Last Week in Stanford Football History: North Caroline Week

November 7, 2009: Stanford 51, #8 Oregon 42

2009 was quite the year for Toby Gerhart and the “Tunnel Worker’s Union”. After redshirting a year, Andrew Luck, today our football program’s General Manager, was finally handed the keys at QB. The only real questions anyone had about Luck involved why he hadn’t played immediately, as a true freshman in 2008. In the opinion of some, #12 needed a year of “seasoning” and “learning the system” on the sideline about as much as our all-purpose running back sensation Christian McCaffrey would need to “master our complex playbook” a few years later in 2014.

There are times when one needs to use one’s God-given eyeballs rather than side with conventional coaching wisdom. For example, in the fall of 1977, it became readily apparent, after a single head-turning practice, that 159-pound Darrin Nelson didn’t need to redshirt. During that true freshman campaign, “Junior” became the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards and catch 50 passes in a single season. When rifle-armed prep phenom John Elway arrived as a true freshman in the fall of 1979, not one, but two of our quarterbacks abruptly transferred. It took about two minutes of watching Elway throw a football…. They knew. Dudes hit the transfer portal before there was a portal!

Anyway, back to 2009. Stanford was set to take on #8 Oregon at Stanford Stadium, an ideal 12:30pm start in front of 43,924 that would be televised nationally on FSN. The explosive Ducks had a highly mobile, playmaking QB in Jeremiah Masoli, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, and a lethal running back in ultra-fast LaMichael James. The Ducks had just upset the then #4-ranked USC Trojans the week before on Halloween, with Masoli passing for 222 yards, gaining 164 on the ground, and scoring two touchdowns. The match-up had the makings of a big-time barn-burner and it would not disappoint!

It almost hurts today, going back to be reminded how remarkably entertaining these teams were to watch. It was a blistering barrage of big plays. The two riveting rivals managed to combine for 49 first downs, 1,075 total yards and 93 points! Oregon had slightly more total yardage with 570 to Stanford’s 505, but the intellectually and physically brutal Cardinal dominated the time of possession with 37:43 to 22:17, pounding Oregon senseless with 52 rushes for 254 yards. Most of those yards came from the ever-grinding Gerhart, who was just a relentless rhino, logging 38 carries for a then school-record 223 yards and three rushing TDs. Sure, Oregon ran through us as well, with 34 carries for 236 yards and Masoli had 334 yards passing, but he needed 21 completions and 37 attempts to get those. Luck was even more explosive and efficient, going 12-20 for 251 yards and a truly impressive 12.55 yards per attempt!

Stanford averaged more than 35 points per game during the 2009 campaign and ended up with a 6-1 record at Stanford Stadium, with only a painful, narrow loss in the Big Game. A far cry from the first year in our beautiful new stadium back in 2006, when we had failed to win a single game!

With its new, more physical style of play, contrarian Stanford was going against the spread offense trend and becoming a serious pigskin problem for the rest of the Pac-12. Following the “Greatest Upset Ever” win over USC in 2007, recruiting was decidedly on the rise. The Harbaugh-driven talent cupboard was starting to stack and it wasn’t just Gerhart and Luck. Looking back, the names are now all-too familiar: Stephan Taylor, Owen Marecic, Chris Owusu, Doug Baldwin, Ryan Whelan, Jim Dray, Richard Sherman, Chase Thomas, Shayne Skov, Michael Thomas, Delano Howell, and more.

With a Heisman candidate back running “power” again and again behind a confident offensive line that was rapidly forging a new “blue collar” identity, a rising young quarterback with an accurate, strong arm and mobility was afforded an arsenal of future NFL players to unleash. The Cardinal was starting to bring the pain to the rest of the conference. The victory made Stanford bowl-eligible for the first time since 2001 and the 2009 Sun Bowl appearance against Oklahoma would mark the beginning of an unprecedented streak of 10 consecutive postseason bowl games for the Cardinal.