No. 6 Stanford 26, No. 2 Oregon 20: Tyler Gaffney carried a school-record 45 times and rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown and the Cardinal defense silenced the high-powered offense of the visiting Ducks in a Pac-12 showdown.

Kevin Hogan rushed for a score, Jordan Williamson kicked four field goals and Shayne Skov and Jarek Lancaster each recovered fumbles for Stanford (8-1, 6-1), which entered the game ranked fifth in the BCS standings. The Cardinal converted 14-of-21 third-down opportunities and possessed the ball for 45 1/2 minutes but had to hold off a frantic fourth-quarter charge by Oregon (8-1, 5-1).

Heisman Trophy hopeful Marcus Mariota was 20-of-34 passing for 250 yards and threw fourth-quarter touchdowns of 23 yards to Daryle Hawkins and 12 yards to Pharoah Brown as the Ducks cut a 26-0 deficit to six with 2:12 to play. Stanford’s Jeff Trojan recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Cardinal ran out the clock to stun an Oregon team ranked third in the BCS.

The Cardinal set the tone with a 12-play, 96-yard drive in the opening quarter in which Gaffney scored on a 2-yard run. An 11-yard scoring run by Hogan made it 14-0 with 11:26 left in the second and was followed by Skov recovering De’Anthony Thomas’ fumble at the Stanford 2-yard line to set up a half-ending 20-play, 96-yard excursion in which Williamson booted a 19-yard field goal to make it a 17-point margin.

Williamson kicked a 34-yarder early in the third quarter to boost the lead to 20 and Lancaster recovered Mariota’s fumble on Oregon’s ensuing possession, setting up a 14-play drive that ended with Williamson’s 26-yard field goal with 1:31 left in the third quarter. Williamson added a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter but later had a 40-yard attempt blocked that was returned 65 yards for a score by Oregon’s Rodney Hardrick.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stanford has defeated Oregon in three of the past five seasons. The Ducks have lost just five other games during that stretch. … Gaffney broke the school-record of 39 attempts set by Tommy Vardell against California in 1991. … Oregon didn’t score in the first half for the first time since a 2009 game against UCLA.