Recap: Stanford falls to BYU in final game of David Shaw era
The big news coming out of the Stanford-BYU football game at Stanford Stadium over Thanksgiving weekend wasn’t the game itself. It was the announcement by Stanford head coach David Shaw that he had coached his last football game as head coach of the Cardinal.
Shaw walks away as the winningest coach in Cardinal history with an incredible record of 96-54, a 5-3 record in bowl games, a 2-1 record in the Rose Bowl, six finishes inside the Top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Poll, one finishes inside the Top Five in both polls and four finishes inside the Top 10 in the Coaches Poll (three in AP Poll-2013 #11). While there are many who question how great of a coach he really was, I think his record and list of accomplishments can do the talking.
That said, a time for a change was certainly due. Stanford had back-to-back 3-9 seasons to close out the Shaw era, signaling that his time needed to come to an end. Stanford and Shaw have handled his departure with a lot of class as there at least from the outside doesn’t appear to be any sort of squabbling or fighting. Both parties recognized a change was needed and they wanted to make sure they have as graceful of a transition to the next era as possible.
Shortly after midnight following Stanford’s 35-26 loss to BYU, I posted on our message boards that I was hearing from a very reliable source that Shaw had informed the team that he was stepping down. I didn’t want to tweet out the information because (A) getting a heads up on such information is why you subscribe to CardinalSportsReport.com and (B) I kinda felt like Shaw should be the one to tell the world at large. So while the rest of the press room was wondering what was going on and where Shaw was, I was already aware of what the deal was and to be honest, I think everyone, even without having the inside information I had, was starting to put two and two together. The end had come and now it just needed to be publicly confirmed by Shaw.
As for the game itself, BYU improved to 7-5 overall in their final game as an independent school. The Cougars will move to the Big XII conference next season. As for Stanford, as I said above, they fell to 3-9 overall, winning just one game in Pac-12 play (Arizona State). BYU quarterback Jaren Hall led the way for the Cougars going 7-11 for 93 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while also rushing for 69 yards and 1 touchdown. BYU running back Christopher Brooks, a grad transfer from Cal, rushed for 164 yards on 23 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry.
As for Stanford, quarterback Tanner McKee went 31-40 for 313 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions while 5th year wide receiver Brycen Tremayne had 11 receptions for 130 yards and 1 touchdown. This was likely Tremayne’s final game in a Cardinal uniform. As for McKee, we’ll just have to see. There is a possibility he’ll leave for the NFL, though he may want to come back for one more year pending on who the new head coach is and polish his craft a bit more while also completing his degree.
Diving into the game itself, Stanford was never really in it as had been the case with many of their games this season. BYU jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Jaren Hall found the end zone in the opening drive on a 19 yard rush up the middle before Joshua Karty responded for Stanford with a 34 yard field goal. Then, Hinckley Ropati had a 43 yard touchdown run to make it 14-3.
Early on in the 2nd quarter, Hall connected with Isaac Rex to make it 21-3. Stanford would respond to score a touchdown, marching it all the way down the field to the one yard line before running back Mitch Leigber punched it in. The largest gain of the drive was a 22 yard reception by Elijah Higgins. As a sign that this really wasn’t going to be the Cardinal’s night, Karty missed his first field goal/extra point of the season. This kept it at 21-9.
BYU would respond on the next drive as Hall connected with Rex from one yard out on 3rd and goal for a touchdown, making it 28-9. Hall had a nice 16 yard run while Brooks had an 11 yard run during the drive. Stanford would add three more points before halftime as Karty bounced back with a 54 yard field goal, making it 28-12 at halftime.
Neither team would score in the 3rd quarter, keeping it 28-12 going into the 4th quarter. Stanford would outscore BYU 14-7 in the 4th quarter, though BYU was the first team to strike. Puka Nacua had a nice 25 yard touchdown run to make it 35-12 with 12:48 to go. At this point, it was clear BYU was going to win. The only question was whether or not Stanford could at least put some points up and soften the blow.
To Stanford’s credit, they found the end zone two more times to close out the game. Ashton Daniels had a 1 yard touchdown run to make it 35-19 with 9:18 to go. A 29 yard reception by Tremayne was the big gain of the drive.
The second touchdown was a seven yard touchdown pass from McKee to Tremayne, making it a 35-26 game with 4:39 to go. A 36 yard reception by Tremayne was the big gain of the drive.
For whatever reason, in classic David Shaw fashion, Stanford elected to kick it deep as opposed to going for the onside kick. From there, BYU ran out the clock and walked out with a 35-26 victory.
Not to be overlooked here is what this win means for BYU. It means a 7-5 season and a bowl game. This was a very nice way for them to end their independence era. Joining the Big XII will be a new challenge for them, but they seem excited and up to the task, already sporting their Big XII gear. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in their new conference. Not just in football, but in all sports. BYU has very competitive men’s and women’s basketball programs, women’s volleyball, baseball, etc. They’re a very well-rounded athletic department.
As for Stanford, while this loss stings, it’s softened by knowing a new era is on the horizon. The twilight years of the Shaw era were rather depressing. The program was no longer the feared academic powerhouse that was built up by Jim Harbaugh and sustained by David Shaw for many years. Instead, they became a punching bag for the rest of the Pac-12, a shell of their former selves both in personnel and attitude. It’ll be interesting to see how the new head coach goes about implementing their new culture and how quickly they can get this program back on track.
Finally, going back to David Shaw, I just want to say I really enjoyed getting to know him even though these were the most challenging years of his time on The Farm. He’s a really classy guy and a wonderful human being. I certainly hope and am confident that as the years go on, when people think of David Shaw, they’ll think of the good years he had on The Farm and the impact he has made on the Stanford community. Whoever comes after him will certainly have some mighty shoes to fill both on and off the field.
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