Post-game Thoughts: Costello led Cardinal to win in return from injury
It means a lot to a team to have a leader back and to get good play from a quarterback. KJ Costello put a lot into this game and it was obvious even from the press box that his teammates responded. The result was arguably the best performance by the offense this season in a 41-31 win over Arizona.
It felt like a must-win game for Stanford to reach a bowl game, which is something I'm confident still means a lot to this team. I doubt this group wants to be the Stanford team that is left home for bowl season for the first time since 2008.
It was by no stretch of the imagination a perfect game. In many ways it was a contest of two deeply flawed teams trying to cover up their weaknesses as best as possible and lean on their strengths. For Stanford today the strength was the offense in the first half and then, remarkably, the defense stood its ground in the second.
The story begins with Costello. This is not the season he wanted and it went off the rails in training camp when he missed about two weeks due to a right arm/shoulder injury that head coach David Shaw has only vaguely referenced. Costello made several big passes against the Wildcats -- one of the worst defenses in the country -- and sparked the offense a game after it could accomplish nothing meaningful against UCLA, another one of the worst defenses in the country.
In my opinion, Costello's throw to Simi Fehoko was the best I can think of from his time at Stanford.
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Austin Jones got walked back into Costello, who stepped into the contact to deliver a beautiful throw to Fehoko. The best part of Costello's stat line (30-of-43 for 312 yards and three touchdowns) was that 11 different Cardinal caught a pass. That level of involvement in the passing game has been so rare the past two seasons that it was greatly encouraging to see for the Cardinal coaches and fans.
It was the second big-play game of the season for Fehoko. He dropped what would have been a weird touchdown when Costello's arm was hit but the ball wobbled through the air, reaching Fehoko. It should have been a catch. He then made a much more difficult one for his second touchdown of the game. He has an exciting skill set.
I have to add this as an edit and can't believe I forgot: Brycen Tremayne's touchdown catch was awesome. I watched him make some highlight catches during the spring. He's a redshirt freshman and has been a great find at receiver. He's going to contribute a lot more the next couple seasons.
Jones is an electrifying player. The freshman running back got more snaps when Dorian Maddox went down (I missed exactly when and the cause) and he responded. His pass blocking needs work, but what he can do with the ball in his hands is special. His 13-ard run included a cut that left a Wildcat defender fallen in his wake. It was wonderful to watch. He has dropped a couple passes but both I can remember involved a lot of contact.
Cameron Scarlett and the offensive line once again combined for a gritty effort. It was Scarlett's second 100-yard rushing game of the season. His first touchdown capped a drive where the line's run blocking was featured. The guys up front were fighting to hold their blocks and Scarlett had some of the best lanes to run through he's seen all season.
Also, Stanford didn't eliminate negative plays, but there were only two penalties, no sacks and no turnovers. That's a huge part of the solution to get a young, inexperienced group on track.
Overall, it was a fun game to watch for the Stanford offense.
For much of the first half that was not the case for the defense. I shudder to think what Lance Anderson will say about the number of missed tackles. If it was under 20 then I'll be surprised. It was probably at its worst through the first three quarters and then Arizona's pass game with Khalil Tate in the fourth quarter didn't give Stanford many opportunities to make open field tackles.
JJ Taylor and Tate are a nightmare to get on the ground. They're very talented runners. Tate should have had 200 yards rushing in the game. I was dumbfounded why Arizona wasn't finding every way it could to tax the Cardinal run defense that for stretches of the game looked overmatched.
JJ Taylor and Tate are a nightmare to get on the ground. They're very talented runners. Tate should have had 200 yards rushing in the game. I was dumbfounded why Arizona wasn't finding every way it could to tax the Cardinal run defense that for stretches of the game looked overmatched.
Stanford's defensive backs didn't have a good day in run support. Somehow, Paulson Adebo took a step back as a tackler. It was pretty bad Saturday. The good news is that his confidence in coverage appears to be fully restored. He gave up a touchdown on a great throw and was called for pass interference when to my eyes it was just good coverage.
His two interceptions were examples of being an elite playmaker. His catch on the second interception was as good as you'd want to see from your best receiver in a game.
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Stuart Head started the game with some good hits and getting guys down, but then he really struggled to the point that he came off the field.
Kyu Kelly also got chewed out for a couple mistakes and Zahran Manley got more snaps than I think any other game this season. JJ Parson also got some play because Anderson is clearly looking for answers back there.
Jonathan McGill makes some freshman mistakes in coverage, but he does have a knack for making plays. He had a TFL, a key pass deflection and finds ways to get guys on the ground, even if it's holding onto their foot.
Thomas Booker had another good game (five tackles, four solo, two TFL and one sack). Of course, he's only a sophomore and isn't one of those defensive line freaks who can take over an entire game, but he's on track to be a really good player.
I wonder how well Anderson will grade the discipline of the front seven. It's impossible to fully contain Tate, but there were multiple times when Stanford made the decision really easy for him to run with no one in front of him.
Kudos to Ryan Beecher for stepping up and playing a lot more than any of us could have imagined. Stanford is getting whatever it can from its ILB position. Andrew Pryts got his first TFL of the season.
It's a very easy decision to give one of the game balls to Ryan Sanborn. That was an impressive performance from a true freshman. He made both field goals and the first he kicked the laces. It was probably his best punting game and he boomed his kickoffs. When he didn't kick into the end zone for a touchback it was a designed kick in the corner that resulted in UA starting a drive on their own 15. He has improved by leaps since the season opener.
Pete Alamar should be proud of all his units. Connor Wedington's great return was mostly about him, but overall special teams had another good day.
Stanford has two weeks now to get healthy and find a way to win a tough road game. This is the one to win because the following week at Washington State is a big ask. Shaw said Stanford will only practice twice next week instead of three times, which is their normal bye week schedule. Considering how startling it was to see how few guys were dressed for a home game they need all the rest they can get.