STANFORD – Stanford finally played in front of its fans for the first time in 22 months, including the largest student crowd ever at Stanford Stadium. So why did the Cardinal come out so flat in its 35-24 loss to No. 24 UCLA on Saturday?
The offense went more than 22 minutes before getting a first down. Stanford’s first punt was returned for 59 yards, allowing the Bruins to need just 13 yards on its opening possession to score the first touchdown.
And when Stanford finally came back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game, the defense allowed a 75-yard TD pass on the very next play from scrimmage, putting UCLA ahead to stay with 13 minutes left.
Back-to-back 40-point efforts in wins over USC and Vanderbilt made it seem like Stanford had fixed its issues from the season-opening clunker against Kansas State. But the disjointed start and disappointing finish brought new questions just as Stanford (2-2, 1-1) is about to host No. 3 Oregon next Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
“Offensively just a terrible start, absolutely terrible start, inexcusable,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “Throw it on me. It’s my fault. Not going to rattle off what we did wrong because it was pretty obvious. Didn’t run it, didn’t throw, penalties, inexcusable.”
On defense, though the secondary has been depleted – freshman cornerback Jaden Slocum and sophomore safety Alaka’i Gilman made their first career starts against the Bruins – it was the rush defense that continued to be the main problem. UCLA running backs had 31 carries for 184 yards, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson had two easy TDs on QB keepers.
“The biggest issue is we were not able to stop the run with any consistency,” Shaw said.
It won’t get any easier. CJ Verdell of Oregon entered the weekend with the most rushing yards in the Pac-12. And Stanford can’t afford another slow start next weekend on offense.
Stanford QB Tanner McKee, playing at home for the first time, had two overthrows on the first series and was 3 for 9 passing for 10 yards in the first quarter. But over the last three quarters, the was 16 of 23 for 283 yards and three TDs. The sophomore still hasn’t committed a turnover.
“When we got our protection and did our jobs you see how explosive we can be, how many guys that can make plays for us,” Shaw said.
The Cardinal passing game struggled at first to counter UCLA’s blitz-happy defense. And the running game got nowhere without three of its top four rushers, including starter Austin Jones, who missed the game for undisclosed reasons. Nathaniel Peat, the only scholarship running back available, carried 13 times for 27 yards.
Once the protection issues were fixed and McKee calmed down, Stanford showed its potential. Brycen Tremayne somehow got a foot down on a 19-yard TD catch in the first half, Elijah Higgins got behind the defense for a 56-yard TD in the third quarter, and then McKee stayed in the pocket long enough to find Bryce Farrell on a crossing pattern for a 52-yard score.
“That throw he made to Bryce was an NFL throw, a big throw,” Shaw said. “Half the guys in the league can’t make that throw.”
Those big plays energized the announced crowd of 47,236, which including 7,578 students, the most ever to attend a Stanford game (the previous mark was 6,799 set against Washington in 2013). But while the comeback was encouraging, it shouldn’t have been needed in the first place.
“We hate losing, point blank, period,” senior defensive end Thomas Booker said. “But the whole point is you have to do something with the negative emotions that you’re feeling and the anger that you feel about this. So that’s how the team feels right now. Obviously don’t feel good about losing our first home game. At the same time, you got to let that fuel your preparation. So feel sick about it, but do something about it. That’s how we are right now.”
Stanford should have reinforcements at running back against Oregon, as Shaw expects Jones and Casey Filkins to return. But E.J. Smith, who was hurt last week against Vanderbilt, will likely miss another week or two.
CONSERVATIVE CALLS
The difference in fourth-down philosophies between Shaw and UCLA coach Chip Kelly was in plain evidence.
Kelly didn’t hesitate to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 33 in the first quarter. The Bruins easily converted and eventually scored a touchdown on the extended drive to go up 14-0. Conversely, while trailing by two touchdowns, Stanford punted on fourth-and-1 from its 34 in both the second and third quarters.
An even more telling moment came in the fourth quarter. Down 28-21 with 9:10 to play, Shaw elected to kick a 48-yard field goal on fourth-and-2. UCLA then went on a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive over the next 6:40 to seal the win.
Don’t expect the result of the game – or the boos that came from the student section following Shaw’s decisions to kick – to make Shaw more aggressive on fourth downs.
“It’s not even a question for me,” Shaw said about kicking the field goal. “Take all the analytics you want. Analytics don’t matter. Football matters.”
