Only two teams (excluding Alabama) have finished in the top 11 the last four years and they play each other this week. These teams have a combined record of 93-14 over that same span.
In the preseason this matchup was circled as one of the biggest games of the season, but with all the media attention it has received the casual observer would not know it now. Somewhere in between Ole Miss’s emergence as a title contender and TCU’s attempts to score in the triple digits, the world forgot about Stanford’s trip to Eugene, Oregon.
The matchup lost some of its usual luster this year because Stanford has already lost three games. To be fair, Stanford’s three losses have come to three top 20 teams and the Cardinals lost those games by an average of about seven points. While the losses have Stanford unranked, it could be argued the losses have only made this game that much more important for both teams.
The winner of this game will take control of the Pac 12 North. Oregon is also playing for a chance to represent the Pac 12 in the inaugural College Football Playoff. In fact it could be argued Oregon is the Pac 12’s best chance of being represented in the playoff at all. The highly competitive Pac 12 South schools will likely knock each other out of contention. Whoever does emerge from the South division would likely be an underdog to either Stanford or Oregon in the Pac 12 Championship game.
Some might say Oregon will dominate an unranked Stanford team. That is a mistake. The lower ranked team has actually won the last three meetings. The Duck’s defense is as bad as it has ever been. The Pac 12’s playoff hopes could be secured or lost this weekend as these two heavyweights go at it and the entire country should take notice.
