On Saturday, Stanford football fell to Arizona on The Farm by a final score of 21-20. Arizona improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12.
Arizona junior quarterback Jayden de Laura led the way for the Wildcats going 14-26 for 157 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions while also tacking on a 7 yard rushing touchdown. de Laura did not finish the game and was replaced by backup quarterback Noah Fifita, a redshirt freshman at the start of the 4th quarter. Fifita went 4-4 for 47 yards while rushing for 9 yards on two carries.
Stanford freshman running back Sedrick Irvin, Jr. was the top performer for the Cardinal on offense with 66 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 10 carries while freshman wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier had four receptions for 93 yards. Both Justin Lamson and Ashton Daniels played at quarterback for the Cardinal. Lamson went 4-6 for 48 yards while also rushing for 57 yards on 13 attempts. Daniels went 15-27 for 202 yards. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass while also not throwing an interception.
BOX SCORE: Arizona at Stanford-Saturday, September 23rd
VIDEO: Stanford Football Postgame Press Conference | Arizona
“Like I told the guys, great week of preparation,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said after the game. “They competed really hard in all three phases. It was not perfect. We left some stuff on the table in all three phases, had our opportunities. Really proud of how our guys played, though. This is a mentally tough group of guys that competes in every single thing they do. Really proud.
“Now, having said, we've just got to play a little bit more clean. As you guys watched, we had opportunities to win that football game, and it didn't happen. I know our guys are heartbroken over it, but they'll respond. They'll be ready to go next week.”
Arizona got the ball to start the game, but ended up punting on their first drive as they weren’t able to pick up a first down. Kyle Ostendorp had a 32 yard punt to the Stanford 45 yard line that landed out of bounds with 14:14 to go in the 1st quarter.
Stanford took advantage as Sedrick Irvin, Jr. had the run of the game with a 45 yard run to the Arizona 7 yard line that broke at least a few tackles featuring some powerful get-off-my-lawn stiff arms. That gave the Cardinal a ton of momentum as the crowd was rocking at the conclusion of the play. On 2nd and goal from the 7 yard line, wide receiver Elic Ayomanor was called for offensive pass interference, backing up the Cardinal 15 yards. Stanford ended up having to settle for a 35 yard field goal by Joshua Karty. 3-0 lead for Stanford with 10:35 to go in the 1st quarter.
The next Arizona drive started on their own 25 yard line following a touchback. On 3rd and 2 from their own 33 yard line, Jonah Coleman had a 9 yard gain to easily move the chains and get the first down. However, the drive would end in another punt as Ostendorp had a 36 yard punt that ended up being a touchback.
In the next drive, Lamson was still in at quarterback for Stanford after replacing Daniels in the first drive. It would be a back and forth night for both quarterbacks as they each took turns under center. This drive would be a quick three and out as the Cardinal were unable to get anything going. Connor Weselman had a 44 yard punt to the Arizona 32 yard line with 4:15 to go in the 1st quarter.
On 2nd and 10, following an incomplete pass, Coleman had a 24 yard gain for Arizona to get a first down and then some. That would be the only first down the Wildcats would get in the drive as Arizona went for it on 4th and 2 from the Stanford 25 yard line and failed to convert as Jayden de Laura’s pass intended for Jacob Cowing was incomplete. 2:17 was left in the quarter.
Stanford’s next drive featured a 25 yard pass from Ashton Daniels to Benjamin Yurosek on 2nd and 10, to move the chains. Tiger Bachmeier then caught a 25 yard pass of his own, giving the Cardinal drive serious juice. Daniels would get sacked for a loss of 6 yards, before almost finding Bachmeier in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Bachmeier dropped the pass. The Cardinal thus ended up having to settle for a 51 yard field goal attempt by Karty, which was actually missed wide right. That ended the 1st quarter as Stanford led 3-0, unable to come up with points on the previous drive.
Arizona would open up the 2nd quarter with the ball on their own 33 yard line. Jayden de Laura immediately went to work as he connected with Tetairoa McMillan for a 14 yard completion followed by a 17 yard completion to Montana Lemonious-Craig. After that, de Laura found Tanner McLachlan for a 36 yard touchdown reception. Following the extra point, Arizona led 7-3 with 13:37 to go until halftime.
Stanford started with the ball on their own 25 yard line following a touchback. Daniels connected with Bachmeier out of the chute for a 20 yard completion. Bachmeier caught the ball at the 35 and gained another 10 yards. Despite that great play by Bachmeier, Stanford had to punt as Aidan Flintoft came in to punt a 49 yard beauty that was caught at the 6 yard line and returned for a loss of one yard.
“Yeah, I think every position, no one has the position sewn up at all,” Taylor said when asked about having two punters play. “It's a competitive group of guys. If you want to push for the position -- I tell our guys all the time, you don't have to accept your role, but you've got to attack your role. If a guy's doing a great job in practice and has the opportunity -- those guys are both obviously talented, but it's about performing on the day of the game.”
The next Arizona drive would be a quick three and out as they punted on 4th and 5 from the 10 yard line. Ostendorp’s punt traveled 40 yards and was fair caught by Casey Filkins at the 50 yard line with 10:42 to go until halftime.
Daniels and Bachmeier connected on a 34 yard completion on the first play of the drive, but it was called back due to a holding call on the offensive line. On 3rd and 15 from the Stanford 45 yard line, Lamson was now in at quarterback, finding Bryce Farrell for a 26 yard completion to the Arizona 29 yard line.
“He's a young guy. Obviously he's going to have his mistakes, but you can see his maturity because of the way he goes out there and he bounces back,” Daniels said of Bachmeier. “He drops one, and then he goes and makes an amazing play that leads us to go down and score a touchdown.
“Just being that young and being able to flush something like that and still go out and play the way that he did is extremely impressive. It gives me, as well as Justin and our whole offensive staff, just hope and confidence that we know that we have a guy that we can rely on.”
After getting sacked for a loss of seven yards, Lamson rushed for 15 yards to the Arizona 21 yard line. This set up 3rd and 2. Lamson would rush two yards to get the first down before connecting with Ayomanor for an 11 yard reception to the Arizona 8 yard line. Lamson then would get backed up two yards after which Farrell got backed up for one yard, setting up 3rd and goal from the 11 yard line.
At this point, Daniels came in at quarterback and threw an interception in the end zone. Fortunately for the Cardinal, pass interference was called against Arizona, setting up 1st and goal from the 2 yard line. From there, Farrell found the end zone on a two yard sweep, giving the Cardinal a 10-7 lead with 5:44 to go in the half.
Neither team would score the rest of the half, making it a 10-7 lead for Stanford at halftime. Arizona’s next drive ended in a 41 yard punt by Ostendorp while the following drive for Stanford ended in a 52 yard punt by Flintoft. The final drive of the half ended with David Bailey sacking Jayden de Laura at midfield.
“We've gotten better as a football team since the beginning of the year,” Taylor said when asked about the defensive improvements. “Now it's not going to always show on the scoreboard or whatnot, but our guys are working to improve and getting better. They're very inexperienced, but they are hungry, hungry to get better.
“So to answer your question, defensively we have gotten better. There's no doubt about it. Now we've got to play a little bit better than we did tonight, but I do love to see the improvement.”
The second half started with Stanford getting the ball on their own 25 yard line following a touchback. After Daniels threw an incomplete pass in the opening play of the drive, Lamson was back in at quarterback as Taylor’s mad-scientist-like quarterback approach was in full swing.
“They both did some good things, and they both did some things they could have done better,” Taylor said of Daniels and Lamson. “Maybe a guy will emerge. They both have potential. They both need to be a little bit more consistent, but they were under some pressure as well.
“It's a tough position, toughest position in sports. We've just got to be able to play a little bit better amidst the pressure and those type of things. We've got to make good decisions. We've got to make good throws.”
“I think it is working well,” Daniels said of the two-quarterback system. “Coach Taylor obviously has some experience doing that (switching between quarterbacks) at Sacramento State and he knows what he is doing. And I think, overall, coming out tonight, we looked better as an offense. I think we operated fairly well in all the different aspects, the passing game, rushing but of course we have some things to work on.”
Lamson then rushed for seven yards up the middle before then finding Yurosek for a 10 yard completion to the Stanford 42 yard line. Stanford was not able to move the chains from there as the drive ended in Weselman punting a wounded duck 25 yards and out of bounds. Arizona had the ball back on their own 34 yard line with 11:38 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Arizona got off to a nice start on their next drive as DJ Williams got the ball four times in a row and found a way to get the first down on short yard gains. On 4th and 1, Williams had a three yard gain to move the chains. On 2nd and 9 from the 47 yard line, Cowing had a 25 yard reception to move the chains.
On 3rd and 6, de Laura found McMillan for a 10 yard completion to the Stanford 14 yard line after which de Laura found Cowing for a seven yard gain. Then, de Laura had a seven yard rushing touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 14-10 lead with 5:53 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford’s next drive started on their own 25 yard line following a touchback. On 2nd and 10, Daniels found Bachmeier for a 13 yard completion. After Daniels got sacked for a loss of seven yards, Daniels found Irvin for a gain of five yards. This resulted in Stanford calling for time on 3rd and 12 from their own 36 yard line.
Out of the time out, Daniels connected with Bachmeier for 35 yards to the Arizona 29 yard line. Irvin then gained a combined 10 yards on the next two plays to get the Cardinal a first down. After Daniels got sacked for a loss of two yards, it was 3rd and 12 from the Arizona 21 yard line. Daniels found Ayomanor for a 20 yard completion to the one yard line. From there, Irvin found the end zone as he bounced right and then cut back left, taking a bow to the crowd at the end of the play. It was now a 17-14 lead for Stanford with 1:49 to go in the 3rd.
“Sedrick has been a guy that's really physical,” Taylor said of giving Irvin so many touches. “It's really important to him, tough. He's got some quickness to him. He's got some suddenness to him.
“Yeah, we just thought we wanted to get an opportunity to see him. We've got some really good young guys, and you want to see them play. Now part of that is the inexperience in getting out there on the field. It's a challenge for young guys, but they've got to do it. For us, we want to continue to grow this year, and we want to be a different team by the end of the season than the beginning of the season.”
“Sedrick, he's an animal,” Daniels said of Irvin. “He's going to go out there, and he's going to get the job done. He's got a huge heart for the game. He loves to win, and I know that he's going to go out there and do his job. He's a young cat too, but I feel very comfortable giving him the ball because I know he's going to go make a play.”
Arizona’s next drive was a three and out as Ostendorp had a 42 yard punt to the Stanford 33 yard line that was fair caught by Filkins with 6 seconds left on the clock. After a gain of seven yards by Daniels to the Stanford 40 yard line, the 3rd quarter was over as Stanford led 17-14.
The 4th quarter began with Ashton Daniels finding Sam Roush for an 11 yard gain to get the first down, moving the ball to the Arizona 49 yard line. Stanford would find themselves in a 4th and 1 situation on the Arizona 40 yard line but was able to move the chains as Daniels rushed up the middle for a gain of three yards to the 37 yard line. Stanford ultimately settled again for a 51 yard field goal attempt by Karty. Karty missed again, once again wide right. It remained a 17-14 lead for Stanford with 11:40 to go.
With Noah Fifita now in at quarterback, things looked a bit shaky for the Wildcats. However, Fifita settled right in as his opening pass was a 15 yard completion to Cowing. Later on in the drive on 1st and 10 from the Stanford 37 yard line, Fifita found McLachlan for an 18 yard reception. This eventually led to a 3rd and 1 from the Stanford 10 yard line. Arizona would convert as DJ Williams rushed for 2 yards to the Stanford 8 yard line. After Williams had a six yard gain and a two yard gain, he had found the end zone, making it a 21-17 lead for Arizona with 7:42 to go following the extra point.
Stanford started their next drive on their own 25 yard line following a touchback. On 3rd and 9 from the 26 yard line, Lamson had a 10 yard scramble to get the first down before a pass interference call against Arizona moved the chains to the Stanford 48 yard line. On 1st and 10 from the 48, Daniels found Roush for a nine yard reception, advancing the ball to the Arizona 43 yard line. Lamson then had a six yard run to move the chains again, getting the ball to the Arizona 37 yard line.
Daniels then had a 16 yard completion to Mudia Reuben, getting the ball to the Arizona 21 yard line. Daniels would get sacked for a loss of six yards following an incomplete pass, which set up 3rd and 16 from the Arizona 27 yard line. Daniels would then find Ayomanor for a 20 yard reception only for it to be ruled an illegal forward pass as he crossed the line of scrimmage. This resulted in a loss of down, forcing Stanford to settle for a 46 yard field goal. This time Karty made it. 21-20 lead for Arizona with 3:09 to go.
Stanford would attempt an onside kick but they had to re-kick due to offsetting penalties. Rather than trying the onside kick again, Stanford instead decided to do a shallow kickoff, which was fielded by Arizona and returned to the Arizona 11 yard line, acting like a really good punt. From there, Arizona was able to bleed out the clock and knee it out for the 21-20 victory.
For Arizona, this is a win they should be relieved to have gotten. It was closer than expected and yet they still found a way to come out on top. Noah Fifita came in and played fantastic after Jayden de Laura went down. They ran the ball well and forced Stanford to settle for some long field goals. Even for Josh Karty, a 51 yard field goal is no chip shot.
As for Stanford, this loss stings because it’s one of the few winnable games they had left on their schedule. In truth, the only other game that appears truly winnable is Big Game against Cal at home. That isn’t to say Stanford can’t or won’t surprise anyone. It’s entirely possible they find a way to pull off an upset or two this season, but those aren’t things that on paper are expected to happen. That’s why they’re called upsets.
At this point, all that Stanford can do is learn from this game, take encouragement in the fact that it was a game they had a chance to win and that they got some experience in a close game. This season is all about growth and this was a great learning opportunity for many young players.
“Yeah, 100 percent, there was progress,” Daniels said. “Our defense went out, and they played lights out. They gave us the opportunity to go down and score, and offensively I think we missed out on some of those opportunities, whether it be misreads, missed blocks, all of that stuff.
“I think we can play better as an offense, and when we start clicking and getting rolling, I think it's going to be pretty hard to stop our offense. But, yeah, if we come out and play well and stick together on all three phases, then I think we're going to be hard to beat.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Oregon on Saturday, September 30th. That will kick off at 3:30 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and KNBR 1050 AM radio.
“Yeah, like I said, we have to flush it,” Daniels said of looking ahead to Oregon. “We have 24 hours. You can be upset, all that stuff, but come Sunday, when we come in for meetings and we come in for lift, we know that we're going to flush what happened last week. We're going to forget about it because, like I said, we play one-game seasons. We know that there's a big opportunity and a big task ahead. So, yeah, we're just going to focus on that.”
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