[yvonne]

I admit, a lot of this is visceral, but I remember watching a series in which Ben sat out following an injury against UCLA. I kept glancing over as the trainers worked on him. There was a big dropoff in production, and the defense yielded its only TD then.

Judging by Henry Anderson's tweet, I'd say he's likely to be back for Oregon, but will he be as explosive? The line's already thin enough that Kaumatule has been switched from offense. The lower level of talent on the line will probably necessitate blitzing more, which will make the secondary more vulnerable. I don't think Gardner's absence can be overstated. That said, from everything we've seen so far, we can still expect him to be the locker room and sideline influence that Shayne was during his injury.

Any more than one additional loss, and Stanford will be in San Antonio, and not in a BCS bowl.

[yvonne]

I admit, a lot of this is visceral, but I remember watching a series in which Ben sat out following an injury against UCLA. I kept glancing over as the trainers worked on him. There was a big dropoff in production, and the defense yielded its only TD then.

Judging by Henry Anderson's tweet, I'd say he's likely to be back for Oregon, but will he be as explosive? The line's already thin enough that Kaumatule has been switched from offense. The lower level of talent on the line will probably necessitate blitzing more, which will make the secondary more vulnerable. I don't think Gardner's absence can be overstated. That said, from everything we've seen so far, we can still expect him to be the locker room and sideline influence that Shayne was during his injury.

Any more than one additional loss, and Stanford will be in San Antonio, and not in a BCS bowl.