by Steve Berman (@BASportsGuy)
Subplot of the game: The turf at Stanford Stadium was the story from the opening kickoff, with Stanford's Ty Montgomery catching the ball at the 3-yard-line and slipping and falling at the 17. The prevailing wisdom was that Stanford would hold the advantage on a slower track. However, it was the Ducks who had better footing when it counted with three scoring plays of 41 yards or longer by speedsters LaMichael James, De'Anthony Thomas and Josh Huff.
Trick play of the game: Chip Kelly went for the 2-point conversion after Oregon's first touchdown, with the entire line shifting to the left sideline and Mike Garrity and David Paulson completing football's version of a special teams give-and-go to perfection.
Shank of the game: Eric Whitaker was already in the middle of a rough night after missing his first PAT attempt, but his miss on a 48-yard FG try in the third quarter was an all-timer. Stanford was down by 13, so trying such a long field goal with their backup kicker (Jordan Williamson was unable to play due to injury) was a questionable idea in the first place. David Shaw's choice looked even worse when Whitaker's kick landed closer to the right side of the end zone than the goalposts.
Jukes of the game: Huff's moves that sent Terrence Brown and Michael Thomas to the soggy turf led to a 59-yard touchdown and the realization for Stanford that they were truly no match for Oregon's speed.
Play call of the game: It's one thing to go for two in the early stages of a game everyone knows is going to be high-scoring. But when Kelly went for it on 4th-and-7 at Stanford's 41 and Darron Thomas threw the ball to De'Anthony Thomas for a touchdown to put Oregon up 22-9 -- just a few minutes after De'Anthony lost a fumble it just seemed like it would be the Ducks' night.