Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart is congratulated by fans after the Cardinal's 51-42 upset of No. 7 Oregon on Saturday. Stanford snapped a 7-game losing streak to Oregon and is bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.

On a day when the teams combined for 93 points and more than 1,000 yards, Stanford did deliver one big defensive play to end the third quarter.

With Oregon trailing by 17, Kelly decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Stanford 40. Michael Thomas, who played the role of Masoli in practice, blitzed from his cornerback position and took down the real version Masoli for no gain. The Cardinal tacked on a field goal to take a 48-28 lead.

“We had a lot of ups and downs no question about it. It’s frustrating. We don’t get 1 yard and that’s it,” Masoli said. “We were watching their offense move the ball and score and it’s instinctive that we wanted to score every time.”

Masoli was 21 for 37 for 334 yards and three touchdowns. He added 55 yards and a score on the ground. LaMichael James added 125 yards rushing, including a 60-yard score in the first quarter.

The Cardinal got off to a fast start when Owusu returned the opening kickoff 77 yards to set up a field goal. Stanford’s offense didn’t slow down. A 25-yard pass from Luck to Owusu set up Gerhart’s first touchdown run and Gerhart scored again on the next possession to make it 17-7. Owusu had four catches for 111 yards and two long kickoff returns.

Luck added the TD pass to Dray and then threw a 39-yarder to Ryan Whalen that set up Marecic’s 2-yard run that gave the Cardinal a 31-14 lead. Marecic had a busy day, starting at fullback as usual and at middle linebacker in place of the injured Clinton Snyder.

Marecic was out of position on Oregon’s first touchdown as James burst up the middle untouched for a 60-yard score and did not play on defense after the first quarter. The Ducks got their other first-half score on a 29-yard pass from Masoli to Jeff Maehl one play after Gerhart lost a fumble.

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