On Saturday, Stanford football defeated Washington State 10-7 on the road in Pullman. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels went 15-31 for 115 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception while Stanford quarterback Justin Lamson rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries while also having a 27 yard completion to Sam Roush to set up his rushing touchdown. Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward went 24-40 for 241 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while wide receiver Josh Kelly had four receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown. Stanford improves to 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the Pac-12 while Washington State falls to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Washington State-Saturday, November 4th
VIDEO: Stanford Postgame Press Conference | Washington State
“I’ve said all year, these guys are incredibly resilient,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said after the game. “Our strength of our team is our character and our culture and our guys just continue to persevere. Their preparation has never waned at all. After any game. Any of the losses or the wins. And then we came in tonight, we wanted to play as if there was no outcome involved, just to play fast. I felt sometimes our guys are so conscientious they want to do everything right. To cut it loose and just play fast like you would when you were a kid playing football and I think our defense did a great job. They were flying around and having a lot of fun and created some difficult situations for a really talented quarterback.”
This game was truly a defensive battle. All night long, both defenses did a nice job of getting better of the opposing team’s offense. Stanford was just able to tack on three more points at the very end and get one more stop.
Both teams traded punts in the first quarter as neither team was able to get much going on offense. The longest gain on any play was nice yards. It was that kind of game. As a result, it would be tied 0-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.
Stanford kept the ball heading into the 2nd quarter, but that drive ended in a punt by Aidan Flintoft, who was having a busy night. Daniels got sacked for a loss of nine yards to end the drive. After Stanford forced a turnover on downs thanks to a clutch tackle by Collin Wright, they followed up their next drive with a punt as Flintoft punted a touchback.
With 10:11 to go in the 2nd quarter, Washington State had the ball on their own 20 yard line, looking to finally score. Josh Kelly came alive for the Cougars on that drive as he had three huge receptions for 23 yards, 39 yards, and then 9 yards for the touchdown. On the 39 yard reception, Stanford nearly sacked Ward, but somehow he was able to avoid the pressure. Grabbing Ward’s jersey wasn’t enough to bring him down given how elusive he is. It would be a 7-0 lead for the Cougars with 6:18 to go in the 2nd quarter.
It would continue to be a punt fest for the rest of the half as Stanford wasn’t able to get on the board before halftime. Ashton Daniels was looking for Elic Ayomanor a lot, who was doing a decent job of drawing pass interference calls and wearing down the Cougar defense. To the Cougars’ credit, they were able to find ways to stand tall.
Stanford got the ball to start the 3rd quarter, but their opening drive ended in a punt once more. On 3rd and 10 from the Stanford 49 yard line, Daniels looked for Ayomanor but wasn’t able to complete the pass. This resulted in Flintoft punting it to the Washington State 16 yard line, where it was fair caught with 12:09 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford finally got a bit of a break on the next drive. On 2nd and 10 from the Washington State 48 yard line, Stanford safety Scotty Edwards got a huge interception off Ward, giving them the ball back on their own 47 yard line with 6:20 to go in the 3rd quarter.
“Yeah, you know, I actually didn’t see much,” Edwards said with a bit of a laugh. “I was playing the post. I think he caught it or he tipped it and he tipped it to me and the ball was just there and I guess right place right time. And so, grateful I was able to make the play and get the ball back for our offense. But, the defense, the front seven, was definitely in his face forcing him to make a hard throw. Forcing the receiver to adjust awkwardly which tipped it and led to me making the play. So, that play was all of us.”
That interception by Edwards led to Stanford’s lone touchdown of the night. After a few short yard gains, it was 1st and 10 for Stanford on the Washington State 28 yard line. Justin Lamson came in as a running back in the formation and had the ball tossed to him before he proceeded to find Sam Roush for a 27 yard completion down to the 1 yard line. Lamson then rushed up the middle for one yard to find the end zone. After the extra point was good, it was a 7-7 game with 2:55 to go in the 3rd quarter.
“Yeah, you know, back 80 years ago, the half back was a quarterback that could run it and throw it,” Taylor said of the play call that led to the 27 yard completion. “And so we just thought hey, let’s utilize this guy. He really is a unique player. He’s kind of a throwback. Guy that is a physical runner and can throw it on the boot and in the pocket. So, wanted to utilize him a little bit more. And so, that’s the job of a coaching staff, right? You try to utilize your talent and he’s a tough kid. Made some big plays for us tonight.”
Stanford would force a Washington State punt after the Cougars initially moved the chains on an 18 yard reception from Ward to Carlos Hernandez. However, the next Stanford drive ended in an interception on 3rd and 15 from the Stanford 15 yard line. Daniels threw to the right side line as picked off by Jamorri Colson at the Stanford 35 yard line with one second left in the quarter. As a result, it would be tied 7-7 heading into the 4th quarter after Washington State lost a yard on their opening play of the drive.
To open up the quarter, on 2nd and 11, Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward was hurried by Scotty Edwards, unable to complete the pass. Stanford was doing a great job of applying pressure on Ward. Ward would then find Cooper Mathers for a 17 yard completion. After a nine yard gain on the next play, Washington State had 2nd and 1 on the Stanford 10 yard line.
Stanford defensive lineman Anthony Franklin then sacked Ward for a loss of 11 yards before safety Mitch Leigber got a sack for a loss of five yards. This set up a 43 yard field goal attempt by Dean Janikowski. Janikowski hooked his kick wide, keeping it at 7-7. With 11:56 to go, the Cardinal had a chance to go ahead once more.
“They just continued to, I think the coverage was really good,” Taylor said of his defense. “There was a number of times where they had to cover for eight or nine seconds with him running back. He was very difficult to get on the ground. Very elusive. Very strong. And then we were able to get home in the second half and create some negative plays. I think we had two interceptions.
“And just continued to do it for four quarters. We did not help them out very much. Talking about the offense in the first half obviously we didn’t score, they kept us in it, and we got a short field. I believe we scored off the interception. And so it was a spectacular night for the defense. They just continue to work hard and prepare and they have had some tough games, but this is one of the best defensive performances that I’ve been a part of.”
On their next drive, Stanford was able to pull ahead and take a 10-7 lead as Josh Karty made a 31 yard field goal with 5:56 to go. The big play of the drive was a 30 yard pass from Daniels to Ayomanor. From there, Stanford had some short yard gains, setting up a 4th and 3 from the Washington State 13 yard line. Stanford wanted to get the first down and find the end zone once more, but in the end the field goal would be good enough.
Stanford forced Washington State to punt on their next drive, giving them the ball back on their own 23 yard line with 5:03 to go. Stanford held onto the ball from there as they were able to kneel it out in the end. The longest gain of the drive was an 11 yard pass from Daniels to Roush.
The hero of the final drive was Lamson, whose running abilities iced away the game. He had a huge 4th down conversion on 4th and 1 at midfield that allowed the Cardinal to get into victory formation. 10-7 was the final.
“Phenomenal,” Taylor said of Lamson. “Going into the game, we wanted to utilize his skill set. Obviously, he’s a really good passer and a physical runner. He makes good decisions. So, we had obviously a number of plays where he was in. We had a couple of plays where two quarterbacks were on the field. One where he was running the ball kinda from a jet position off the hip and obviously a trick play off the screen. But, those tough runs down the stretch where he got a number of really important yards to keep the sticks moving and keep their offense off the field.”
For Stanford, this is a huge win. In truth, every win is huge when you were picked to finish last in the Pac-12. Instead, Stanford finds themselves in 8th place. But that notwithstanding, to go on the road and win a defensive battle like this speaks volumes of the kind of team they are. They’re able to win in a variety of ways and that’s what good teams have to learn how to do.
The most important players in the game were probably Scotty Edwards and Justin Lamson. Edwards’ interception set up the game-winning drive and then Lamson was able to lead the game-tying drive before later putting the Cougars away after Karty’s field goal. That said, it was truly a team effort. The entire defense was fantastic and deserves a game ball for the way they refused to shun the fight.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at #12 Oregon State on Saturday, November 11th at 2:00 PM PT. That will air on Pac-12 Networks and KNBR 1050 AM radio.
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