RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 29: LaMichael James and Oregon out-physical Stanford (2010)
The Ducks gave Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal a taste of their own medicine.
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Welcome to day 29 of Running Back Respect Month™! Yesterday, I made good for all the time I didn't appreciate Knowshon Moreno by making a career highlight video of him. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:
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Today: LaMichael James vs. Stanford (2010)
RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 29: LaMichael James and Oregon out-physical Stanford (2010)
I don't think enough college football fans cherish how entertaining the ten-year rivalry between Oregon and Stanford was from 2009-2018. In those ten seasons –which we'll call the modern 'golden era' for the Cardinal– the two combined for seven outright Pac-10/12 titles (four for Oregon, three for Stanford) and six-of-eight North Division titles. Of the ten games they played against each other, they were both ranked in five, both ranked in the top ten in three, with at least one of them ranked in the top ten in eight. They split the first eight meetings, before Stanford won the final two for a 6-4 advantage.
Somehow, a series that didn't have a ranked matchup in their prior 70-plus meetings before 2010 became one of college football's most important yearly games. It had shootouts, defensive battles, upsets, dramatic finishes, and everything else we come to expect from the more traditional rivalries we know and love. Beyond the numbers, it should tell you how big a deal it became just based off them getting ESPN to bring Gameday out west four times. (2010, 2011, 2012, 2018.)
The first of those Gameday appearances –and ranked games– is where we're focused today. Specifically on Oregon's LaMichael James, who ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the No. 4 Ducks' 52-31 win over the No. 9 Cardinal:
