Recap: Stanford unable to pull out victory in Pullman
On Saturday, Stanford football fell to Washington State in Pullman by a final score of 34-31. Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura went 17-30 for 289 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while running back Max Borghi rushed for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 carries. Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee went 23-32 for 273 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while tight end Benjamin Yurosek (5 receptions, 99 yards, and 1 touchdown) and running back Austin Jones (98 all-purpose yards and 1 touchdown) each came close to 100 yard performances. Washington State improves to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12.
“Really tight, close college football game,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said in his post-game remarks. “Two factors are the most important factors for me. Number one, we had three great drives in the first half, but only came away with 13 points. When you’re on the road, those have to be touchdowns. It can’t be field goals. We need minimum two touchdowns and a field goal if not three touchdowns. Because you know teams at home they’re gonna come back and they’re gonna fight ya. Even though we had the lead, we still put ourselves in a hole.
“Defensively we got stops off the field. Offensively, we drove down the field but we should have had 21 points instead of 13. So when a home team catches momentum, they catch back up, our guys showed great resilience in the second half, got stops on the defensive side, offensively we drove down the field, especially when we had to have it, big plays by the quarterback, big plays by our receivers and tight ends and Austin Jones. And then that last drive, explosive plays. We played so well in the second half on defense, but we gave up explosive plays and gave up the opportunity to win the game. That’s what it boils down for me.”
Stanford got off to a great start as Tanner McKee connected with Benjamin Yurosek on a 45 yard touchdown pass in the opening drive of the game to give Stanford a 7-0 lead with 11:10 to go in the 1st quarter. As for Washington State’s first drive, that resulted in a punt, giving Stanford the ball on the Washington State 48 yard line with 5:55 to go in the quarter.
Stanford wasn’t able to score a touchdown on the drive, but they were able to get into field goal range thanks to an 11 yard run by Yurosek and a five yard gain by running back Casey Filkins on a direct snap. On a 4th and 6 from the Washington State 33 yard line, Josh Karty nailed a 51 yard field goal to give Stanford a 10-0 lead with 4:45 to go in the 1st quarter.
Washington State would have another discombobulated possession compiled with a delay of game and intentional grounding call. As a result, Washington State punted the ball yet again, giving Stanford another chance to rack up more points. Stanford had the ball on the Washington State 47 yard line with 3:49 to go in the quarter after a fair catch from Filkins.
On this drive, Stanford was aided by a 15 yard targeting call on Washington State senior linebacker Jahad Woods, which got them the ball on Washington State 26 yard line with four downs to work with. A 9 yard rush from Austin Jones got Stanford the ball on the Washington State 17 yard line, but that would be the closest Stanford would get to the end zone. As a result, they once again had to trot out the field goal unit and Karty once again split the uprights to give Stanford a 13-0 lead with 13 seconds to go in the quarter. A lead they would take into the 2nd quarter.
After having a sleepy 1st quarter, Washington State woke up in the 2nd quarter as Jayden de Laura connected with wide receiver Travell Harris on a 32 yard touchdown to make it a 13-7 game with 13:24 to go until halftime. On Stanford’s next possession, the Cardinal were unable to generate much offense as Ryan Sanborn had to punt for the first time of the night. It was a 41 yard punt out of bounds to the Washington State 30 yard line.
After a couple of moderate gains, Washington State founds themselves in a 1st and 10 situation on the Stanford 31 yard line in which Jayden de Laura connected with wide receiver Calvin Jackson, Jr. for a touchdown. On the extra point, Stanford defensive end Thomas Booker was able to block the kick, making it a 13-13 game with 9:21 to go in the half.
“For me, the key to blocking kicks is get off and being able to time the snap and load my legs beforehand,” Booker explained. “So I try to crowd the ball as much as I can just because it’s a math equation at the end of the day. The less distance you have to cover, the quicker you can do it, the better chance you have at blocking a field goal or the PAT. So, for me, really it’s about that first initial crowding the ball and then I kinda start loading my front leg, which is usually my left leg and as soon as it gets around the time when I know the ball is going to be snapped, I start keying the ball and I really start loading that leg up.
“So as soon as I see any movement, any hitch in the arms or the hand of that snapper, I’m out of there. And then as soon as I start getting penetration around two yards, that’s when I try to get a hand up. I think on like three or four of those attempts, I was pretty close. One of them I was too low and I couldn’t get my hand up. But yeah, it’s a great feeling to get one, but I feel like I probably should have gotten at least one more today.”
Stanford’s next drive once got off to a good start with Tanner McKee finding Elijah Higgins for a 10 yard completion to the Stanford 34 yard line. However, the rest of the drive was a dud as Sanborn once again came out to punt. This time a 41 yard punt to the Washington State 24 yard line with 7:37 to go until halftime.
Washington State rather methodically marched the ball down the field, highlighted by a 12 yard reception by running back Deon McIntosh and a pair of 14 yard and 15 yard receptions by wide receiver Joey Hobert. Washington State got themselves into a 4th and 1 situation on the Stanford 9 yard line, went for it, and didn’t convert.
Unfortunately for Stanford, their defensive stop didn’t yield any fruit as Nathaniel Peat fumbled on the next play, giving Washington State the ball back on the Stanford 10 yard line and four downs to work with. Washington State made quick work of the Stanford defense on the next play as Jayden de Laura connected with wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling for a 10 yard touchdown. Washington State was now up 20-13 with 3:07 to go in the half.
Stanford’s offense would find a bit of life on their next drive as a 32 yard reception by Austin Jones got Stanford across the 50 yard line and down to the Washington State 21 yard line. Stanford was hoping to find the end zone, but once again had to settle for a 31 yard field goal from Karty, who became 3-3 from the field after knocking it through. It was now a 20-16 lead for Washington State with 39 seconds to go. A lead Washington State would take into halftime.
To start the second half, Washington State got the ball and thanks to a 48 yard reception by wide receiver Lincoln Victor, they found themselves threatening to score once more. On a 4th and 4 from the Stanford 23 yard line, Washington State went for it and didn’t convert, giving Stanford the ball back.
On their opening drive of the half, Stanford quickly got backed up thanks to a 10 yard holding penalty on fullback Houston Heimuli. That proved to be costly as Stanford found themselves working to just put themselves in better punting position the rest of the drive. Sanborn would punt it 38 yards to the Washington State 28 yard line and it would be returned for 6 yards to the 34 yard line. Washington State had the ball with 8:03 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Washington State made good use of this next drive as McIntosh got a 14 yard gain, Harris got a 23 yard reception, and Victor got a 25 yard reception. This set up a 1st and 2 from the Stanford 2 yard line and from there, Borghi was able to punch it in to make it a 27-16 Washington State lead with 4:34 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford responded nicely on their next drive as a 17 yard run by McKee, a sketchy pass-interference call on a pass that was intended for Bryce Farrell that didn’t appear catchable, and a pair of receptions by Yurosek that combined for 31 yards, got Stanford the ball on the Washington State 1 yard line as the 3rd quarter came to a close.
Tanner McKee would run it into the end zone on a quarterback keeper on a 2nd and 1 after not getting in the first time. Stanford would then go for two and appear to not convert after McKee’s pass intended for Higgins was incomplete. However, there was a flag on the play for illegal substitution on Washington State that gave Stanford a do-over. With another chance on the two-point conversion, McKee found the end zone himself once again. It was now a 27-24 game with 14:06 to go.
Stanford would then get a stop on defense and get the ball back on their own 15 yard line with 13:00 to go. A 10 yard holding penalty on Lukas Ungar backed them up to the 15. McKee quickly made up for the 10 yards by connecting with wide receiver Silas Starr for 12 yards; and then connecting with Bryce Farrell for 31 yards to get the ball to the Washington State 38 yard line. From there, Austin Jones got a 9 yard reception and Benjamin Yurosek got a 17 yard reception to make it 1st and 10 on the Washington State 10 yard line. After Nathaniel Peat rushed for 2 yards, Jones finished the drive on an impressive 8 yard touchdown reception to make it a 31-27 lead for Stanford with 7:32 to go. It was Jones’ first touchdown of the season.
“Yeah, Austin’s one of our leaders,” Shaw said of Jones. “He’s worked so hard. He missed some time, he came back, and he’s done everything we’ve asked up to this point. Casey [Filkins] couldn’t finish the game, we’ve had to rotate our backs so much. But both guys played really well tonight and run and pass. We’re gonna need them going forward. And we’ll see what happens with Casey, we’ll see what happens with E.J., but Austin gave his typical great effort tonight. Had some opportunities and made the most of them.
“Bottom line is we gotta take advantage of those opportunities in the first half as an offense and those two field goals early on killed us. We put the game back in doubt. And then at the end, we gotta close the door on the offense and close the door on the defense. We didn’t do that.”
“It was nice,” Jones said of getting that first touchdown. “Been working pretty hard and just finally getting in the end zone was great. Yeah, it was perfect. I’m happy to get the opportunity to get in the end zone. But at the end of the day, I’m still looking back on the team and we didn’t get the win. So.”
Washington State’s next drive resulted in a punt, giving Stanford the ball back with 6:27 to go on their own 35 yard line. Unfortunately for Stanford, the drive didn’t amount to much as McKee would get sacked on a 3rd and 6, setting up a 4thand 12 on their own 45 yard line, forcing them to punt.
To open the drive, Jayden de Laura connected with Calvin Jackson, Jr. on a 41 yard reception that moved the ball from the Washington State 30 yard line to the Stanford 29 yard line. Washington State would gain 10 more yards to make it 1stand 10 on the 19 and from there, de Laura would find Stribling for a 17 yard completion, setting up a 1st and goal from the 2 yard line. From there, Borghi punched it into the end zone, making it a 34-31 Washington State lead with 1:30 to go.
Stanford had one final drive left and a chance, but it honestly looked bleak. On a 3rd and 13 with 37 seconds to go, Tanner McKee got strip sacked and lost possession, giving Washington State the ball and the victory as they were able to kneel it out on the next possession.
“We lost in pass protection,” Shaw said of that final possession. “My disappointment or not is inconsequential. That’s just what happened. We didn’t pass protect like we had been pass protecting the whole game. They’re active up front, they’re not the biggest guys, but they’re quick and they’re athletic and we had done a good job most of the game, even on third down pass protecting. Last series there, we had a couple of shots. Had a couple of guys that were breaking open. But, their guys beat our guys up front.”
For Stanford, this loss really stings. Had they won this game, they’d have a winning record heading into their bye week and a little bit of momentum with hopes of Michael Wilson and E.J. Smith returning for the Washington home game on October 30th. They’d also be in a pretty good position to win the Pac-12 North.
That all said, this loss isn’t fatal to their season goals. Four of their five remaining games are at home and their lone road game left is at Oregon State on Saturday, November 13th. It is possible that if they win the rest of their Pac-12 games from here, they finish 6-3 in the Pac-12 and in a three-way tie for 1st place with Oregon and Oregon State. If that were to happen, they’d win the Pac-12 North via head-to-head tiebreaker and advance to the Pac-12 championship game.
At this point, Stanford needs to take advantage of the bye week they have coming up. Get some rest, regroup, and get themselves amped up for the remaining stretch of the season. As I said above, the division is still attainable if they win out and with so many home games left, it’s far from out of reach.
“Well that’s number one, is combination of getting some guys healthy, but also getting a lot of guys a break,” Shaw said of the bye week. “It’s been one hell of a schedule. Really has. A lot of traveling, played seven games and five teams at one point in time were in the top 25. I don’t know if anybody’s played that this entire year. But it’s a hell of a stretch and our guys need a break. We get off our feet, get a couple guys get back healthy, and see if we can finish this season on the kind of run that we’re capable of.”
“Yeah, I think so,” Booker said when asked if the bye week is coming at a good time. “I think we got some guys banged up, most teams do in the mid-season, so I think it’s a great time for us to be able to get some of these bodies back and just key in on the details and have some extra time to prepare for our next opponent. So yeah, I think it’s a good thing. I think the team really needs to do some introspection. Look at what went wrong, what we can do better so we can come out in our next opportunity and kill it.”
Following the bye, Stanford will return to action on Saturday, October 30th against Washington on KNBR Radio. Kickoff time is to be determined as is the television station.