Could this season, this year, ended any other way than with a bizarre, maddening and thrilling game? Stanford defeated UCLA 48-47 in double overtime — a game it led by 17 and also trailed by 14.
It was a season in some ways defined by what-if scenarios and by how the Cardinal showed mental toughness to embrace becoming "Road Dogs" for almost a month after Santa Clara County shut down athletics because of a COVID-19 surge. Stanford did not have a positive COVID-19 test since July, but one false positive caused the biggest what-if asterisk of the Pac-12 season. Still, Stanford won four straight games — all by one score — to give the program some positive momentum to carry into the next few months of recruiting and team building for next season.
For the last time this year Cardinal Sports Report breaks down what was Great, Good, Bad and Ugly about the win.
The Great
Simi Fehoko set the Stanford single-game receptions record with 16 and had 230 yards and three touchdowns. He was unstoppable and at a certain point it seemed the UCLA defense stopped trying. He was the cheat code for Davis Mills to help the quarterback get back on track after three interceptions in the second half.
Mills was spectacular in the first half and after the pick-six interception. Everything that happened in between will be discussed in another category. He was 12-of-15 for 185 yards in the first half and his first incompletion was a tipped pass when the UCLA linebacker made a great play to prevent a completion to Scooter Harrington. Stanford was 5-of-6 on third downs in the first half and seven of Stanford's 13 first half first downs were through the air. Mills was carving up the UCLA defense.
The Road Dogs have a lot to be proud of this season. Yes, there is a lot about the team/program that needs to be improved, but character and mental toughness aren't on the to-do list. This team got one home game, lost its quarterback a couple hours before the season opener and then only got one practice with Mills the day before the Colorado loss. The conference was set up to be won and it might have happened if not for terrible luck.
The Good
Brycen Tremayne is a darn good player and isn't a feel good story about a former walk-on who makes a play now and then. His performance in the first quarter included a highlight one-handed catch that looked as easy as plucking an apple from a tree. Fehoko took over for the rest of the game but count Tremayne as a wonderful diamond in the rough.
I'll repeat myself about Austin Jones: he is a winning player. He finishes the season with 559 yards rushing, nine touchdowns and, according to GoStanford, only nine lost yards in six games. He is a strong runner, a good-to-great pass protector and had 21 catches for 156 yards. I think Nathaniel Peat should push Jones for more carries, but either way the running game is in a very good place moving forward.
Stephen Herron and Levani Damuni both made plays that make me think they'll be ready to take a noticeable step forward next season to elevate Stanford's linebacker play. It's hard to get too enthusiastic after a terrible game from the defense and the worst overall defensive effort in a season — granted this one was only six games — in the David Shaw era. But if you're looking for a silver lining I think those two guys provided it.
Gabe Reid also deserves a shoutout for ending his career with the two best games he has played as a Cardinal. He finished plays in the backfield and that kind of success has been in short supply.
Air Force graduate transfer Isaiah Sanders scored two touchdowns and was mobbed by his teammates on the sideline after his first. It was a cool moment for the team.
Stanford actually held UCLA to 5-of-13 third down conversions and with the help of some penalties did a solid job on defense in the first half. Speaking of penalties, those were a major problem through the first couple games of the season but not since then. Stanford had four for 25 yards Saturday.
The Bad
Mills' three interceptions changed the game and they were not all entirely his fault, as explained by Shaw after the game. UCLA's guys are allowed to make good plays too and there were also critical misunderstandings between Mills and his receivers. Mills is human. He should have had more than three interceptions this season but got lucky a couple times in other games. He also is the single most important reason Stanford won four straight games. Now everyone waits to see what he decides about his future.
Shaw's decision to punt from the UCLA 33-yard line was a terrible decision that he was saved from because UCLA missed a field goal on its ensuing possession. Stanford's offense stopped itself on the previous drive and would have had a touchdown if Mills didn't overthrow Fehoko. The punt netted 23 yards and UCLA covered that ground with its first play. Shaw won't budge from his field-position strategy, but it really is frustrating to watch him defend it with some variation of "I'm old school" argument.
Special teams did not shine the past two games. Jet Toner clearly lost the confidence of his head coach and Nathaniel Peat made a bad decision to try to return a kick from the end zone that led to poor field position. Toner nearly missed another extra point that doinked off the post.
Generally speaking the tackling had been fine this season. The problem has been where the tackles are occurring. Well, in this game the tackling fell apart and I have to imagine Lance Anderson was going nuts watching it. But that wasn't the worst of it for the defense.
The Ugly
Stanford allowed 291 rushing yards and 195 of those yards came in the second half without Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the field. UCLA's backup quarterback picked apart the secondary when the defense sold out to stop the run, although I'm not sure how that entirely explains the blown coverages that left receivers wide open. Chase Griffin completed 9-of-11 passes for 127 yards and four touchdowns. He converted a fourth and 18 to score what would have been the tying touchdown if Chip Kelly didn't decide to try to win the game instead. Fourth and 18. That is embarrassing.
UCLA gained 6.9 yards per rush (minus the sacks) and Stanford ends the six game season allowing 5.5 yards per rush. Opponents averaged 222 yards rushing a game. It is by far the worst rush defense of the Shaw era and it is baffling that Shaw has praised the defensive line twice in the last week for performing better than the defensive lines of the previous two years. Not only is that false it's also a damning attempt at a compliment to cover up just how bad the defense played this season. There's not much reason to think that the defense would have played much better in a full 12-game season. As it is the unit wraps up the year giving up an average of 31.67 points per game. There is a long way to go before that unit is good.
Even if Mills leaves for the NFL the offense is set up on paper to be good next season, maybe even has a chance to be great. The defense is in a really bad place and needs help that doesn't appear to be coming fast.
It was a season in some ways defined by what-if scenarios and by how the Cardinal showed mental toughness to embrace becoming "Road Dogs" for almost a month after Santa Clara County shut down athletics because of a COVID-19 surge. Stanford did not have a positive COVID-19 test since July, but one false positive caused the biggest what-if asterisk of the Pac-12 season. Still, Stanford won four straight games — all by one score — to give the program some positive momentum to carry into the next few months of recruiting and team building for next season.
For the last time this year Cardinal Sports Report breaks down what was Great, Good, Bad and Ugly about the win.
The Great
Simi Fehoko set the Stanford single-game receptions record with 16 and had 230 yards and three touchdowns. He was unstoppable and at a certain point it seemed the UCLA defense stopped trying. He was the cheat code for Davis Mills to help the quarterback get back on track after three interceptions in the second half.
Mills was spectacular in the first half and after the pick-six interception. Everything that happened in between will be discussed in another category. He was 12-of-15 for 185 yards in the first half and his first incompletion was a tipped pass when the UCLA linebacker made a great play to prevent a completion to Scooter Harrington. Stanford was 5-of-6 on third downs in the first half and seven of Stanford's 13 first half first downs were through the air. Mills was carving up the UCLA defense.
The Road Dogs have a lot to be proud of this season. Yes, there is a lot about the team/program that needs to be improved, but character and mental toughness aren't on the to-do list. This team got one home game, lost its quarterback a couple hours before the season opener and then only got one practice with Mills the day before the Colorado loss. The conference was set up to be won and it might have happened if not for terrible luck.
The Good
Brycen Tremayne is a darn good player and isn't a feel good story about a former walk-on who makes a play now and then. His performance in the first quarter included a highlight one-handed catch that looked as easy as plucking an apple from a tree. Fehoko took over for the rest of the game but count Tremayne as a wonderful diamond in the rough.
I'll repeat myself about Austin Jones: he is a winning player. He finishes the season with 559 yards rushing, nine touchdowns and, according to GoStanford, only nine lost yards in six games. He is a strong runner, a good-to-great pass protector and had 21 catches for 156 yards. I think Nathaniel Peat should push Jones for more carries, but either way the running game is in a very good place moving forward.
Stephen Herron and Levani Damuni both made plays that make me think they'll be ready to take a noticeable step forward next season to elevate Stanford's linebacker play. It's hard to get too enthusiastic after a terrible game from the defense and the worst overall defensive effort in a season — granted this one was only six games — in the David Shaw era. But if you're looking for a silver lining I think those two guys provided it.
Gabe Reid also deserves a shoutout for ending his career with the two best games he has played as a Cardinal. He finished plays in the backfield and that kind of success has been in short supply.
Air Force graduate transfer Isaiah Sanders scored two touchdowns and was mobbed by his teammates on the sideline after his first. It was a cool moment for the team.
Stanford actually held UCLA to 5-of-13 third down conversions and with the help of some penalties did a solid job on defense in the first half. Speaking of penalties, those were a major problem through the first couple games of the season but not since then. Stanford had four for 25 yards Saturday.
The Bad
Mills' three interceptions changed the game and they were not all entirely his fault, as explained by Shaw after the game. UCLA's guys are allowed to make good plays too and there were also critical misunderstandings between Mills and his receivers. Mills is human. He should have had more than three interceptions this season but got lucky a couple times in other games. He also is the single most important reason Stanford won four straight games. Now everyone waits to see what he decides about his future.
Shaw's decision to punt from the UCLA 33-yard line was a terrible decision that he was saved from because UCLA missed a field goal on its ensuing possession. Stanford's offense stopped itself on the previous drive and would have had a touchdown if Mills didn't overthrow Fehoko. The punt netted 23 yards and UCLA covered that ground with its first play. Shaw won't budge from his field-position strategy, but it really is frustrating to watch him defend it with some variation of "I'm old school" argument.
Special teams did not shine the past two games. Jet Toner clearly lost the confidence of his head coach and Nathaniel Peat made a bad decision to try to return a kick from the end zone that led to poor field position. Toner nearly missed another extra point that doinked off the post.
Generally speaking the tackling had been fine this season. The problem has been where the tackles are occurring. Well, in this game the tackling fell apart and I have to imagine Lance Anderson was going nuts watching it. But that wasn't the worst of it for the defense.
The Ugly
Stanford allowed 291 rushing yards and 195 of those yards came in the second half without Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the field. UCLA's backup quarterback picked apart the secondary when the defense sold out to stop the run, although I'm not sure how that entirely explains the blown coverages that left receivers wide open. Chase Griffin completed 9-of-11 passes for 127 yards and four touchdowns. He converted a fourth and 18 to score what would have been the tying touchdown if Chip Kelly didn't decide to try to win the game instead. Fourth and 18. That is embarrassing.
UCLA gained 6.9 yards per rush (minus the sacks) and Stanford ends the six game season allowing 5.5 yards per rush. Opponents averaged 222 yards rushing a game. It is by far the worst rush defense of the Shaw era and it is baffling that Shaw has praised the defensive line twice in the last week for performing better than the defensive lines of the previous two years. Not only is that false it's also a damning attempt at a compliment to cover up just how bad the defense played this season. There's not much reason to think that the defense would have played much better in a full 12-game season. As it is the unit wraps up the year giving up an average of 31.67 points per game. There is a long way to go before that unit is good.
Even if Mills leaves for the NFL the offense is set up on paper to be good next season, maybe even has a chance to be great. The defense is in a really bad place and needs help that doesn't appear to be coming fast.
Last edited:
