When Oregon hosts Stanford at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, a spot in the national title game will be on the line.
The Ducks are 10-0 on the season and rank second in the BCS standings behind the Kansas State Wildcats. Notre Dame is lurking behind at No. 3, but if the Ducks win out, they will play in the championship game.
"That's what's so good about this team," said wide receiver Josh Huff to the Associated Press. "We don't pay attention to the rankings and what's around us. We just play Oregon football."
A win against the Cardinal would clinch the Pac-12 North for Oregon, guaranteeing them a spot in the conference title game. The team is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and is the highest scoring team in the country, scoring 54 points per game.
"This is pretty much our Pac-12 championship game," linebacker Chase Thomas said.
Oregon has been the most explosive team in college football this season, rushing for over 300 yards per game.
Senior running back Kenjon Barner is a Heisman candidate and has rushed for 1,360 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had a quiet game against California with only 65 yards, but rushed for 321 with five touchdowns the previous week in the 62-51 win at USC.
Head coach Chip Kelley has the team focused for Stanford after two games on the road. The Ducks beat then-No. 17 ranked USC 62-51 in a shootout on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles before dominating California last Saturday 59-17.
Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota had over 350 yards passing and six touchdowns in the game, both career highs.
"We're about the end results," Kelly said. "I don't care if we run it, I don't care if we throw it. If you're gonna let us throw it for 377 yards and six touchdowns, we'll take that every week."
Huff had three touchdown catches in the win, while De'Anthony Thomas caught eight balls for 101 yards.
Stanford has one of the top rated defenses in the Pac-12, allowing 320 yards per game. The Cardinal has won four straight games since losing to then-No. 7 Notre Dame 20-13 on Oct. 13.
"I think it'll be a huge challenge offensively getting matched up against what will be the best defense we've faced so far," Kelly said.
Quarterback Kevin Hogan will start his second straight game for Josh Nunes, who has been ineffective in recent weeks. Hogan was extremely efficient in last Saturday's win over Oregon State, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns while completing 22-of-29 passes.
"Kevin Hogan's probably a little bit better runner than Josh was so there's a little bit more quarterback on the perimeter stuff," Kelly said. "Their system is their system."
Nunes has been solid for most of the season, but threw three interceptions and only two touchdowns in the past four games, including two turnovers in the 20-13 loss to Notre Dame.
Stefan Taylor has rushed for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns, his third straight season reaching those numbers. He has also been a threat coming out of the backfield, catching 28 balls for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
Stanford has lost the last five games they have played in Eugene and also lost last season's game at home 53-30 to the Ducks.
"They have great athletes, they have a great scheme in all three phases, they know how to adjust those schemes based on what you're doing, which to me is the biggest key," head coach David Shaw said. "You don't see them stopped for long. If you're doing something well that can hold them down, they're going to make a tweak and make you pay for it."
The team has played well since losing quarterback Andrew Luck to the NFL after last season, but has given up over 600 yards rushing to Oregon in the past two years.
"They do this thing where they play close for a half and then they just take off," Stanford senior defensive tackle Terrence Stephens said. "It's going to take our best game to win."
