Imagine you're walking out of the Rose Bowl on the evening of January 1, 2016. You've just watched Christian McCaffrey and the Cardinal completely dismantle the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the future of Stanford football is bright. But as you walk away from the stadium and into the darkness, you stumble after stepping on an empty beer bottle, you hit your head on parked car, and you fall into a coma that lasts more than four years.
You wake up on the afternoon of December 5th, 2020, and the world seems to have turned upside down. A reality show personality is President of the United States, and a global pandemic has claimed more than a quarter million American lives. Nothing, it seems, is as it was before your coma. Seeking an escape from the swirling confusion, you turn on the Stanford-Washington game, and for a few hours you bask in the familiarity of intellectual brutality, of fullbacks and pulling guards, of jumbo sets and time of possession. For three hours on Saturday afternoon, it's as if you had never stepped on that bottle.
For the rest of us, however, Stanford's 31-26 win over the Washington Huskies was more than just a respite from the chaos. Coming just eight days after the Cardinal reclaimed the Axe from Cal, Saturday's performance wasn't just an encore, it was Zeppelin playing "Stairway," the Police singing "Roxanne," Pac and Dre giving us some "California Love." We might say the deep cuts are our favorites, but deep down everyone likes the hits -- and on Saturday afternoon, the hits just kept on comin'.
From the first drive of the game, everything felt different. Or it felt the same as it ever was. Something like that. Santa Clara County's Covid restrictions had forced the Cardinal onto the road, leading to a Tuesday practice at the University of Washington, mid-week practices at a Seattle high school, and a Friday night walkthrough in a park, but all of that produced the most prepared Stanford team we've seen this season. Quarterback Davis Mills converted two early 3rd downs, hitting Austin Jones on a short pass on 3rd and 6, and then dropping a beautiful ball into Brycen Tremayne's shirt pocket for a 26-yard gain on 3rd and 9.
All of that was nice, but when the offense lined up for 1st and goal at the 9, things really got interesting. Facing the top defense in the Pac-12, Mills did what Stanford quarterbacks used to do -- he handed the ball off three times, trusting his offensive line and knowing that his running back would eventually find the end zone. Jones ran for one yard, then five yards, and finally three more for a touchdown that meant far more than the six points it produced on the scoreboard.
Too many times we've watched the Cardinal move the ball steadily down the field only to stop doing what had been working in favor of 50-50 balls lofted into the corner of the end zone. Too many times they've settled for field goals when touchdowns were needed, so these hard-earned points on the first drive of the day were as welcome as they were unexpected.
The Cardinal defense forced a quick punt, and the offense took the field again at the 20. Mills converted another 3rd down on a strong pass to Seattle native Connor Wedington, but that would be the only 3rd down play on an incredibly efficient drive. After three straight powerful runs, one from Jones and two from Nathaniel Peat, DJ/OC Tavita Pritchard spun one of our favorite tunes. With the Washington linebackers creeping closer and closer to the line of scrimmage, the time was ripe for play action. Mills faked the handoff, then looked deep over the middle and found wide receiver Michael Wilson running free. The pass was perfect, and Wilson spun his way through a tackle or two for a 38-yard gain to the Washington 8. Two plays later Jones was powering his way into the end zone and Stanford was suddenly -- inexplicably -- up by two scores, 14-0.
Early on, it seemed like the two teams had reversed roles. The first clue had come on the Huskies' opening possession, when a 3rd and 5 quickly became 3rd and 15 as Washington covered one of Stanford's chart toppers -- an illegal substitution penalty followed immediately by a delay of game -- and ended up punting. On their second possession, a solid drive reached 1st and goal at the Stanford 8 but ended with a field goal. Stanford fans everywhere rejoiced.
When the Cardinal took the field the third time, it was clear that Washington's defense had no answers for Stanford's offensive line. Walter Rouse, Barrett Miller, Drew Dalman, Branson Bragg, and Foster Sarell -- with significant help from Myles Hinton -- were having their way with the Huskies' defensive front, driving them five yards beyond the line of scrimmage and opening massive holes for Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat. Jones ran for ten yards on the first play of the drive, then Peat picked up twenty on the next. After two passes from Mills, Jones and Peat took over the rest of the way, with Jones running three times for 18 yards before Peat carried twice more to get into the end zone for the Cardinal's third touchdown and a 21-3 lead.
Once again, it's nice that Stanford scored three touchdowns, but the manner in which they scored might prove to be even more important. They had entered the game as one of the worst red zone teams in the nation, but on these first three drives they had snapped the ball nine times inside the Washington 20. Take a look at those nine plays:
- 1st and goal at the 9: Jones rushes for 1 yard
- 2nd and goal at the 8: Jones rushes for 5 yards
- 3rd and goal at the 3: Jones rushes 3 yards for a touchdown
- 1st and goal at the 8: Jones rushes 7 yards
- 2nd and goal at the 1: Jones rushes 1 yard for a touchdown
- 2nd and 2 at the 16: Jones rushes 9 yards
- 1st and goal at the 7: Jones rushes 1 yard
- 2nd and goal at the 6: Peat rushes 3 yards
- 3rd and goal at the 3: Peat rushes 3 yards for a touchdown
The Huskies were being dominated, but this wasn't about the Huskies. This was Stanford reminding itself -- maybe reminding the Pac-12 -- that this is what they do, and this is who they are. When interviewed afterwards, right tackle Foster Sarell was positively giddy. "We were rolling," he said. "It really didn't feel like there was anything they could do to stop us. It felt like we broke their will."
It felt like old times.
The Cardinal got the ball back at their own 15 with 3:05 to play in the half, and they decided to show off a bit. After all that success running the ball, they naturally came out throwing, with Mills passing on the first seven plays of the series, completing a variety of short passes to four different receivers.
And then things got crazy when the drive appeared to stall at 4th and 4 at the Washington 37 with 25 seconds left in the half. All signs and history pointed towards a punt. The Cardinal had done enough. Taking a 21-3 lead into the locker room would've been more than they ever could've expected. There was no need to push for more, especially considering the risk. Giving the ball back to the Huskies just two passes from field goal range would give them a chance to salvage a bit of their dignity with three points before the half, and they'd carry that momentum into their opening possession of the second half. Also, this wasn't 4th and inches, it was 4th and 4. Everything we know about David Shaw screamed punt, but instead he threw caution to the wind and kept the offense out on the field.
Mills calmly flipped a pass to Elijah Higgins a step or two short of the line to gain, but Higgins dragged a couple of Huskies past the sticks and disaster was averted. A few plays later the suddenly automatic Jet Toner pounded a 42-yard field goal through the posts, and the Cardinal had a three-touchdown lead at 24-3.
The Huskies aren't a bad team, so it wasn't a surprise when they took the second half kick off and finally got into the end zone, but it wasn't concerning either. The Washington defense was still yet to stop the Cardinal, and they wouldn't be able to stop them on the subsequent drive either. On 3rd and 8 from the Washington 36, Mills lofted a deep ball down the left sideline, perfectly placed to drop over Brycen Tremayne's shoulder where no one but the receiver could touch it, setting up 1st and goal at the three.
With the Husky defense doubtless still reeling from being pounded into submission inside the red zone in the first half, the natural call was for play action. Tight end Scooter Harrington got loose in the corner of the end zone, and Mills's pass was perfect. Five possessions, five scores. 31-10, Cardinal.
The second half was only six minutes old, but the game seemed over. The Huskies, however, weren't ready to give up. When they produced a long touchdown drive to cut the lead to 31-16 (Thomas Booker blocked another extra point, because that's what he does), then forced the first Cardinal punt of the day, and then scored another touchdown, what had been a blowout was suddenly a one-score game at 31-23.
I'll admit to allowing my head to wander into dark places, and those places got darker still when the sure-handed Austin Jones fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive and Washington's Edefuan Ulofoshio scooped it up. Ulofoshio sprinted down the right sideline and appeared headed for the end zone until Mills flashed into the screen with a textbook tackle at the Stanford 10.
With everyone on both sides surely imagining a Husky touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game and seize momentum, quarterback Dylan Morris wasted no time in finding a wide open Ty Jones for an apparent touchdown -- except it wasn't to be. A fairly obvious holding penalty negated the score and pushed the line of scrimmage back to the 20. Another holding penalty two plays later moved the Huskies back to the 29, and two plays after that they were settling for a 45-yard field goal. The lead had been cut to five, but it was a huge win for the Stanford defense and a huge sigh of relief for Stanford fans everywhere.
What happened next was simply magical. Seven minutes and 47 seconds remained when Davis Mills and the Stanford offense came out on the field for the most important drive of the season, more important than anything that had happened in Berkeley a week before. The ball sat at the Stanford 12, and the potential for disaster was high. A quick three and out followed by a Washington touchdown would lead to more than just a loss -- it would be devastating.
For once, the Cardinal got a small benefit from the pandemic. After Austin Jones was stoned on consecutive plays to start the drive, Mills faced 3rd and 10. In normal times Husky Stadium would've been deafening, but instead it was as quiet as a practice field, presumably allowing Mills an extra bit of comfort as he stood at the line of scrimmage. The pocket broke down almost immediately, but Mills calmly shuffled to his left, stepped into a gap in the line, and fired a perfect strike to Simi Fehoko for a 15-yard gain. Considering the stakes of the moment, it was one of the biggest plays of Mills's collegiate career.
A few plays later Mills was under the gun again, this time a 3rd and 11 from the Stanford 40. Fehoko started wide right and simply ran by his defender, but he wasn't able to gain much separation. No matter -- Mills put the ball in the only place it could be, and Fehoko reached out with his right hand and gathered it in for a 25-yard gain that put the Huskies in deep trouble.
The clock had spun down to only two minutes remaining, and now the game would rest on the massive shoulders of the Stanford offensive line. The first fifty-eight minutes had already been a tour de force for the Tunnel Workers Union, but now when it was time to sweep the floors and lock the doors, they were at their best. When everyone knew the Cardinal would be running the ball, Walter Rouse, Barrett Miller, Drew Dalman, Branson Bragg, Foster Sarell, and Myles Hinton led the way as Austin Jones carried on five consecutive plays, gaining 23 yards and burning three Washington timeouts.
Jones's fifth carry in that sequence was perhaps his most impressive. He took the ball on 3rd and 3 on a play designed to go behind the right guard, but there was nothing there. It probably should've been a three-yard loss, but Jones skipped back to his left and darted through an opening he had no business seeing. He ended up ten inches short of the marker, but it hardly mattered. Shaw never even thought about sending Toner out for the field goal; instead he trusted his offense. Jones plunged through the line for three yards, and that was that. Stanford 31, Washington 26.
There's a natural tendency to wonder about what could've been if Mills hadn't been quarantined for the Oregon game and most of the following week, but it's better for the soul to appreciate the present as we look to the future. All of us who've been clamoring for the Stanford offense to return to its roots got exactly what we've been asking for, along with a healthy dose of optimism for the future. The Cardinal rushed for 191 yards against the top defense in the conference, and of the eight men directly involved in that success, five are sophomores (Rouse, Miller, Bragg, Jones, and Peat) and one is a freshman (Hinton).
Yes, it was only one Saturday, but it was a glorious Saturday. And there are more to come.
