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did we just forget about Stanford the last 2 years?I read it and it makes sense.The Oregon Ducks vs. power teams narrative is dead (again)
The "Oregon can't handle physical teams" narrative probably shouldn't have existed in the first place, but Marcus Mariota and the Ducks more than put it to rest by topping Michigan State's best shot.
The only sure thing about narratives is that they always show up. They might change at the drop of a hat (or after 60 minutes in Eugene), they might be fair or unfair, and they might last for years or minutes, but the one constant is that the narrative machine will continue cranking, every hour of every day.
When Michigan State took control of the game at Oregon early Saturday evening, all was right in the narrative world. But then the Ducks surged and changed both everything and nothing at the same time.
Since the start of 2008, Oregon is 69-12 and has won at least 10 games every year. Since the start of 2010, the Ducks are 49-6. They are on a run of six consecutive finishes in the AP top 11. No matter how you look at it, Oregon is one of college football's ruling powers at the moment.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...oregon-football-michigan-state-marcus-mariota
I think the problem/perception is that because Oregon's offense is able to put up so many points on so many teams, that when they don't, it's suddenly a huge problem. The teams Oregon has lost to (sans Arizona in 2013) were good teams. I can't say that I'm all that shocked that their offense doesn't put up 60 points in these games because the teams are talented and have excellent coaching. It's not as if Oregon is getting blown out, they are often playing close games with plenty of chances to win, but they fail to execute properly in key scenarios (FG kicking, goal line situations, etc.).