STANFORD, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh did not want to admit it. But in Stanford’s 51-42 upset of Oregon on Saturday, he totally outcoached Oregon’s first-year guy, Chip Kelly.
That is, Harbaugh and his staff totally outcoached the Ducks’ coaches in the most critical confrontation of the game — when Stanford’s offense was matching up against Oregon’s defense.

This was the very same defense, remember, that held USC to 20 points in an Oregon victory last week. Stanford put up 31 more points than that. Heck, the Cardinal punted only twice.
“Our intent,” Harbaugh said, “was to score every time we got the ball.”
All right, so maybe Harbaugh did want to admit it. Just indirectly.
And as for Kelly . . . well, the Oregon coach was manfully honest. He disdained any notion of a USC hangover. And when Kelly was asked if he would have thought, before Saturday, that any opponent could score 51 points against his team, he shook his head.
“No,” Kelly said. “I didn’t. It’s a credit to them.”
Stanford’s players, of course, do deserve oodles of credit for the final score. They executed the game strategy. The best executor was Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart, who continued his indestructible Robo-Runner act with 38 carries for a school single-game record 223 yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 251 efficient yards with no interceptions.
However, all of that yardage came off the large laminated card that Harbaugh held in his hands throughout the day. This victory, no question, was his most significant accomplishment during his three seasons at Stanford.
Yes, it was more significant than the shocker upset of USC two years ago. That game was a one-off result from outer space or the Twilight Zone, where everything aligned properly for the Cardinal during an otherwise miserable 4-8 season. It led to nothing in particular.
By contrast, the game Saturday led to more possibilities — even a Rose Bowl possibility, though a fairly high-profile bowl appearance is more reasonable. The point is, Saturday was nothing from outer space. It was a calculated assault. It was straight from the video room and the practice field and late night X-and-0 sessions over pizza in the coaches’ offices.
During those sessions, Harbaugh must have realized it would be impossible to completely stop Oregon’s quicksilver offense. But he saw vulnerabilities in the Ducks’ defense, even though Oregon had peeled off seven straight victories after a season-opening loss to Boise State (in which the Ducks’ defense only gave up 19 points).
Stanford also had some scheduling good fortune. The Cardinal did not play last Saturday. A bye week. That gave the Stanford players 13 days to prepare for Oregon, rather than the usual five or six. Wide receiver Chris Owusu filled up those days by watching video cut-ups of the Oregon secondary along with his coaches.
“We saw we could go after their safeties and defensive backs,” Owusu said. “Having two weeks to prepare definitely helped.”
Luck — the quarterback — was the key to everything. If he could accurately place his passes, the back seven defenders could not cheat up to the line and stop Gerhart. Those glitches in the Oregon secondary were not gaping cavities . . . just tendencies by some of the DBs and minor holes in the called coverage. Luck had to find the small seams and get the ball to his receivers as fast and accurately as possible.
Afterward, Kelly said admiringly: “Luck really impressed me. It’s not like some of those guys were wide open.”
Harbaugh concurred: “Those throws were nothing short of incredible.”
Which is how, ladies and gentlemen, that Stanford won its sixth game in a season for the first time since 2001 — also the last time the team was bowl eligible. The Cardinal that year traveled to the Seattle Bowl, in Ty Willingham’s last game wearing a Stanford sideline headset. Since then, The Farm has seen three different head coaches, one new stadium and a number of false hopes.
Saturday did not seem like a false hope. It seemed real. And if you want real insight into Harbaugh’s brain, check out what happened with 11 seconds left in the game. Stanford was clinging to a 48-42 lead and facing a fourth-and-3 at the Oregon 31-yard line.
The obvious options were to attempt a game-clinching field goal (but what about a block?) or punt (but what about a big return?) or a plunge into the line (but what if it didn’t make a first down and gave Oregon one last offensive play?). Harbaugh called a timeout. He talked to his staff.
“The consensus,” Harbaugh said, “was not to go for the field goal.”
So naturally, Harbaugh went against the consensus. He sent out the field-goal team. The kick was good, and the game was over.
But that’s not the most fun element of the story. If he had not kicked the field goal, Harbaugh did indeed have a Plan B. But it was none of the options listed above. Harbaugh’s alternate idea was even more radical:
“We would have maybe lined up Chris (Owusu) 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage,” he said, “and then we would have had Andrew (Luck) take the snap and throw the ball to Chris and have him run around back there and maybe all the way back down the field for a safety.”
Better save that play for next week. Stanford plays at USC.