By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Dec. 4, 2019
I marked the end of Stanford’s 2019 football season where I’d welcomed it: At Tobacco Road, where I watched the Notre Dame game with elation that eventually shaded into apprehension and then despair. It’s fair to say that I was cranky during the second half.
• The Bad
What for Stanford doesn’t belong in this category, especially as the game wore on? The Cardinal was outscored 24-7 in the final 30 minutes, as the Irish gained 249 yards on 44 snaps and held the ball for nineteen minutes and 37 seconds. Stanford’s equivalent figures were 120, 27 and 10:13.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Dec. 3, 2019
Notre Dame rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit for a 45-24 over host Stanford in the finale of the worst Cardinal football season in more than a decade.
The Irish finished 10-2, with its only losses coming on road clashes at Georgia and Michigan, then ranked third and 15th, respectively. Stanford, condemned to its first losing season since a 4-8 finish in 2007, closed out a 4-9 campaign that saw the Cardinal go 3-6 in Pac-12 games.
The game turned with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter. After Stanford junior quarterback Davis Mills was only able to run for three yards on third and four, freshman kicker Ryan Sanborn was summoned to punt with the line of scrimmage at the home 24. Freshman defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey blocked the ball, which Notre Dame freshman punter Jay Bramblett recovered at the 1-yard line.
“I can’t believe we have the Axe!” one Cal backer exclaimed joyfully upon the conclusion of the Cardinal’s nine-year victory streak over the Bears.
I had to wait rather a while to pay my bill, which didn’t put me in a good mood.
• The Bad
I was struck after the end of Big Game by the similarities between Stanford’s second half at Washington State and its second half vs. the Bears. Junior quarterback Davis Mills threw two picks in both cases, once per game near the opposing goal line. The Cardinal’s opponents had a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in both cases. And the opposing defense turned the Farm team away on fourth downs with less than two minutes to play in both contests.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Nov. 27, 2019
Cal quarterback Chase Garbers ran for a 16-yard touchdown with 79 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lead the Bears to a 24-20 win, the team’s first victory over Stanford since 2009.
The outcome of the 122nd Big Game clinched bowl eligibility for the Bears (6-5 overall, 3-5 in the Pac-12) while ensuring that the Cardinal (4-7, 3-6) will have its first losing season since 2008.
Garbers, participating in only his second game since sustaining an injury in late September, finished with 285 yards on 20 of 30 passing. The redshirt sophomore threw one touchdown and one interception; he was also the game’s leading rusher with 72 yards on 13 carries.
I went through these numbers the other day: Washington State scored on nine of its first 10 possessions, held the ball for nearly 34 minutes and accumulated 624 yards on offense, including 520 through the air.
But as tempted as I am to ding the Cardinal defense — especially the Cardinal pass defense — I’m going to hold off. Stanford has been thin at inside linebacker all year, and the secondary came down with the injury bug at perhaps the worst possible time. Junior cornerback Paulson Adebo and senior free safety Malik Antoine, each of whom had made 20 consecutive starts, didn’t play at all against Wazzu. That’s not exactly an excuse for allowing 520 passing yards, but maybe I’m feeling generous today.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Nov. 18, 2019
Washington State scored 24 unanswered points over the final 19 minutes in a 49-22 victory over the Stanford football team Saturday afternoon.
Both starting quarterbacks recorded more 500 passing yards during the contest, which gave WSU head coach Mike Leach a four-game winning streak over Stanford. But the host Cougars (5-5 overall, 2-5 Pac-12) scored on nine of their first 11 possessions, while the Cardinal (4-6, 3-5) managed just three touchdowns over the same number of offensive drives.
WSU dominated Stanford in three key areas:
• The Cougars mounted a respectable ground game, generating 104 yards on 21 rushes. Stanford was held to six rushing yards on 10 tries, the Cardinal’s worst output in that category since the 2007 squad finished with minus-8 yards on 25 carries in a 23-6 road loss at Oregon State. (Quarterback Tavita Pritchard, now Stanford’s QB coach and offensive coordinator, was sacked nine times for minus-38 in that outing.)
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Nov. 13, 2019
The Pac-12 Networks, a production and broadcast organization wholly owned by the collegiate sports league whose name it bears, has famously limited availability. The conference’s system of regional channels for the Bay Area, Southern California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and the mountain states (read: Colorado and Utah), plus a “main” conference channel, has never signed a distribution deal with DirecTV.
The Pac-12 Networks have only 19 million subscribers. That’s fewer than Fox’s Spanish-language sports channel and other TV powerhouses such as Great American Country, Justice Central, MaxPrime, Ovation Network and the Smithsonian Channel, according to SBNation.
When your team is mediocre, its games tend to be relegated to the Pac-12 Networks, which makes it very hard to watch said games. For Stanford’s demoralizing loss at Colorado, I met a buddy at a venue that doesn’t subscribe to the channel; we wound up listening to the KZSU radio feed through my phone on my pal’s Bluetooth earbuds. (We each used one of his buds — my phone is evidently incapable of connecting simultaneously to multiple Bluetooth devices.)
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Nov. 12, 2019
Stanford dropped a 16-13 decision at Colorado on Saturday when a dismal offensive outing by the Cardinal was supplemented by crucial second-half breakdowns on defense and special teams.
Redshirt freshman Evan Price won the game on Colorado’s homecoming weekend by hitting a 37-yard kick as time expired, his third field goal of the game. Stanford (4-5 overall, 3-4 in league) had taken a 13-10 lead 55 seconds into the fourth quarter thanks to a 79-yard touchdown throw from K.J. Costello to Simi Fehoko, but the Buffalo (4-6, 2-5) came back by mounting two methodical field-goal drives that ate up an astonishing 12 minutes and 31 seconds of the final period.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 29, 2019
The Arizona game marked the second time this year that a Stanford game was broadcast by the Pac-12 Network. Rather than attempt to find a bar or restaurant near my parent’s home that had the Dish Network, and hence carried any of the Pac-12 channels, I wound up listening to the KZSU broadcast of the game on my computer and phone.
(This was, I should note, partly because I took a long late-morning walk and then had a late lunch and then did some shopping, by which point it was 3 p.m. if not later.)
At any rate, Stanford wrapped up its victory right around 7 p.m. Eastern time, which worked out great for me!
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 28, 2019
K.J. Costello threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Stanford football team to a 41-31 win over Arizona on Saturday amid reunion festivities on the Farm.
The Cardinal, who moved to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12, also got outstanding efforts from their most reliable offensive player, redshirt senior running back Cameron Scarlett (two scores and 102 yards on 19 carries), and their emerging star at wide receiver, sophomore Simi Fehoko (two touchdowns and 97 yards on just three catches).
Costello’s 30 completions on 43 throws went to an even dozen players, including himself on a curious play. In all, the offense rolled for 472 yards, a number second this season only to the 482 yards they compiled in their upset victory over Washington.
Anyway, I went to James Joyce Pub and watched Thursday evening’s game with a pal. Things did not go the way we’d hoped, to say the least, and the Bruins were able to beat Stanford for the first time since 2008. Ouch.
• The Bad
There was a whole lot of bad for the Cardinal on Thursday night. UCLA was the first team this season to beat Stanford in time of possession, 31:40 to 28:20; Stanford had led the league in the category, holding the ball 34 minutes and 58 seconds per game. The Bruins defense — which, as noted on Friday, was statistically the worst in the league entering the contest — held the Farm gridders to 198 yards of total offense, their worst output of 2019. UCLA’s previous opponent low was 373 yards of total defense allowed in a loss to San Diego State.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 18, 2019
Twelve days after turning in their best performance of the season, the Stanford football team put in arguably their worst Thursday evening with a 34-16 home loss to UCLA. The result gave the Bruins (2-5 overall, 2-2 Pac-12) their first win over Stanford since a 23-20 result in Pasadena in 2008, Jim Harbaugh’s second year at the helm of the Cardinal.
The Cardinal offense generated just nine points and 198 yards against the conference’s worst defense in dropping to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in league. The Cardinal defense allowed 455 yards to a Bruins attack that had only been averaging 397 yards to that point in the season.
It was a crushing comedown for a Stanford team that had seemed on the brink of pulling itself together after an injury-riddled start. The defeat left head coach David Shaw’s squad with immense uncertainty after the team’s third-string quarterback, sophomore Jack West, struggled mightily in his first collegiate start.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 10, 2019
I had kind of a crazy night last weekend.
I watched the first part of Saturday’s Washington–Stanford game at Tobacco Road but deliberately left at halftime because of what happened the last time I’d watched the Cardinal play a night game at that location. I walked to my car, drove home and then walked to a sports bar near my house that I’d never visited, despite it having been open for something like two years.
I say that this venue was near my house, but in fact the walk there covered about three-quarters of a mile. I listened to the early part of the second half on my phone…
…and when I arrived at the front door, I noticed that this establishment closed at 1 a.m., which would be before the game’s conclusion. If I’d realized that, I never would have planned this visit.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 8, 2019
A scrappy Stanford team controlled the lines of scrimmage and played its best football game yet to beat No. 15 Washington on Saturday evening, 23-13.
Running back Cameron Scarlett and quarterback Davis Mills posted career-high marks of 151 rushing yards and 293 passing yards, respectively, as the unranked Cardinal improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12.
The game got off to a somewhat ominous start for Stanford, which is playing at home throughout October. The Cardinal scored on its first drive thanks to a 20-yard kick by senior Jet Toner. But Washington (4-2, 2-1) went ahead by a 7-3 score when junior quarterback Jacob Eason threw to wide-open sophomore tight end Cade Otton for a three-yard touchdown to cap the Huskies’ first possession. It was reminiscent of the Oregon contest, which saw the Ducks take a 7-3 lead after their first possession.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Oct. 1, 2019
Saturday evening’s Stanford–Oregon State game was televised on the Pac-12 Network, which is hard to obtain locally, I resolved to listen to the game at home. (Thank you, KZSU community radio Internet feed!) I spent much of the time scanning health-care documents from 2010.
• The Bad
Football teams are supposed to play hard for 60 minutes. But the Cardinal defense hasn’t quite been able to do that.
The unit’s best outing came on Sept. 21 when they held Oregon to 21 points. Through September, the Ducks are the 19th-most prolific scoring offense in the nation (tied with Utah State at 38.5 points per game); only Washington State (44.8 ppg, good for eighth nationally) is scoring more in the Pac-12. Unfortunately, the Cardinal offense was sleep-walking through that contest and only managed six points against the U of O, so that ended in a loss.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 30, 2019
Junior quarterback Davis Mills threw for three touchdowns and caught another as the Stanford football team survived Oregon State’s fourth-quarter rally to claim a 31-28 victory on a damp, cool Saturday evening in Corvallis.
Senior Jet Toner hit a 39-yard field goal with a second remaining to win in regulation after the Cardinal (2-3, 1-2 Pac-12) squandered a 21-point second-half lead and a two-touchdown advantage with 9:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. The kick spared Stanford some of the embarrassment of explaining away a late collapse by the defense, which let the Beavers (1-3, 0-1) score touchdowns on their final four drives.
Sophomore wideout Michael Wilson had three receptions for 87 yards and a score, while junior tight end Colby Parkinson (three catches, 44 yards) both caught and threw a touchdown for the Cardinal. His partner on those scoring plays was Mills (18 for 25 for a career-high 245 yards); he started in place of K.J. Costello, who injured his throwing hand against Oregon. Stanford also got another workmanlike effort from redshirt senior running back Cameron Scarlett (24 carries, 92 yards).
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 25, 2019
This week, I have no blisters or stories to share; there was just a visit to a sports bar to see yet another desultory Stanford loss.
• The Bad
We are yet again spoiled for choice in this category. On a macro level, the Cardinal’s pass defense was atrocious; the offense was held to 234 yards and six points while converting only five of 16 third downs; and the special teams unit returned only two punts for a paltry nine yards while being pinned inside their own 15-yard line all of five times.
After surrendering back-to-back 45-point games, the Cardinal defense held the prolific Ducks offense to just three touchdowns while receiving virtually zero scoring or special-teams support. While Oregon senior quarterback Justin Herbert was magnificent, completing 19 of 24 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, the Stanford defense recorded four sacks and seven tackles-for-loss in limiting the Ducks to 61 yards on 31 carries.
Stanford (1-3, 0-2 Pac-12) drove 61 yards on 12 plays on its opening drive but had to settle for a 32-yard Jet Toner field goal after gaining first down at the Ducks 17-yard line.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 21, 2019
Since David Shaw was became Stanford’s head football coach prior to the 2011 season, the Cardinal has had a swell run. Over Shaw’s eight-plus seasons, the team has extended its bowl streak to a school-best 10 years, which currently leads the conference. Shaw boasts an 83-28 record, which translates to a winning percentage of 74.8. The former Cardinal wide receiver has been named the Pac-12 coach of the year four times, more than any other over the 44-year history of the award.
Half of Shaw’s 28 defeats have occurred as part of consecutive losses. Never to this point has a Shaw-coached team sustained more than two losses in a row. I’ve assembled the following table of the seven losing streaks, which you’ll probably have to click on to read:
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 17, 2019
Saturday was the first time I caught a Stanford football game in person since the Cardinal traveled to Boulder in 2015. It was the team’s first trip to the East Coast since their 2013 visit to West Point.
For a hot minute, it seemed as though the contest in Orlando might be staged in the fringes of the tropical storm that subsequently evolved into Humberto. The system’s track shifted to the east; still, for a short time Saturday morning it rained fiercely, and a strong threat of precipitation was forecast for the late afternoon as recently as a few hours before kickoff.
The view outside my motel room shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday.
The view outside my motel room at around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
I’d brought just one pair of shoes on my trip to Florida, and I didn’t want them to get deluged during my spectating. I purchased some Teva boat shoes the day before the game and donned them after parking on campus. Five minutes into my trek to the stadium, I had a blister on the back of my left foot. I tried adjusting the straps, to no effect. I walked barefoot for a short distance, but the campus grass felt coarse and unpleasant beneath my feet.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 15, 2019
Freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel went 22 for 30 with 347 yards, four touchdowns and no picks to lead UCF to a 45-27 rout of Stanford in Orlando on Saturday.
A week after USC went down by two touchdowns early before going on to win by 25, Central Florida scored three touchdowns in the game’s first nine minutes and was never in any serious danger. The Knights only had seven points in the second half, but that touchdown slammed the door on what were Stanford’s already slim comeback chances.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 10, 2019
I returned to Tobacco Road on Saturday evening to view the Stanford football team’s debacle at USC. Suffice to say that the results were quite different from the previous week’s.
• The Bad
As you might imagine after a 25-point loss, there are plenty of candidates for this week’s The Bad. For instance, the Stanford secondary, which allowed a freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start to roll up 377 yards and three touchdowns on 28 of 33 passing. For another instance, the Stanford defensive front, which allowed a freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start to roll up 377 yards and three touchdowns on 28 of 33 passing. And for a third instance, the Stanford defensive coaches, who allowed a freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start to roll up 377 yards and three touchdowns on 28 of 33 passing. (Are you sensing a theme here?)
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 9, 2019
USC scored five unanswered touchdowns in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to humiliate Stanford in the Pac-12 conference debut for both teams Saturday night.
The Cardinal (1-1, 0-1) took a 17-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter before suffering an epic collapse. Stanford’s backup signal caller, junior Davis Mills, turned in an adequate performance with 237 yards, a score and a pick while competing 22 of 36 throws. His favorite targets were a pair of juniors, tight end Colby Parkinson (seven catches, 89 yards) and wideout Conor Wedington (five catches for 67 yards). Redshirt senior Cameron Scarlett gained 82 yards on 17 rushes.
But USC’s freshman quarterback was the undisputed star of the game. Kedon Slovis was magnificent in his first collegiate start, racking up 377 yards, three touchdowns and no picks on 28 of 33 passing. Vavae Malepeai led the way for the Trojans on the ground with 42 yards and two scores, while Stephen Carr had 33 yards and a touchdown.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 3, 2019
I watched the season opener at Tobacco Road with my local Stanford sports buddy. The joint was hopping — a bunch of interesting college football games started at 3:30, about half an hour before the Cardinal kicked off against Northwestern, and the restaurant was doing a booming pregame business with Durham Bulls fans dining before a 6:30 first pitch on the final weekend of regular season play in the International League.
By Matthew E. Milliken MEMwrites.wordpress.com Sept. 2, 2019
Stanford opened the 2019 college football season with a 17-7 victory over Northwestern that was not nearly as comfortable as the final score might suggest.
The Wildcats, who won the Big 10 West and beat Utah in a bowl game to finish 2018 with a 9-5 record, had the ball with the potential to tie or take the lead with 30 seconds to play when the Cardinal defense asserted its will. Redshirt senior outside linebacker Casey Toohill chased down quarterback Hunter Johnson and stripped the ball from behind. The pigskin bounded into the end zone and squirted out of the arms of a few players before being recovered by senior outside linebacker Jordan Fox for the game-sealing touchdown.
Stanford may ultimately consider this contest with a dismal air, despite being 1-0 on the young season. Quarterback K.J. Costello retired to the locker room near the end of the first half after junior defensive end Earnest Brown IV knocked off the Cardinal senior’s helmet as he was sliding to the turf at the end of an otherwise meaningless four-yard scramble. And late in the third quarter, junior tackle Walker Little left the field after apparently twisting one of his legs. If either player loses significant time in 2019, then the squad’s prospects will dim considerably.
