By Matthew E. Milliken
MEMwrites.wordpress.com
Sept. 20, 2018
Stanford moved to 3-0 on the young football season with a 30-10 victory over UC Davis on Saturday afternoon. But the victory, which closed out a three-game home stand, was not without its blemishes.
The teams began the game by exchanging punts. Things began to get interesting on the second snap of Stanford’s second possession. Following a fake handoff, junior quarterback K.J. Costello underthrew junior tight end Kaden Smith, who had lined up wide and was surrounded by gray-clad defenders. Junior linebacker Nas Anesi was perfectly positioned to grab the ball and returned it nine yards, to the Cardinal 12-yard line. The Aggies couldn’t earn a first down but were able to get on the scoreboard thanks to Max O’Rourke’s 26-yard field goal.
After the kickoff, Stanford — which was resting all-world runner Bryce Love — handed off twice to junior tailback Trevor Speights. His second run seemed to gain 13 yards but was called back because Smith was flagged for holding.
