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		Morris Phillips on the NCAA By Morris Phillips November 15, 2010

	Sportstalk: Morris, for the Stanford Cardinal 9-1 (6-1) on Saturday it was what is termed in sports a "real close shave" when the Cardinal had two harrowing plays go their way, one was a football bouncing off a helmet that went 15 yards into the receiver's hands and a interception that got called back due to a holding call that gave Stanford a "dumb luck" win 17-13. Arizona State 4-6 (2-5) couldn't respond while Andrew Luck completed 33 of 41 for 292 yards in support of the first Stanford win in Tempe since 1999. Is this win a matter of a good team winning in close games or did the Cardinal really believe they had this one all along? Arizona’s pass rush was ferocious throughout and Stanford committed two, critical turnovers that killed their first-half momentum. Still at 9-1, the Cardinal have their best start of a football season in 59 years. They made plays when they had to, and coach Jim Harbaugh dialed up a critical Luck pass to tight end Konrad Reuland in third quarter to keep the go-ahead touchdown drive alive. Of course, the Sun Devils contributed an unsportmanslike penalty later in the drive, right after their star linebacker Vontaze Burfict was flagged for a phantom grabbing the face mask penalty. All in all, very lucky, but Stanford will take it because it allows the Cardinal to maintain their status as the best one-loss team in the country, a spot that, if they can maintain it, will result in a BCS bowl berth. Sportstalk: Morris, the Cal Bears (5-5, 3-4) played a "close shave" game themselves in a loss to Oregon, 15-13, that could have been the Ducks first loss of the year. Who deserves the most credit in this one: Oregon, with their suddenly patient offense, or Cal, with their ferocious defensive effort that fell just short. Who stood out on each side of the ball for Cal, and did you really think the Bears could have sealed the deal against this "perfect" Oregon team? Oregon really struggled with Cal’s quickness in their front seven on defense, and the Bears sudden ability to be sure tacklers. The Ducks came in averaging 54 points a game, and didn’t come close to scoring anywhere near that many in this one. Still, with the game on the line, Oregon slowed their pace, and wore Cal down, finishing the game by running 29 of the final 35 plays on offense. The drives didn’t result in any points, but they put the game on ice without giving Cal any chance for a game-winning field goal. No matter how close the scoreboard says this one was, 13 or even 16 points just wasn’t going to be enough to finish off the Ducks. If Oregon needed to score more, as opposed to just running out the clock, they could have. It’s too much to say the Ducks toyed with Cal, but they probably pull this one out one way or another. Sportstalk: Did the Ducks just have an off day and couldn't get their offense going? Ducks quarterback Darren Thomas finished 15 for 29 and 155 yards with one touchdown. Thomas was also picked off once and sacked three times. Was the Cal pressure the difference in limiting the usually lethal Oregon attack? It didn’t result in a win, but this has to be the highlight of an otherwise mediocre Cal football season. The Bears stopped an offense—for most of the night—that hadn’t been stopped by anyone. Cameron Jordan solidified his status as a top NFL prospect by beating Oregon’s usually staunch offensive front. Thomas repeatedly threw quickly and was definitely affected by the pressure. But all the effort took its toll on the Bears, and they couldn’t finish the job. Against a top opponent, you need all phases working, and the Cal offense, with the inexperienced Brock Mansion at the controls, didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Eventually, Cal’s defense wore down without enough help on the scoreboard, and time of possession, by Cal’s offense.