On Saturday, Stanford football knocked off #3 Oregon 31-24 in overtime at home in Palo Alto. Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee went 20-36 for 230 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while wide receivers Elijah Higgins, John Humphreys, and Brycen Tremayne each had 1 touchdown reception. Tremayne left the game midway through the first half with a leg/ankle injury and did not return. Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown was the top performer for the Ducks going 14-26 for 186 yards, 0 touchdown passes, 1 interception, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 35 rushing yards. Stanford improves to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12 while Oregon falls to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12.
“So much to say,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said after the game. “Obviously this was a heck of a football game, two really good teams. We've been close, trying to get to where we're playing at our best. Still haven't played a complete football game. Showed a lot of signs.
“Told the guys in the locker room, you don't always get what you want, right, like the Rolling Stones say, but sometimes you get what you need. I think we needed that. We needed to be ahead and fight through adversity and find a way to win against a really good football team.
“Can't say enough about our crowd, our fans, our student section, the alumni. Got some juice from the '70 and '71 Rose Bowl teams. Heisman Trophy winner, All-American, first-round draft pick Jim Plunkett gave the guys juice on Friday.
“Guys in the locker room, so much resilience. They're all hurting still for Brycen Tremayne. But it wasn't just on our side; both sides lost some really good football players. Got guys hurt in a very physical game.
“Proud of our guys. They were able to find a way back. We needed that, that feeling, because that's the feeling that Oregon has, that they've earned. They've been down, and they had so much confidence, they can go back and win. It was great for our guys to be down and have that questioned and to come back and win. It was great.”
Things got off to a good start for Stanford as they received to start the game. Bryce Farrell returned the ball to the Stanford 28 yard line and then got another 15 yards tacked on after a targeting penalty on Trikweze Bridges. Tanner McKee got good field position on his opening drive with the ball on the Stanford 43 yard line.
A 13 yard rush by Nathaniel Peat and a 15 yard reception by Brycen Tremayne helped get the ball to the Oregon 9 yard line. 7 rushing yards from Austin Jones on back-to-back attempts got Stanford within 2 yards of the end zone. On 3rd and 2, McKee’s pass to Tremayne was broken up and on 4th and 2, Tucker Fisk was called for a false start, making it a 4th and 7. David Shaw decided to kick the field goal and Josh Karty knocked it home to make it a 3-0 lead. There was a running into the kicker call that Shaw declined as it wouldn’t have resulted in an automatic first down.
Oregon’s opening drive didn’t go as the Ducks planned as it was a rather quick three and out. Oregon punted to Stanford and Stanford got the ball on their own 29 yard line after a bit of a scare as Casey Filkins’ punt return was muffed but still recovered by him. On their next drive, Stanford punted as well as McKee was sacked on a 3rd and 6. Oregon once again had the ball, looking to get on the scoreboard.
On 3rd and 2 on their own 43 yard line, Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown threw an interception to Stanford outside linebacker Gabe Reid that was returned for four yards back to the line of scrimmage. Stanford now had some momentum and looked to capitalize.
“Yeah, Gabe is having his best season,” Shaw said of Reid. “I don't know if that'll bear out statistically, but the wisdom, the age, the experience, it really shows. He's playing great, giving great energy. We've needed his leadership.
“I think he and Stephen Herron and Jordan Fox, got all three of those guys played a lot of snaps on the outside offensive linebacker position. They've all had their days where they've played great. Really appreciate those guys and in particular Gabe with his experience helping that group out.”
“Can't really put into words,” Reid said of his interception. “I was dropping that play, and felt like it was a quicker drop from the QB, so took a flat angle and the ball kind of just landed in my lap. Just made sure I caught it. Yep.”
Stanford would do just that as McKee found Higgins for a 25 yard completion and then Tremayne for an 18 yard touchdown reception. With 6:25 to go in the 1st quarter, Stanford was now up 10-0. After getting off to a poor start last week against UCLA, Stanford found a way to get off a great start this week.
“I wish I knew,” Shaw said of why his team got off to a better start. “I wish I could bottle it up because I would do it every week. I think the magnitude of the game helped a bunch. I think we did some good things this week to keep our guys fresh. The fact that it wasn't too early but it was an early start, we just got to get up and go this morning, that may have helped. So I give a lot of credit to the guys, the leadership on this football team, the way they put pressure on themselves and put pressure on each other. We talked about it all week; we just have to start fast.
“UCLA we spotted them 14 points before we started playing in the second quarter, and we can't do that to a good football team. I talked about it on Tuesday with the team, told them flat out, are you guys going to be surprised when we're up two scores early in this game? And they said no. We were up two scores. But that other team battled back, and thankfully we made the last surge.”
Oregon’s next drive was highlighted by a 17 yard run by running back Travis Dye, but that didn’t lead to any points as Oregon was forced to punt again. Tom Snee’s punt was a good one. 42 yards to the Stanford 10 yard line, fair caught by Filkins.
Stanford had a chance to extend their lead even further, and things looked promising thanks to a 23 yard run by Peat followed up by a 13 yard completion to Higgins. Stanford now had the ball on their own 46 yard line. On 2nd and 10, Peat rushed 8 yards to make it a 3rd and 2. Jones would then rush 1 yard to set up a 4th and 1. Stanford decided to go for it on the Oregon 45 yard line, but McKee’s quarterback sneak ended up not resulting in a single yard, turning the ball back over to the Ducks. The spot of the ball was challenged, but it didn’t go Stanford’s way.
At the end of the 1st quarter, Stanford would lead 10-0, but Oregon was threatening thanks to three straight 11 yard gains: 11 yard reception from wide receiver Devon Williams; 11 yard reception from tight end Terrance Ferguson; and an 11 yard run from running back CJ Verdell. It would be 1st and 6 for Oregon to start the 2nd quarter. As the 2nd quarter opened up, Oregon quickly found the end zone thanks to back-to-back three yard runs from Anthony Brown. It was now 10-7 Stanford with 14:34 to go in the first half.
Stanford’s next drive was a very mixed bag. They would score a touchdown, but they would also lose Brycen Tremayne for the rest of the game. The Tremayne injury happened shortly after a pass interference call against Oregon gave Stanford 1st and 10 on the Stanford 46 yard line. After Jones rushed the ball for 11 yards to the Oregon 43 yard line, the play that ended Tremayne’s game and possibly season occurred. What happened on the play was McKee found Tremayne for a 15 yard completion to the Oregon 28 yard line and it appeared as though an Oregon defender came in a bit late and hit Tremayne somewhere around his ankle. As a result, Tremayne had to be carted off the field.
Following that play, Jones and Peat went to work, rushing the ball to the Oregon 2 yard line. Making it 1st and 2. From there, Stanford was able to find the end zone thanks to Isaiah Sanders coming in at quarterback in a wild cat scenario. Sanders found the end zone and gave Stanford a 17-7 lead with 8:02 to go in the half.
The next two drives resulted in punts for both Stanford and Oregon, giving Oregon the ball back with 4:00 to work with. A 13 yard completion to Dye, a 13 yard completion to Verdell, a 21 yard run by Jaylon Redd, and a 12 yard run by Brown set up a 1st and goal for the Ducks on the 10 yard line.
With four downs to work with and only 10 yards to go, it looked like a foregone conclusion that Oregon would find the end zone. Instead, Stanford found a way to get a stop on a crucial 4th and 1 thanks to a crucial tackle from Gabe Reid and Jordan Fox on Anthony Brown for a one yard loss. With just 50 seconds to go in the half, Stanford wisely ran out the clock and took a 17-7 lead into halftime.
Oregon received to start the second half, looking to get back in the game quickly. However, their opening drive didn’t go as planned as they were forced to punt. Filkins would return the ball 16 yards to the 28 yard line.
Stanford’s opening drive likewise resulted in a quick punt as the Cardinal were unable to get the first down. As a result, Oregon would get the ball back on the Stanford 48 yard line with 12:20 to go in the 3rd quarter.
This next drive would be successful for Oregon as a 13 yard completion to Redd and a 14 yard completion to Dye got Oregon in a 1st and goal situation on the 6 yard line. A 1 yard touchdown from Verdell completed the drive, making it a 17-14 lead for Stanford with 8:32 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford’s next drive was another dud as it was a four and out. Sanborn’s 40 yard punt to the Oregon 30 yard line was returned for 32 yards by Mycah Pittman to the Stanford 38 yard line. Oregon was looking to go ahead or at the very least even up the game.
Verdell, Brown, and Dye collectively rushed the ball to the Stanford 4 yard line, making it a 1st and goal. A personal foul on Redd made it a 1st and 19 on the Stanford 19, giving the Stanford defense some breathing room. Stanford linebacker Levani Damuni would then sack Anthony Brown to make it 2nd and 23 and on 3rd and 18, Brown connected with wide receiver Johnny Johnson III to make it 4th and goal from the 4 yard line. Oregon kicker Camden Lewis came on to attempt the field goal and kicked it through the uprights to tie the game up 17-17 with 53 seconds to go until the 4th quarter. Stanford would hold onto the ball heading into the 4th quarter, making it a tie game with one period to go.
Stanford’s drive to open the 4th quarter got off to a good start as Peat rushed for 10 yards in two plays to give them a first down. On that first down, Tanner McKee found Benjamin Yurosek for a 16 yard completion to the Oregon 33 yard line. Stanford was in a bit of a rhythm, looking to get back out in front.
However, a holding penalty on left guard Barrett Miller backed Stanford up 10 yards and a false start on center Drake Nugent backed Stanford up another 5 yards. As a result, Stanford had to punt the ball back to Oregon killing the momentum that they were building.
Oregon took advantage as a 66 yard completion to Pittman put Oregon on the Stanford 10 yard line. From there, Oregon found the end zone as Dye rushed for 5 yards and then Brown rushed for 5 more yards to score. It was now 24-17 Oregon with 9:32 to go.
Stanford’s next drive resulted in a quick punt back to Oregon, who now looked to bleed out the clock and walk out with a win as they had the ball on their own 26 yard line with 7:26 to go. Oregon would rather slowly and methodically rush the ball to the Stanford 39 yard line, mostly due to the work of Dye. Back-to-back false starts on Oregon made it 1st and 20 for the Ducks on the Stanford 49 yard line.
Stanford’s defense would hold firm, forcing Oregon to punt once more. Stanford now had the ball on their own 13 yard line with 1:59 to go. Things didn’t look promising for the Cardinal, but they at least had a chance.
Stanford started off the drive poorly thanks to a pair of false starts from Barrett Miller and Jake Hornibrook. On 2nd and 19, Tanner McKee connected with John Humphreys for a 23 yard reception to get the ball to their own 27 yard line. Stanford now had some breathing room. A pair of 13 yard receptions by tight ends Benjamin Yurosek and Bradley Archer got Stanford the ball on the Oregon 45 yard line with 41 seconds to go and a first down as Oregon called for time.
Out of the timeout, Oregon committed a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty giving Stanford the ball on the Oregon 17 yard line. A 14 yard completion to Yurosek got Stanford the ball on the 3 yard line, making it 1st and goal. It was guts poker time for the Cardinal.
On 4th and goal on the 4 yard line, McKee lobbed it to Humphreys and the pass was incomplete as the clock expired. However, there was a holding call on Oregon cornerback Mykael Wright, resulting in one final untimed down.
With that extra play in their pocket, Stanford drew up a 2-yard touchdown pass from McKee to Higgins, tying the game up 24-24 following the extra point. After looking like they were dead, Stanford had new life and was heading to overtime.
“Just trust, I would say,” McKee said of his relationship with Higgins. “Kind of see his position. Once the ball is in the air, I can't do anything about it. There's a lot of times where we're watching film and we see how the ball was thrown, Coach will pause it as the ball is leaving my hand. He's like, at this point, let's see what you see, let's see the relationship, let's see if he's beating him or not, because once the ball is out of your hand, there's no changing it. You just have to trust your guy to go get it, and obviously he did and he's a great athlete, and me and him, we've worked at it a ton of times, and we obviously have great trust with each other.”
Stanford got the ball to open up overtime and made the most of it as John Humphreys stepped up big time. Humphreys got a 9 yard reception to the Oregon 16 yard line and on a 3rd and 11 from the Oregon 14 yard line, McKee found Humphreys for a 14 yard touchdown reception as Humphreys broke a couple tackles to find the end zone. Stanford was now up 31-24 following the extra point.
“Yeah, John is a great receiver,” McKee said. “Not only because he's fast and he's tall and he's got great hands, but he knows the game very well, and it's nice that Coach Shaw has complete trust in us, and so when we get to the sideline, John lets me know what kind of leverage the defense is playing with, if they're flipping their hips quickly, kind of how they're playing, and then based off that we'll run -- we'll change a lot of backside routes depending on how the defense plays.
“John and I, we're on the same page, and a lot of those backside routes that started as one route but then based on how the game was going, how the defense was playing, we changed the route, and ultimately it was successful for us.”
Oregon’s opening drive in overtime resulted in two gained yards in the first three plays resulting in a 4th and 8 situation and the game on the line. Anthony Brown tried to connect with Mycah Pittman, but the pass was incomplete ending the game and giving Stanford a huge 31-24 victory over the #3 ranked Ducks. Stanford fans rushed the field in a mad panic as would be expected while Oregon fans were in shock.
“First of all, I apologize to my parents, everybody over the age of 70,” Shaw said. “So sorry for you all. The ups and downs and -- it was hard. It was hard because we played so well at the beginning and should have had more points, and then to see a really good team storm back and be down again.
“But the key word, resilience, that's the mark of a successful team. It's a mark of a successful person. How can you withstand the storms that life gives you? How can you withstand the difficulties that a game presents? Our guys took it on the chin quite a bit, but then we fought back and made some big plays.
“John Humphreys, first of many touchdowns; Elijah Higgins, can't say enough about his way to battle back through a lot of difficulty; Ben Yurosek coming in and making some big plays, as well. Austin Jones, needed Austin Jones back, came back and made a big play. Isaiah Sanders missed most of last game, came back healthy this week, got a touchdown for us. The guys up front against a really, really good defensive front at Oregon I thought played great, really really battled. You're going to lose some plays against those guys, but our guys came back and fought.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing for us as a defense, whatever happened on offense, just focus on what we can control,” Reid said of maintaining composure to get that final stop. “Offense went out there and scored, and that was great. But we were ready for whatever happened.
“Just really trying to stay constant. I clearly remember my sophomore year when we were at Autzen Stadium in that triple overtime game. It was wild. So I think just kind of being there, even though I didn't really play in that game, kind of helped me be able to deal with all that hype and excitement that comes with overtime.”
For Stanford, this is a monster win. For two main reasons. The first reason is the simple fact that Oregon came in ranked #3 in the country. Any time you knock off a team of that magnitude, it’s a big deal. The second reason is the fact that Stanford now controls their own destiny to win the Pac-12 North. If they win out, they win the division, setting up a trip to the Pac-12 championship game.
The only bad thing that happened today for Stanford was Brycen Tremayne going down. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out, but the vibe is that it’s a pretty serious injury that could cost him the season. If he is indeed out for the year, that’s a pretty big blow and obviously puts even more of an emphasis on getting senior wide receiver Michael Wilson back.
For Oregon, this loss really stings. Their ranking will take a big hit and their dreams of a national championship have been thrown out the window. On top of that, they no longer control their own destiny to win the Pac-12.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Arizona State on Friday night at 7:30 PM PST on ESPN and KNBR radio. It’ll be a shorter week for Stanford, which means they have a little less time to celebrate and enjoy this one. But if you ask them, that’s totally ok.
