On Saturday, Stanford football fell to #25 UCLA at home by a final score of 42-7. UCLA got out to a 14-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and didn’t look back from there. It was one-way traffic for the Bruins as Stanford wasn’t able to muster up the same magic they had the previous week at Colorado.
UCLA junior quarterback Ethan Garbers went 20-28 for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions while junior running back Carson Steele rushed for 76 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. UCLA wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant had five receptions for 54 yards and one touchdown.
Stanford sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels went 27-45 for 268 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while freshman wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier had eight receptions for 75 yard and one touchdown. Stanford redshirt freshman wide receiver Elic Ayomanor had eight receptions as well for a team-high 90 yards while junior linebacker Gaethan Bernadel had 12 total tackles, a game high.
UCLA improves to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: UCLA at Stanford-Saturday, October 21st
VIDEO: Stanford Football: Postgame Press Conference | UCLA
“Obviously, got off to another slow start,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said after the game. “Really, really good football team. You just can't get behind like that. We were able to obviously come back last week. This week we didn't start well in all three phases. Didn't do enough to get back in the second half.”
UCLA got the ball to start the game and found the end zone on their opening drive. It was an 11 play, 75 yard drive that was capped off by a two yard rushing touchdown by Steele. The biggest gain of the drive was an 18 yard scramble by Garbers to the Stanford 10 yard line. UCLA had two 3rd down conversions, including a 10 yard pass from Garbers to Hudson Habermehl on 3rd and 6 from the Stanford 44 yard line.
Stanford’s next drive was a three and out. On 3rd and 6 from their own 25 yard line, quarterback Ashton Daniels got sacked, forcing Stanford to punt from their own 18 yard line on a 4th and 13. Connor Weselman had a 42 yard punt to the UCLA 40 yard line that was fair caught.
UCLA quickly scored on their next drive. Garbers found Habermehl for a 45 yard completion, making it 1st and 10 from the Stanford 15 yard line. From there, Steele would have back-to-back carries to find the end zone. The first carry for seven yards and then the touchdown run for eight yards. 14-0 lead for UCLA with 7:15 to go in the 1st quarter.
Stanford’s next drive would also end in a three and out. Stanford only advanced the ball in the drive thanks to an illegal substitution against UCLA. Aidan Flintoft came on to punt on 4th and 7 from the UCLA 28 yard line. It was a 52 yard punt that was downed at the UCLA 20 yard line.
UCLA’s next drive would stall at the Stanford 22 yard line on 4th and 14, forcing the Bruins to attempt a field goal. R.J. Lopez’ field goal attempt would be blocked by Anthony Franklin, keeping it a 14-0 game with 1:32 to go in the 1st quarter.
Stanford would not be able to capitalize on the blocked punt as their next drive ultimately ended in a punt. On 2nd and 9 from the Stanford 37 yard line, Daniels found Ayomanor for a nine yard completion to move the chains before later finding Bachmeier for a 15 yard reception. What killed the drive was an offensive pass interference call against Ayomanor that negated a 13 yard reception by Bryce Farrell. Weselman had to come back out to punt on 4th and 17 from the UCLA 46 yard line. Weselman punted a beauty that ended up resting on the UCLA 3 yard line after being downed by Stanford long snapped Peyton Warford. 12:10 was left in the 2nd quarter.
“Yeah, eliminate poor penalties,” Taylor said of avoiding slow starts. “I think early on we knew it was going to be difficult to run the ball. No one's really run the ball against these guys. They're really good up front. We were hoping we would be able to protect, get the ball out quickly, sustain some drives, get some points early on the board, hopefully their D-line would get a little bit tired, and it would be easier to pass protect because they're so explosive. We didn't sustain any drives offensively in the first half early on, then they got out to a big lead.”
UCLA would end up having a 15 play, 97 yard drive that resulted in a three yard rushing touchdown by Steele with 5:27 to go in the 2nd quarter. This made it a 21-0 lead for the Bruins. The top plays of the drive were Garbers finding Sturdivant for a 14 yard completion, T.J. Harden rushing for 12 yards up the middle, Garbers scrambling for 16 yards, and Steele adding a 13 yard gain up the middle before Garbers scrambled for 12 yards to get inside the 10 yard line. From there, UCLA found the end zone thanks to Steele.
“He did a good job of being able to extend the play,” Stanford linebacker Gaethan Bernadel said of Garbers. “Obviously we didn't see him on film. We seen more of 3.
“I wouldn't say we weren't prepared for him. I feel like whatever coach calls is perfect sought after and thought of. But he did a good job extending the play. We came after him a lot tonight. He was able to do a good job standing in the pocket and making the throws he needed to make.”
Neither team would score the rest of the half making it a 21-0 lead for UCLA at halftime. Stanford had a 24 yard reception by Sam Roush taken away due to it being ruled an illegal touch. This happened on the subsequent drive on 3rd and 6 from the UCLA 42 yard line. It was a five yard penalty that also resulted in a loss of down. So, that really stung for Stanford.
Down 21-0 at halftime, Stanford was hoping to work the same magic they did in Boulder a week ago. In that game, they were down 29-0 on the road. That gave them some hope that perhaps they might turn this game around.
At the break, Stanford linebacker Tristan Sinclair had some encouraging words for his young quarterback Ashton Daniels. Even though they didn’t get the win, Daniels is grateful for the words Sinclair gave him and the kind of teammate that he is.
“Tristan, ever since I arrived on campus, he's been a guy that I've looked up to, even though he's on the other side of the ball,” Daniels said. “He's a great leader. People tend to rally around him. I know that no matter what, he's going to go out on the field on Saturday and give it his all.
“I was walking off the field at halftime a little down, a little upset, frustrated. He came up to me and said, Hey, like, we're still in this game. You saw what we did last week. Keep your head up, go out there, lead those guys. All that kind of stuff.
“Hearing that kind of stuff from a guy that's older and experienced gives me the confidence to go out there and be the leader that I need to be. But yeah, he's a great player. He's a great dude off the field. Yeah, he's a great teammate to have.”
At the same time, UCLA was aware of what Stanford had done a week prior. They were not going to take the Cardinal lightly in the second half. That was a point of emphasis on their end when they headed into the tunnel.
“Yeah, exactly. Like you were saying, they came off a big win last week, being down 30 some points, so just having at that mindset it's a 0-0 game coming in every quarter,” Garbers said of what the message was from head coach Chip Kelly at halftime. “Our defense was playing lights out the whole four quarters as well as offense, and that really helped us to keep the mojo and keep us ahead.”
Stanford got the ball to start the second half, knowing they couldn’t keep punting after each drive. On 3rd and 10 from their own 25 yard line, Daniels found Ayomanor for a 28 yard completion. Daniels then found Ayomanor for a five yard completion. From there, Stanford was not able to move the chains again as they went for it on 4th and 4 from the UCLA 41 yard line, failing to convert.
UCLA’s next drive was not a success for the Bruins. They were able to move the chains 15 yards thanks to a roughing the passer penalty called against Sinclair, but beyond that, the drive stalled as UCLA went for it on 4th and 6 from the Stanford 36 yard line and failed to pick up the first down as Collin Wright made a key tackle for the Cardinal. 11:34 was left in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford was hoping to finally get on the board and get something going. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, they were unable to get a first down. On 3rd and 17 from the Stanford 25 yard line, Daniels found Bachmeier for a 15 yard completion, setting up 4th and 2. Daniels found Farrell for a completion on 4th down, but it was for a gain of zero yards. Turnover on downs was the result.
The next UCLA drive resulted in a touchdown for the Bruins as Garbers found Sturdivant for an eight yard touchdown reception, capping off an eight play, 40 yard drive. 28-0 lead for the Bruins with 6:47 to go in the 3rd quarter. The big play of the drive was Garbers connecting with Logan Loya for a 19 yard reception on 3rd and 11 from the Stanford 27 yard line. That got the ball to the Stanford eight yard line, setting up the eight yard touchdown pass from Garbers to Sturdivant.
Stanford’s next drive went nowhere as Jason Thompson returned the ball for the Cardinal to their own 11 yard line. Stanford did not move the chains and ended up having to punt from their 12 yard line. Flintoft’s punt would be blocked, giving the ball back to UCLA on the Stanford 29 yard line with 5:53 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford would get called for a pass interference on the first play of the UCLA drive before Garbers got sacked for a loss of six yards, backing him up to the 20 yard line. Garbers then found Moliki Matavao for a 20 yard touchdown reception. 35-0 lead for the Bruins with 4:56 to go in the 3rd.
UCLA’s kickoff would be a touchback, giving Stanford the ball on their own 25 yard line. E.J. Smith would rush the ball four yards for Stanford before a holding penalty called on UCLA, advanced the ball to the Stanford 45 yard line giving them a fresh set of downs. Daniels then found Farrell for a 25 yard completion before finding Bachmeier for a 10 yard reception. After Daniels threw an incomplete pass, he found Bachmeier for a 20 yard touchdown pass, capping off a six play, 75 yard drive. The first touchdown of Bachmeier’s career. The Cardinal were now on the board, but the Bruins were still firmly in control up 35-7 with 3:11 to go in the 3rd.
“I think it was long overdue,” Daniels said of Bachmeier scoring his first career touchdown. “I'm extremely proud of him to be that young and to come in in the spring and just put your head down and work. He doesn't really care how young he is. He doesn't care about how old the guys he's going against are. I just know that he's going to come in and put work in every single day.
“He's done that from the jump. He's impressed me and the coaching staff. He's gotten some opportunities throughout the season. I love targeting him. I know that no matter what, he's going to go up and get the ball. But yeah, I'm extremely proud of him. It was awesome to see that he got a touchdown today.”
UCLA’s next drive would end in a punt on a three and out as Will Powers punted the ball to Farrell, who fair caught the ball at the Stanford 35 yard line with 1:29 to go in the 3rd. Stanford’s next drive started off promising as Daniels connected with Roush for an 18 yard completion. However, on 3rd and 10, Daniels got sacked for a loss of two yards and on 4th and 12, Daniels completed the ball to Roush only to pick up nine yards. Turnover on downs.
UCLA’s next drive would bleed into the 4th quarter as they still led 35-7. On 3rd and 10 from the Stanford 22 yard line, Harden rushed up the middle and took it to the house. Following the extra point, it was a 42-7 lead for UCLA with 14:22 to go.
From there, neither team would score, making it a 42-7 final for UCLA. Daniels’ interception would come with 7:05 to go as he was picked off by John Humphrey. Stanford battled until the end, but UCLA showed why they are a ranked team.
“I thought they continued to compete in the second half,” Taylor said of his players. “They didn't stop. They continued to fight, which they've always done. We expect that. That's the expectation.”
For Stanford, this is a disappointing loss in that it was homecoming and they were coming off an emotional win at Colorado. They were hoping to keep the momentum going and have a second straight victory, but it wasn’t to be. They weren’t able to stop UCLA’s run and then the offense just didn’t have the same type of magic that they had in Boulder. A credit to UCLA’s defense for defending them well and learning from what Stanford did to Colorado.
“We knew we had a huge challenge,” Taylor said of facing UCLA. “They're really good. So I thought it was a really good, honestly, week of preparation. I thought our guys were focused. I thought they came in Tuesday and had a really good practice. They were locked in.
“As I said before, our margin for victory is thin. We got to start out faster. We just have to. We can't put ourselves and give up long drives on offense, three-and-out, give them the ball back down. You start to get some momentum on the other side. It becomes difficult. Obviously great team. Hats off to them. But we got to start better.”
As for UCLA, while they were expected to win, they should still feel good to come out on top and in the manner that they did. They could have easily allowed Stanford to hang around and make this game more interesting. Instead, they came out and dominated from the opening kick. As a result, they are now ranked #23 in the AP Top 25 Poll, one spot higher than USC, whose ranking is sinking like a stone.
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Saturday against #5 Washington. That will kick off at 4:00 PM PT on FS1 and KNBR 1050 AM radio.
“Yeah, doesn't get easier,” Taylor said. “Haven't watched a lot of Washington just because of kind of the different teams that we play. But seen them a little bit. They're outstanding. Another great quarterback. Very explosive team.
“Undefeated. Great football team. We get another opportunity. Our guys know we play a tough schedule. That's what makes it so rewarding if you do play well and you win a game.
“But yeah, we'll lick our wounds and we will be ready to compete and get back after it. We're excited to have an opportunity to play against one of the top teams in the country.”
Note: Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek and Stanford running back Casey Filkins were both unavailable. All Taylor said on Yurosek was just that. As for Filkins, Taylor did provide more of an explanation for why he didn’t play:
“He was dressed. We didn't feel that he was 100%. We didn't want to put him in harm's way, so we decided not to. He's a really good player. Just didn't feel he was fully 100%.”
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