Dissecting Stanford’s problems in loss to Oregon

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EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon was too fast, too good and too well-coached for Stanford on Saturday night.

Mostly though, the Ducks had too much Marcus Mariota, no doubt the best player the Cardinal have faced during the Jim Harbaugh/David Shaw era. Mariota has played better — he threw a dreadful pass that was intercepted by Alex Carter. But in Oregon’s 45-16 win, he was dominant in an offense smartly orchestrated by offensive coordinator Scott Frost, a former Stanford quarterback.

Let us list the most significant plays:

Fourth-down success: On the Ducks’ first possession, it was 4th-and-5 at the Stanford 40. A.J. Tarpley, on a blitz, was picked up by tailback Royce Freeman. Henry Anderson, playing on the nose for a change, missed Mariota as he took off. James Vaughters took a bad angle, and Mariota ripped off 21 yards. That set up …

Tyner joins in: Tailback Thomas Tyner broke free off the left side as left tackle Jake Fisher practically blocked Tarpley out of bounds. Following behind center Hroniss Grasu, Tyner bowled over Carter at the goal line but had a foot out of bounds at the 1. That led to …

Raining points: Just as a shower started, so did the points. Under pressure from blitzing safety Kyle Olugbode, Mariota coolly flipped a pass to speedy Charles Nelson, who beat linebacker Blake Martinez to the pylon.

Nice fake: On a read-option, Mariota faked a handoff to Freeman, who carried out his part well. The defensive front bit hard and went for Freeman, leaving the Heisman Trophy candidate a gaping hole. Wide receivers Byron Marshall and Dwayne Stanford took out defenders downfield, making Mariota’s 22-yard touchdown run look ridiculously easy.

Errant throw: With linebacker Tony Washington in his face, Kevin Hogan threw behind Ty Montgomery on a wide-receiver screen, forcing a second field-goal try after Stanford was moving the ball well.

Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, who passed for two TDs and ran for two scores, leaps over Kyle Olugbode in the second quarter of Stanford’s 45-16 loss. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, who passed for two TDs and ran for two scores, leaps over Kyle Olugbode in the second quarter of Stanford’s 45-16 loss. Photo: Ryan Kang / Associated Press Photo: Ryan Kang / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Dissecting Stanford’s problems in loss to Oregon 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Too strong: Martinez, who had a career-high 14 tackles, couldn’t make this one on Mariota’s 8-yard third-down run. Three other players got an arm on him. The play kept Oregon’s third touchdown drive alive.

Fourth-down deflection: Trailing 21-6, Stanford called a timeout to talk over a 4th-and-2 play at the Ducks’ 24. No field-goal try this time. The play call was a pass to Montgomery, but linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. deflected it.

Damaging mix-up: It was 24-13, with Stanford on the Oregon 32, when Hogan tried to arc a deep pass to Devon Cajuste. Hogan thought Cajuste was going to be even deeper than he was; Cajuste probably cut off the pattern because he was double-covered. Safety Erick Dargan intercepted it at the 1-yard line.

Untimely penalty: Moments after Montgomery alertly stretched the ball over the first-down line as he was being tackled at the Oregon 16, center Graham Shuler was caught holding, putting Stanford in a hole. It couldn’t recover, ruining a chance to make it 24-20. It had to kick a field goal.

Royce rolls: Shortly after going 15 yards on an uncovered swing pass, Freeman took a screen pass and went 30 yards — the biggest play of the game, it says here. It helped that he had three blockers in front of him when he got the ball. That led to …

Spin cycle: This time on the read-option, Mariota gave the ball to Tyner, who pulled a 360-degree swivel to elude Jordan Richards on his way to a 21-yard TD. It was 31-16 and almost over.

Dargan strikes again: Hogan had a nice-looking run going until Dargan (team-high 12 tackles) stripped the ball from him and Washington recovered. Now, it was over. Mariota ran for another TD and threw for another to complete the rout.

Here’s something else: On 21 of Stanford’s 35 first-down plays, the tailbacks carried. They mustered just 58 yards, a 2.8-yard average.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald