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B4 SPORTS East Oregonian Saturday, September 21, 2019 Stanford looks to bounce back vs. No. 16 Oregon By JOSH DUBOW Associated Press STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford coach David Shaw believes he speaks for most of the rest of the Pac-12 coaches when he talks about his lack of excitement over the fact that Oregon quarter- back Justin Herbert decided to return to school rather than enter the NFL draft as a probable first-round pick. Instead of getting to enjoy watching Herbert play on Sundays, Shaw now must contend with him on the field once again when his slumping Cardinal (1-2, 0-1 Pac-12) host the 16th-ranked Ducks (2-1, 0-0) on Saturday. “I think he got some bad advice to come back to school,” Shaw joked. “There are 11 other coaches in the conference who would say it. I love watching the kid play. He has a sweet stroke. We call it a repeatable motion. It’s a very smooth throwing motion. He’s such a good athlete, moves so well in the pocket, can escape the pocket, throws the deep ball with ease. You can see why he’s so highly touted by NFL scouts.” Herbert showed that last year against Stanford when he completed 26 of 33 passes for 346 yards in a 38-31 overtime loss at home. Now he gets to face a defense that has struggled to stop big passing plays the past two weeks in losses to Southern California and Central Flor- ida, who both lack a quarter- back as capable as Herbert. If that happens again, the Cardinal could be looking at their first three-game losing streak since 2008 — three years before Shaw took over for Jim Harbaugh. “They got explosive plays and we didn’t,” Shaw said of last week’s 45-27 loss to Central Florida. “In three games, we’ve given up 18 plays of 20 or more yards. That’s not us. It’s missed tackles, missed alignments, letting receivers run free. We’ve got to play better from No. 19 Washington State seeks 3rd straight win over UCLA By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press AP Photo/Chris Pietsch Oregon’s Justin Herbert drops back to pass during the first quarter of an NCAA college foot- ball game against Montana on Sept. 14, 2019, in Eugene. the top down on defense.” The Ducks have been out- standing defensively the past two weeks at home against lesser opponents, allow- ing just nine points against Nevada and Montana and no TDs in the past 27 drives. Now they have to con- tend with their first true road game, after losing a neutral site game to Auburn to open the season. “You have to understand that you’ve got to pack your toughness, your resiliency, you’ve got to pack your per- severance, all the stuff that goes with being a tough foot- ball team on the road, know- ing that when you leave your home and you go do it on the road there’s the factors that are outside the football game itself,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “They can’t matter, they cannot be rele- vant and it requires a certain type of mindset. With young players or older players, it’s always going to be a huge point of emphasis” Here are some other things to watch: first time since 1995-97, with last year’s 38-31 over- time loss at home partic- ularly painful. Oregon led by 17 points at halftime but allowed Stanford to tie the game after C.J. Verdell lost a fumble in the final minute of regulation. Cristobal doesn’t believe there will be any hangover for Verdell head- ing into the rematch. “I don’t think that exists with our guys and the way our guys are built up and the way we train. If there’s any- thing lingering it’s nothing but motivation.” BAD MEMORIES Oregon has lost its last four conference openers, including last year’s col- lapse against the Cardinal. The Ducks have lost three straight in the series for the Round-Up BANGED-UP LINE The Cardinal entered the season with little depth on the offensive line and that has been tested early this season. Star left tackle Walker Little went down with a season-ending knee injury in the opener. Guard Dylan Powell is doubtful this week but right tackle Foster Sarell is probable to return. ROUGH STARTS With trips still remaining to No. 22 Washington, No. 24 Arizona State and USC, as well as home games against No. 23 California and No. 19 Washington State, the Ducks can ill afford an early slipup if they want to win the North. PICKING ON PAULSON Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo established himself as one of the top cover cornerbacks in the nation last season. But he has been beaten a few times early this season, most nota- bly on a 38-yard TD catch last week by Central Flori- da’s Gabe Davis. Adebo also got beat a couple of times the previous week against USC. “I don’t know if it’s called struggling or just playing against really good receiv- ers,” Shaw said. “That’s the hard part for a corner. It’s a little bit like an offensive lineman. If you keep the guy covered for the whole game they don’t say your name, you must be doing a pretty good job, but if you give up two plays, which is what Paulson gave up, two plays now you have a bad game.” Washington State coach Mike Leach appre- ciates that quarterback Anthony Gordon doesn’t get all moody when things go bad. Of course, things have yet to go bad for Gordon or the Cougars. Thanks to Gordon’s stellar start, the Cougars are off to a 3-0 start head- ing into Saturday night’s Pac-12 opener against UCLA. Gordon has twice been named Pac-12 offensive player of the week. He’s thrown for at least 400 yards in each game. And one more big game against the Bruins will set up a major show- down at No. 10 Utah next week. “He certainly wasn’t perfect last game, but if something doesn’t go right he doesn’t beat him- self up,” Leach said. “He doesn’t go through some of that pouty, mopey stuff, which really drives me crazy when players do that. “He’s able to get back on track really fast, which I think is an incredible strength. And also I think it rubs off on the other players.” While Gordon and the 19th-ranked Cougars are flying high, especially after last week’s 31-24 win over Houston in their first test of the season, UCLA is at the other end of the spectrum. The Bruins have scored just 14 points per game in each of their three losses, and were blown out 48-14 last weekend by Okla- homa. If the offensive woes aren’t enough, the Bruins allowed more than 600 yards of offense to the Sooners. “There are times that I thought we were good on offense and we moved the ball,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “We’ve got to strive for consistency.” The task won’t get any easier with the numbers Washington State is put- ting up. Gordon spent three years backing up current NFL starters Luke Falk and Gardner Minshew before winning the start- ing job in fall camp. His work leading Leach’s offense is made easier because the Cou- gars have a typically deep and talented receiving corps. The leading receiver is Brandon Arconado, who has caught 23 passes for 308 yards in three games. Last year, Arconado did not have a single recep- tion, but he is tied for the Pac-12 lead in catches this season. Leach said Arconado benefited from play- ing behind past receiv- ers Kyle Sweet and River Cracraft. “It’s been kind of rough watching for the past three years,” Arco- nado said. “Finally we’re getting our opportunity to shout out.” Kelly would like to see more out of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Rob- inson for the Bruins. Thompson-Robinson threw for 201 yards and a pair of TDs against Okla- homa and also gained 48 yards on 10 carries. “He does have that ability to effect the game with his legs,” Kelly said. “That is an aspect of his game that will continue to grow for us.” $10 Package Comes with East Oregonian editions from Tuesday Sept. 10th- Tuesday Sept. 17th that has all the week's Round-Up events. Includes Round-Up book COMFORT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY SAVE UP TO $3,000 ON A NEW HEAT PUMP When you invest in home energy improvements, everyone benefits. 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