The score says Stanford should feel good about a breakthrough after the offense scuffled for more than a month. While the offensive line showed improvement, and the Cardinal rushed for 237 yards as Christian McCaffrey broke his all important road game scoring woes, there is still a number of issues facing the Cardinal.
But, one of them is not the defense's performance. For the third straight week the Cardinal held the opponent to 10 points. Arizona has been wrecked by injuries but the Wildcats had shown an ability to run the ball and, after being gashed up the middle by Colorado, the Stanford defense shut it down. Solomon Thomas has 1.5 sacks in each of the past three games as he continues to make a claim to being the conference's top defender.
The defense finished with five sacks and it was an overall solid performance by many of the Cardinal.
On offense, Cardinal fans had to smile at least a little bit to see McCaffrey put together a game that reminded everyone of good times. He finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. He also caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
But the passing game remains a problem for the Cardinal. Keller Chryst made his first career start and attempted 30 passes, completing 14 of them for 104 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The interception was then fumbled and recovered by Chris Harrell, who rumbled for the oddest first down that I can recall seeing.
Chryst appeared to miss several opportunities for big plays, but he also didn't get the help he needed on several occasions with protection or from a receiver.
In the week of practice leading up to the game the staff said that Ryan Burns was not to blame for all of the offense's problems, but that the unit needed a spark. That spark was slow to come against the weak Arizona defense, mustering only 341 yards and 17 first downs. It will be interesting to see what happens with the quarterback position this week.
My guess is the Stanford will stick with Chryst rather than flip flop back and forth. But any hope that changing the player taking the snaps would transform the offense was quickly dashed in this game.
Bryce Love had 12 carries for 78 yards, including 30 yards on a nice end around. There were also several plays with Love and McCffrey on the field at the same time. One box that still needs to be checked in terms of involving Love is he has yet to catch a pass down field in his Stanford career. He caught one from the slot against Washington State this season, but the play was wiped out due to a penalty.
With the quarterback struggles for Stanford, it seems that Love and McCaffrey offer quick options to get open. And Dalton Schultz's two catches gives him five in the past three weeks. From what I can see, Greg Taboada was not targeted in the game, which would be the second straight week of that happening. The passing game continues to be directed primarily toward the receivers.
Stanford will face a suddenly dangerous looking Oregon State squad in a second day game at home. The Beavers will present a tougher test than the depleted Wildcats and challenge whether the Cardinal can start a winning streak in the back half of their schedule.
But, one of them is not the defense's performance. For the third straight week the Cardinal held the opponent to 10 points. Arizona has been wrecked by injuries but the Wildcats had shown an ability to run the ball and, after being gashed up the middle by Colorado, the Stanford defense shut it down. Solomon Thomas has 1.5 sacks in each of the past three games as he continues to make a claim to being the conference's top defender.
The defense finished with five sacks and it was an overall solid performance by many of the Cardinal.
On offense, Cardinal fans had to smile at least a little bit to see McCaffrey put together a game that reminded everyone of good times. He finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. He also caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
But the passing game remains a problem for the Cardinal. Keller Chryst made his first career start and attempted 30 passes, completing 14 of them for 104 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The interception was then fumbled and recovered by Chris Harrell, who rumbled for the oddest first down that I can recall seeing.
Chryst appeared to miss several opportunities for big plays, but he also didn't get the help he needed on several occasions with protection or from a receiver.
In the week of practice leading up to the game the staff said that Ryan Burns was not to blame for all of the offense's problems, but that the unit needed a spark. That spark was slow to come against the weak Arizona defense, mustering only 341 yards and 17 first downs. It will be interesting to see what happens with the quarterback position this week.
My guess is the Stanford will stick with Chryst rather than flip flop back and forth. But any hope that changing the player taking the snaps would transform the offense was quickly dashed in this game.
Bryce Love had 12 carries for 78 yards, including 30 yards on a nice end around. There were also several plays with Love and McCffrey on the field at the same time. One box that still needs to be checked in terms of involving Love is he has yet to catch a pass down field in his Stanford career. He caught one from the slot against Washington State this season, but the play was wiped out due to a penalty.
With the quarterback struggles for Stanford, it seems that Love and McCaffrey offer quick options to get open. And Dalton Schultz's two catches gives him five in the past three weeks. From what I can see, Greg Taboada was not targeted in the game, which would be the second straight week of that happening. The passing game continues to be directed primarily toward the receivers.
Stanford will face a suddenly dangerous looking Oregon State squad in a second day game at home. The Beavers will present a tougher test than the depleted Wildcats and challenge whether the Cardinal can start a winning streak in the back half of their schedule.
