Three weeks ago the Cardinal, led by first-year head coach Walt Harris, were the talk of Palo Alto, having knocked off Navy in Annapolis. After three long, losing seasons it seemed as if Harris might be the one to change things for the better on the Farm. Against the Midshipmen, the Cardinal offense marched up and down the field, overcame mistakes that could have cost Stanford the game and the defense did all it had to do in order to get the victory.

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Adrian Gaitan

Stanford takes on Oregon at home this Saturday. The Ducks have beaten the Cardinal in each of the last three meetings, including a 16-13 win in Palo Alto last year.

But, as the Cardinal (1-1, 0-0 Pacific-10 Conference) take the field this Saturday at Stanford Stadium to open their Pac-10 schedule against the Oregon Ducks (3-1, 0-1), the story is dramatically different. A crushing home loss two weeks ago to UC-Davis has turned Stanford from a team on the rise to a squad resembling one from the last three seasons.

After putting up 416 yards of total offense against Navy, the Cardinal came out flat against Davis, moving the ball for less than 200 yards. Meanwhile, the Aggies, who had previously lost to New Hampshire and Portland State, came to Stanford and outgained the Cardinal with 251 yards.

Despite the fact that Stanford is one of only two Division 1-A teams to lose to a Division 1-AA team this season, there is still confidence that the team can build on the loss.

“We have something to prove now — that the UC-Davis game was a fluke,” senior cornerback T.J. Rushing said at a press conference earlier this week. “It would be easy to fold up the tents and just say `we’re horrible,’ but we don’t believe that at all. We believe that we’re a great football team that’s going to do great things this year.”

Oregon will be a difficult opponent for the Cardinal in their quest to reestablish themselves as a competitor in the Pac-10. The Ducks, who have been ranked in the top 25 at points this season, are a team with a potent offense and have had success against Stanford in the past.

Oregon has won three straight against the Cardinal, including a heartbreaking 16-13 win at Stanford last season. In that game, a would-be game-tying 49-yard field goal attempt by Michael Sgroi fell short as time expired. The Oregon defense out-muscled Stanford’s offensive line, recording 10 sacks, including one that knocked starting quarterback Trent Edwards out of the game.

This season, the Ducks have relied heavily on senior quarterback Kellen Clemens, who is averaging nearly 300 yards passing per game and has not thrown a single interception in Oregon’s first four games. Clemens is also a threat to run the ball. He is the team’s second leading rusher and has only 30 yards less than the Duck’s starting tailback Terrance Whitehead.

“[Clemens] is very efficient and effective,” Harris said. “He throws the ball well and is good at getting away from the rush. Anytime, you have a guy that can run around back there and hurts you when he runs, it makes it very challenging for a defense.”

Clemens led the Ducks last week to a 13-0 lead over No. 1 USC, before eventually losing 45-13. Despite the final outcome, Oregon showed that it could keep up with the best team in the country, at least for a little while.

“I thought they looked real good and played hard,” Rushing said of Oregon’s effort against USC. “Their offense is going to present us with some problems. We need to be sound in our defensive assignments.”

The defense that gave the Cardinal so much trouble last season is strengthened this year by the full return of junior defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Nagata suffered a knee injury early in the 2003 season, and played at partial strength last year. He is expected to be back in full health this season, and will present a challenge for Stanford’s offensive line.

“We’re up against a big, physical team on both sides of the ball,” Harris said. “Their athletes have great speed and size. We have a tall challenge this week, and we’re looking forward to our opportunity.”

It is an opportunity that Stanford can hardly afford to waste. After the Davis loss, a victory over a solid Oregon team would be a big step toward a successful season.

“We’re playing for the Pac-10 championship and this is the first opportunity for us to do that,” Harris said. “We just have a lot of work to do and a lot of tightening up to do. But, we have good football players who care a lot and put a lot into it. We had a not so proud weekend, but we’re working hard and are very motivated to change it.”