league with no unbeaten teams left.
Stanford held a 17–7 halftime lead before the Ducks answered with a 10–0 third quarter to even the score. The Ducks went ahead, 24–17, early in the fourth quarter and seemingly had the game won as they had the ball inside the Stanford 40-yard line with under three minutes to play. But penalties stalled the drive, and the Ducks were forced to punt it away with two minutes left.
Oregon penalties aided Stanford's ensuing drive, and the Cardinal faced a fourth-and-goal from the Oregon 4-yard line with just one second left on the clock. The ensuing play resulted in an incomplete pass, but a holding penalty against the Ducks gave Stanford one last chance to tie the game.
Stanford scored a touchdown on the opening possession of overtime, then stopped Oregon on fourth down on the following series to secure the win.
The last time the Pac-12 had a team get selected to the CFP was in the 2016 season, when Washington was the No. 4 seed and lost to No. 1 Alabama in the semifinals, 24–7. Oregon made it to the first-ever CFP in 2014, advancing to the national championship game before losing to Ohio State.
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