Considering the 2,446-mile flight, the three-hour time difference, the ninety degree heat, and the ninety percent humidity, Saturday's game was always going to be a difficult challenge for the Cardinal. When you then consider that Stanford was already missing a few key players at kickoff and that an excellent UCF team was eager to bolster its résumé with a nationally broadcast win over a Power 5 team... Well, there were a lot of signs pointing in the same direction.
Even considering all of that, it was still stunning to see how quickly everything disintegrated for the Cardinal.
K.J. Costello was back at quarterback for Stanford, but he threw two incompletions on the opening drive of the game, handing the ball back to the high-powered UCF offense on its own 23. The Knights were led by freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and while that once would've seemed like an advantage for the Stanford defense, memories of what happened last week against USC's freshman quarterback still lingered.
Looking back now it's hard to imagine that one play made the difference in the game, and it probably didn't, but when Gabriel scrambled on 1st and 10 from the 42, just the fourth defensive play of the game for the Cardinal, defensive tackle Jovan Swann rushed in to make a play. Swann and Gabriel and the ground all met at the same time, and Gabriel's helmet popped off. The official through a flag for a late hit, and after review of the play, Swann was ejected for targeting.
Stanford fans immediately thought back to the play that had forced Costello from the game against Northwestern two weeks earlier, a play that looked worse than this one but was ruled not to be targeting. Officials shouldn't be making decisions based on injuries, but it's notable that Costello missed a game and a half while Gabriel seemed not to be affected at all. We need the targeting rule to protect these players, but it's disappointing that the application of the rule, specifically decisions about player ejections, seems to be as arbitrary as the flip of a coin.
Agree or disagree with the decision, the reality was that Stanford would be without its most impactful defensive lineman for the entire game. This would be concerning in any situation, but considering the weather and the tempo of the UCF offense, this was a devastating loss. The Cardinal would have one fewer lineman in the rotation.
In the time that it took you to read that last paragraph, the Knights took advantage. First Gabriel hit receiver Gabriel Davis for 20 yards, then he found Marlon Williams for 28 yards and a touchdown, and it was 7-0.
What followed was perhaps the most troubling Stanford possession of the game. Costello found tight end Colby Parkinson for his first completion of the day, nine yards that brought up 3rd and 1 at the 34. After the game David Shaw refused to answer a question about his team's identity, but there was a time when that was an unnecessary question. It wasn't that long ago that 3rd and short was not just a certain run for the Stanford offense, but a certain 1st down. That's no longer the case.
When Costello brought the team to the line of scrimmage with Dorian Maddox alongside him in the backfield, there looked to be a clear advantage on the left side of the line. Even though Stanford had lined up with a tight end next to the left tackle, the Knights bunched three defenders on top of Stanford's right guard and right tackle. Surely Costello would check into a run, the left side of the line would get a good push, and Maddox would drive ahead for an easy 1st down. Once upon a time, that would've happened, but the story has changed.
Instead, Costello dropped back to pass, and when he tried to force a ball into coverage, the ball popped into the air and landed in the hands of defensive back Aaron Robinson, who returned the ball to the Stanford 1. The Knights punched the ball in from there and it was 14-0.
After the Stanford offense's third straight three-and-out (they totaled 14 yards on those nine plays), Gabriel and the Knights took over at their own 38. We've seen fast offenses before, but Oregon and USC look to be sleepwalking compared to UCF. As uncomfortable as it was to watch, it must have been much worse for the Stanford defense. With plays snapping every ten to fifteen seconds, substitution is impossible, and defenders are frequently out of position, either due to physical or mental fatigue. This third UCF possession produced the Knights' third touchdown, this one coming in just six plays and taking just 1:38. The score came on a perfectly thrown deep ball from Gabriel to Tré Nixon, and it wouldn't be the last time a Stanford cornerback was beaten deep.
The first quarter wasn't yet half over, but the Cardinal already trailed 21-0. When the offense took the field for its fourth possession, I don't think they were looking to score, they were looking to get a 1st down. They were looking for a glimmer of hope. Naturally, the drive started with a delay of game penalty, but on 1st and 15 Costello hit wide receiver Michael Wilson on a nice crossing route for 19 yards and the Cardinal's first 1st down of the afternoon. Stanford fans everywhere must have breathed a sigh of relief.
On the next play Costello handed the ball to freshman Austin Jones, who rushed ahead for 15 yards and another 1st down. One of the many changes we've seen during David Shaw's tenure is a recent willingness to play more freshmen. Sometimes, as with Walker Little two years ago, it's because of obvious talent, and other times -- like Saturday's game -- it has to do with injuries, but there's no doubt that more freshmen are playing than ever before. (The new redshirt rule obviously has a lot to do with this.) During his postgame presser Shaw guessed that they had never played more freshmen in a game than they had against UCF, and he saw that as reason for excitement for the future of Stanford Football.
It already seems clear that Jones is going to be a big part of the present of Stanford Football. After a record-breaking prep career at Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School, Jones arrived with high expectations (and was given Bryce Love's #20 jersey), and on this drive he showed what all the hype was about. On the play following his 15-yard run, he slid confidently into the wildcat and took a direct snap for a modest five-yard gain, but the highlight of the day came three plays later. On 1st and 10 from the 35, Costello gave the ball to Jones on an inside handoff. The play looked to be doomed immediately, but after Jones dropped a nice jump cut around a defender in the backfield, he was able to pick through the line of scrimmage and find some space.
It would've been a nice ten- or twelve-yard gain if Costello had done what quarterbacks normally do, but he didn't. Most quarterbacks become spectators after a handoff, but Costello typically stays in the play. Here he kept moving forward, staying on the same level as Jones as the running back patiently skipped through the line. Once Jones found some space, Costello turned his attention upfield and found defensive back Richie Grant coming in to make a play. But Costello locked in on him and executed a textbook block; he didn't just get in Grant's way, he drove his shoulder into his chest and put him on his back -- a perfect pancake block. Jones went untouched the rest of the way for his first career touchdown and the Cardinal's first score of the day, making it 21-7.
It only took 1:16 for the lightning-fast Knights to answer with a touchdown of their own, and perhaps more troubling than the seven points they put on the scoreboard was the manner in which they did it. With all of the question marks surrounding the Stanford defense this season, there was one clear exclamation point -- cornerback Paulson Adebo. The consensus pre-season All-America is so highly regarded that this summer Coach Shaw spoke openly about his skill and speculated that opposing quarterbacks probably wouldn't challenge him. It was surprising, then, when we saw him beaten a few times last week against USC, and stunning when he was beaten several times by the Knights. They didn't just challenge him on occasion, they seemed to have targeted him as a part of their offensive game plan.
On 1st and 10 from the Stanford 38, wide receiver Gabriel Davis lined up wide to the left with Adebo across from him. When Davis slowed a bit, Adebo came up aggressively to jump the route, and then Davis hit the jets and sped past him. With his receiver five yards behind Adebo, it was an easy throw for Gabriel, a touchdown for Davis, and a punch in the stomach for the Cardinal defense. Their best had been beaten, and the UCF lead was back to three touchdowns, 28-7.
Unbelievably, the 1st quarter wasn't yet over. How fast was the Knights' offense? Their four touchdown drives looked like this: 1:53, 0:02, 1:28, and 1:16. In Stanford's season opener against Northwestern, there were nine total possessions in the first half; on this day there were nine total possessions in the first quarter. It was a track meet.
The UCF offense finally took a breath, punting for the first time and then settling for a field goal, but then a 73-yard run from Greg McCrae led to another touchdown, and the halftime score was 38-7.
In roughly five quarters of play stretching back to the USC game, teams led by freshman quarterbacks had outscored the Cardinal by an eye-popping 80-10. In the 4th quarter last week and the 1st quarter this week the defense had allowed a preposterous seven touchdowns. The prevailing feeling throughout the Stanford fanbase at halftime was not about winning the game but avoiding embarrassment in the second half.
When that second half began, there were dozens of reasons for the Cardinal to give up, and not just because of what they saw on the scoreboard and on the thermometer. The offensive line was in complete disarray. Freshman Walter Rouse was playing well at left tackle, but freshman Branson Bragg, who had started at right tackle, was in the locker room with an injury, pushing Barrett Miller, another freshman, into duty. On the other side of the ball, Jovan Swann had been ejected, and linebackers Andrew Pryts and Ryan Beecher were out with injury, impacting an already thin unit. Things were not going well.
But instead of giving up and wishing their way back to Palo Alto, the Cardinal showed character and resolve as they played excellent football in the second half. Admittedly, UCF came out of the locker room with a 31-point lead and the victory already assured, but it's still important to note what the Cardinal accomplished in the second half.
The defense opened the half with a three-and-out, then Costello led the offense on a ten-play drive that ended with a field goal. The Knights' second drive of the half pushed into Stanford territory, but when the Cardinal defense stuffed Otis Anderson for no gain on 4th and 1, turning the ball back over to the offense at the 25, there was reason for optimism -- not necessarily for this particular game, but for the season.
On the ensuing 13-play drive, Costello converted several 3rd and longs:
- 3rd and 11: Eleven-yard pass to Michael Wilson.
- 3rd and 15: Eighteen-yard screen play to Cameron Scarlett.
- 3rd and 7: Fourteen-yard pass to Colby Parkinson.
- 3rd and 11: Twelve-yard pass to Michael Wilson.
That last conversion gave the Cardinal a 1st down at the UCF 24, and Costello went right back to Wilson. The receiver lined up wide to the right and ran an out and up route down the sideline towards the end zone. Costello threw the pass a bit behind him, right to the goal line, and Wilson simply jumped up into the air and picked the ball off the top of his defender's head for a spectacular touchdown that cut the lead to 38-17.
The Knights answered with another touchdown, then Stanford put together a nice drive that ended with a field goal, and the score was 45-20. The defense had played courageously, but the most notable difference in the second half was the Stanford offense. Not only had they scored a touchdown and two field goals, even their empty drive had been moderately successful. The Cardinal's four second half drives looked like this:
- 10 plays, 28 yards, 5:07 -- field goal.
- 13 plays, 75 yards, 5:20 -- touchdown.
- 9 plays, 58 yards, 3:20 -- field goal.
- 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:40 -- punt.
Again, I understand that game situation has something to do with that, but if the offense had been able to put together drives like that in the first half, things might not have been so bad. And while the Cardinal didn't come back to win on Saturday, they didn't give up, either, and that bodes well for the future. The scoring came to a close when UCF backup quarterback Quadry Jones fumbled and defensive back Jonathan McGill, yet another Stanford freshman, scooped the ball up and returned it 28 yards for the touchdown. UCF 45, Stanford 27.
Each game sets the stage for all that's yet to come, and as the Cardinal now sit at 1-2 with the Oregon Ducks visiting next Saturday, it's tempting to assume the worst and give up on the season. But aside from the horrific streak of injuries, what's happened thus far can't be too surprising. These opening four games were always going to be difficult, especially for such a young team, and the likely outcome was probably either 1-3 or 2-2 -- which is exactly how things stand right now.
But what we've learned about this group is that they will not stop fighting. If they didn't give up on Saturday against UCF, we know that they won't give up on this season. Neither should you.
