Stanford did what good teams do - took care of business on the road against a Colorado team that has showed signs of life in the last few weeks. The Cardinal notched its eighth victory of the season (they've won at least eight for seven straight years, and who would have imagined that as a realistic possibility a decade ago) and their "magic number," so to speak, for clinching the Pac-12 North is down to one. (Any combination of one Stanford win or Oregon loss will get the job done.) The Ducks host Cal later today.
Obviously the status of Stanford's three injured players (Alijah Holder, Devon Cajuste, Brandon Simmons) will loom large. You hope none of them is too seriously hurt. Good news is that Cajuste was back on the sidelines after the game (TV showed him smiling talking with his parents) and Holder tweeted after the game that he and Simmons were OK. We'll have an update on Tuesday during Shaw's media availability.
-I think Stanford had too much talent for Colorado to ever mount a serious threat, but the game really changed at the end of the quarter. Colorado missed a 37-yard field goal that would have cut Stanford's lead to 14-10 midway through the quarter. The Cardinal then drove the length of the field and scored on a brilliant 4th and short touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz. Then, as Colorado tried to score before the end of the half, Sefo Liuau overshot his receiver, Dallas Lloyd recorded the first interception of his career. Stanford drove down the (short) field converting a 57-yard touchdown drive in 1:08. Kevin Hogan's arm (strike to Hooper down to the one) and legs (avoided a tackle near the goal line) keyed the score. That extended the lead to 28-7 and made it a real uphill climb for Colorado.
-Trent Irwin had a 20-yard reception, drew a holding penalty on Stanford's final drive of the first half, and had a very important tackle. His hustle to bring down Colorado's defensive back down at around Stanford's five-yard-line ended up saving a touchdown as the Cardinal defense forced a turnover on downs.
-Kevin Hogan: 17-23, 169 yards, 2 touchdowns (plus one rushing), one interception. A very efficient outing in the 32nd victory of Hogan's Cardinal career.
-Bryce Love's 47-yard touchdown run that extended Stanford's lead to 35-10 was reminiscent of one of Love's runs back at an open scrimmage during fall camp. I don't believe the play on fall camp was on a reverse, but Love split a pair of defenders that appeared to have the angle. He did the same thing today. McCaffrey and Love give Stanford's offense a speed/athleticism element that the Cardinal offense has not had in recent years.
-Speaking of McCaffrey, obviously another very productive day for him. It was clear watching him play catch with Lance Taylor at some pregame warmup sessions that he's capable of throwing, and that was a very nice throw to Austin Hooper. You can debate the timing of the call - the game was in hand when the Cardinal used it - but it's now on film for future opponents to contend with, and it was a nice cherry on top for McCaffrey in his homecoming.
-Last week: True freshman DB Quenton Meeks had two interceptions. This week: True freshman safety Justin Reid recorded the first pick of his career. Given the early signs from the 2014 + 2015 recruiting classes and what the Cardinal will have coming in this year, the future of the secondary is very bright.
-Stanford's defense allowed three points in Colorado's final 11 drives. The Cardinal pass rush wasn't super effective for much of the game (the reserves generated a lot of pressure in garbage time), and there were some open receivers, but it's hard to argue against the results. Stanford ended up out-gaining Colorado 472 - 231.
Notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ax-jJt9do
https://colorado.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1822877
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-christian-mccaffrey-touchdown-pass-it-was-lot-fun
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-...s-early?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-...ootball?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Obviously the status of Stanford's three injured players (Alijah Holder, Devon Cajuste, Brandon Simmons) will loom large. You hope none of them is too seriously hurt. Good news is that Cajuste was back on the sidelines after the game (TV showed him smiling talking with his parents) and Holder tweeted after the game that he and Simmons were OK. We'll have an update on Tuesday during Shaw's media availability.
-I think Stanford had too much talent for Colorado to ever mount a serious threat, but the game really changed at the end of the quarter. Colorado missed a 37-yard field goal that would have cut Stanford's lead to 14-10 midway through the quarter. The Cardinal then drove the length of the field and scored on a brilliant 4th and short touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz. Then, as Colorado tried to score before the end of the half, Sefo Liuau overshot his receiver, Dallas Lloyd recorded the first interception of his career. Stanford drove down the (short) field converting a 57-yard touchdown drive in 1:08. Kevin Hogan's arm (strike to Hooper down to the one) and legs (avoided a tackle near the goal line) keyed the score. That extended the lead to 28-7 and made it a real uphill climb for Colorado.
-Trent Irwin had a 20-yard reception, drew a holding penalty on Stanford's final drive of the first half, and had a very important tackle. His hustle to bring down Colorado's defensive back down at around Stanford's five-yard-line ended up saving a touchdown as the Cardinal defense forced a turnover on downs.
-Kevin Hogan: 17-23, 169 yards, 2 touchdowns (plus one rushing), one interception. A very efficient outing in the 32nd victory of Hogan's Cardinal career.
-Bryce Love's 47-yard touchdown run that extended Stanford's lead to 35-10 was reminiscent of one of Love's runs back at an open scrimmage during fall camp. I don't believe the play on fall camp was on a reverse, but Love split a pair of defenders that appeared to have the angle. He did the same thing today. McCaffrey and Love give Stanford's offense a speed/athleticism element that the Cardinal offense has not had in recent years.
-Speaking of McCaffrey, obviously another very productive day for him. It was clear watching him play catch with Lance Taylor at some pregame warmup sessions that he's capable of throwing, and that was a very nice throw to Austin Hooper. You can debate the timing of the call - the game was in hand when the Cardinal used it - but it's now on film for future opponents to contend with, and it was a nice cherry on top for McCaffrey in his homecoming.
-Last week: True freshman DB Quenton Meeks had two interceptions. This week: True freshman safety Justin Reid recorded the first pick of his career. Given the early signs from the 2014 + 2015 recruiting classes and what the Cardinal will have coming in this year, the future of the secondary is very bright.
-Stanford's defense allowed three points in Colorado's final 11 drives. The Cardinal pass rush wasn't super effective for much of the game (the reserves generated a lot of pressure in garbage time), and there were some open receivers, but it's hard to argue against the results. Stanford ended up out-gaining Colorado 472 - 231.
Notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ax-jJt9do
https://colorado.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1822877
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-christian-mccaffrey-touchdown-pass-it-was-lot-fun
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-...s-early?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://pac-12.com/videos/stanfords-...ootball?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
