Well, aside from the weather and a sparse crowd (and I guess the fact that Stanford was playing in the Foster Farms Bowl rather than the college football playoff, which was a goal at the beginning of the year)... and with the caveat that Maryland is a middle of the pack team in a middle of the pack conference.., this was a near-perfect evening for Stanford.
They were nothing short of dominant.
-The defense held Maryland to 14 points (the starters allowed only a single touchdown).
-The offense tied a season-high in points scored.
-This was the most points Stanford had scored in a bowl game since 1949 when the Stanford Indians beat Hawaii 74-20 in the Pineapple Bowl.
-Offensively, Kevin Hogan had another efficient, effective performance. He was 14/20 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, zero interceptions. Hogan missed a throw or two, but this was yet another very strong performance from him. He also gained 50 yards rushing on seven carries, including multiple first downs. If Stanford gets this version of Hogan back next year - along with the majority of its offensive starters, who will return - there are legitimate reasons for optimism on that side of the ball moving forward.
Hogan was named the offensive MVP of the game.
-What more can you say about Christian McCaffrey. I haven't been covering/following Stanford as long as some here have, but he's one of the most electric players I can recall watching in a Cardinal uniform - one of those guys who is capable of popping a long gain even when it looks like multiple defenders will be able to take him down.
McCaffrey was the game's leading rusher (51 yards on 7 carries) and made a tremendous impact as a punt returner. He had 81 total punt return yards, an average of 20.25 per return. Seemed like he also eluded about that many defenders over the course of the game.
And he did this
Of course, Christian's performance tonight - and in the last few weeks, really - once again raises the question of his limited usage earlier in the season. It's a little bit hard to understand why there weren't more ways to get him the ball (as mentioned in the chat, Christian had two rushes and three catches in Stanford's losses to USC, Arizona State and Notre Dame and Oregon - combined. Regardless, Christian will be at Stanford for the next few years, and it will be a lot of fun to watch him play.
-A lot of teams recruited Austin Hooper to play defense, but man, he's going to some weapon for Stanford's offense for years to come; and he already is, really. Hooper led Stanford with five catches for 71 yards, and several of those grabs were not easy.
-Another solid game for Stanford's offensive line, which allowed only one sack and generally gave Hogan plenty of time to throw.
-Remound Wright scored nine touchdowns in the final three games of the season.
-Another sterling defensive performance in a season full of them. Stanford had six more sacks tonight and limited Maryland to 17 rushing yards on 27 carries (0.6 YPC average) and 222 yards of total offense. Henry Anderson and David Parry anchored things up front (man is Stanford gonna miss them next year), and James Vaughters capped off what really has been a very solid senior season by winning the game's Defensive MVP award. Maryland did have some success throwing the ball (Stefon Diggs had a big day), but the secondary kept everything in front of it and played pretty well imo.
And then there were the feel-good moments:
-Ricky Seale scored his first college touchdown in his fifth year in the program. The sidelines went nuts after that.
-Torsten Rotto recorded a sack in perhaps his final game.
-Kyle Olugbode, who toiled away as a walk-on for four years, recorded the game's lone interception in his final college game. (In front of the hometown fans, no less.)
-Guys who strapped on the pads for probably the last time in their lives - guys like Seale, Anthony Hayes, Lance Callihan, etc.. - were able to get some playing time in their final games.
So, on most accounts, really a night Stanford can feel very good about. NFL Draft decisions will be made in the next few days, and then it will be on to the 2015 season. Regardless of what some of the juniors decide to do, there will be major questions about next year's Stanford football team. The defense loses most of its starters, and the replacements are unproven. The secondary in particular is going to be extremely young and inexperienced, and the advantage Stanford gained from having a senior-laden defensive line for the last few years could be negated. (At this point, you'd think Aziz Shittu, Harrison Phillips and Solomon Thomas are as likely as anyone to be the three starters.)
But regardless of the questions - and again, there are many - I think you have to feel considerably more optimistic about the chances Stanford's 2015 team has a winning season now than you did after the Utah loss when even bowl eligibility this year was up in the air.
This post was edited on 12/31 1:19 AM by Andy Drukarev
They were nothing short of dominant.
-The defense held Maryland to 14 points (the starters allowed only a single touchdown).
-The offense tied a season-high in points scored.
-This was the most points Stanford had scored in a bowl game since 1949 when the Stanford Indians beat Hawaii 74-20 in the Pineapple Bowl.
-Offensively, Kevin Hogan had another efficient, effective performance. He was 14/20 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, zero interceptions. Hogan missed a throw or two, but this was yet another very strong performance from him. He also gained 50 yards rushing on seven carries, including multiple first downs. If Stanford gets this version of Hogan back next year - along with the majority of its offensive starters, who will return - there are legitimate reasons for optimism on that side of the ball moving forward.
Hogan was named the offensive MVP of the game.
-What more can you say about Christian McCaffrey. I haven't been covering/following Stanford as long as some here have, but he's one of the most electric players I can recall watching in a Cardinal uniform - one of those guys who is capable of popping a long gain even when it looks like multiple defenders will be able to take him down.
McCaffrey was the game's leading rusher (51 yards on 7 carries) and made a tremendous impact as a punt returner. He had 81 total punt return yards, an average of 20.25 per return. Seemed like he also eluded about that many defenders over the course of the game.
And he did this
Of course, Christian's performance tonight - and in the last few weeks, really - once again raises the question of his limited usage earlier in the season. It's a little bit hard to understand why there weren't more ways to get him the ball (as mentioned in the chat, Christian had two rushes and three catches in Stanford's losses to USC, Arizona State and Notre Dame and Oregon - combined. Regardless, Christian will be at Stanford for the next few years, and it will be a lot of fun to watch him play.
-A lot of teams recruited Austin Hooper to play defense, but man, he's going to some weapon for Stanford's offense for years to come; and he already is, really. Hooper led Stanford with five catches for 71 yards, and several of those grabs were not easy.
-Another solid game for Stanford's offensive line, which allowed only one sack and generally gave Hogan plenty of time to throw.
-Remound Wright scored nine touchdowns in the final three games of the season.
-Another sterling defensive performance in a season full of them. Stanford had six more sacks tonight and limited Maryland to 17 rushing yards on 27 carries (0.6 YPC average) and 222 yards of total offense. Henry Anderson and David Parry anchored things up front (man is Stanford gonna miss them next year), and James Vaughters capped off what really has been a very solid senior season by winning the game's Defensive MVP award. Maryland did have some success throwing the ball (Stefon Diggs had a big day), but the secondary kept everything in front of it and played pretty well imo.
And then there were the feel-good moments:
-Ricky Seale scored his first college touchdown in his fifth year in the program. The sidelines went nuts after that.
-Torsten Rotto recorded a sack in perhaps his final game.
-Kyle Olugbode, who toiled away as a walk-on for four years, recorded the game's lone interception in his final college game. (In front of the hometown fans, no less.)
-Guys who strapped on the pads for probably the last time in their lives - guys like Seale, Anthony Hayes, Lance Callihan, etc.. - were able to get some playing time in their final games.
So, on most accounts, really a night Stanford can feel very good about. NFL Draft decisions will be made in the next few days, and then it will be on to the 2015 season. Regardless of what some of the juniors decide to do, there will be major questions about next year's Stanford football team. The defense loses most of its starters, and the replacements are unproven. The secondary in particular is going to be extremely young and inexperienced, and the advantage Stanford gained from having a senior-laden defensive line for the last few years could be negated. (At this point, you'd think Aziz Shittu, Harrison Phillips and Solomon Thomas are as likely as anyone to be the three starters.)
But regardless of the questions - and again, there are many - I think you have to feel considerably more optimistic about the chances Stanford's 2015 team has a winning season now than you did after the Utah loss when even bowl eligibility this year was up in the air.
This post was edited on 12/31 1:19 AM by Andy Drukarev
