The majority of Mario Cristobal's press conference following Saturday's loss to Stanford was spent discussing and dissecting the final few minutes of regulation. Since the conclusion of the game was so polarizing, and required numerous questions, Crisotbal was not able to truly appraise his team's play in the 38-31 defeat.

On Monday, with a few days time behind him, and a few viewings of game film behind him as well, Cristobal told media members at his weekly press conference that the team reached the "type of football" they want to play for "about 90-percent of the game."

"You see some great moments of physicality at the line of scrimmage," he said. "You see high level execution on both sides of the ball.

"Then you see about 10-percent of the time where break downs were significant and resulted in some really big plays and change of momentum. Some of them were self-inflicted. Those are the painful ones."

Cristobal: Ducks must 'shake off' loss, and learn from it

There's absolutely no doubt that Oregon played at a very high level at times on Saturday. Quarterback Justin Herbert was fabulous, completing 25-of-27 passes for 311 yards in regulation, wideout Dillon Mitchell was also excellent, nearly breaking several Oregon records in the process, and the Duck front-seven shut down Stanford star running back Bryce Love for most of the game.

"When you look at the way we played, and how we played, with passion, intensity, and a tremendous amount of effort, you see a lot of positive things," Cristobal continued. "The biggest thing, is that these conference games, which are like playoffs games, a full 60 minutes is a full 60 minutes. Every single play is as important as any other one. There is no lesser importance. You have to stay focused and on task the entire time.

"We’re going to stick by our players, and make sure we galvanize our team. I think sometimes games like this do that for you. You learn a painful lesson, in a painful manner, that should not only motivate you, but bring the most out of you as a true competitor."

Ducks show they belong in heartbreaking loss

It was also clear that Oregon's quarterback was just that. On the biggest stage of his young career, the Eugene native thrived. Countless times he fit the ball into tight windows, exhibiting pinpoint accuracy on big boy throws. It's only the beginning for Herbert, Cristobal said.

"I think the moments, as they get bigger, he’ll get better as well," he said of his quarterback.

"He is driven. He hungers for that. He wants that for his team. His preparation carries him through that stuff. I don’t think he’ll allow himself to flinch. I know he’s committed to preparing harder than every going forward as well."

Herbert did struggle to close the game, throwing five of his seven incompletions in the deciding overtime period. His last pass of the game acted as his lone interception, as a pass intended for Brenden Schooler wound up in the hands of Cardinal defensive backAlameen Murphy.

Oregon shuffled through its defensive line rotation more on Saturday than they have most of the year. Part of that was matchup based, as the Ducks inserted Gary Baker for much of the game, as Jalen Jelks acted as an outside linebacker. They also played reserve lineman Drayton Carlberg extensively after Austin Faoliu was limited with an ankle injury. None of it seemed to slow a group that held Stanford to just 71 yards rushing.

“The combination in all of those guys playing together results in some really productive play," Cristobal remarked. "We did a really nice job in the run-game… We’re certainly continuing to take a step forward in the physicality of our play up-front."