STANFORD, Calif. – Facing the nation’s best offense, Stanford turned on the Hoffpauir.
Stanford’s defense stifled a Washington State team that put up unprecedented a week earlier, but this time was stung repeatedly by a relentless Cardinal effort in a 34-17 Stanford victory Friday night at Stanford Stadium.
Junior free safety Zach Hoffpauir led the way with 15 tackles, helping hold the Cougars to 266 total yards – more than 300 yards below their average.
“Zach Hoffpauir was everywhere,” Shaw said.
After a disappointing last-minute loss at Notre Dame last week, Stanford still had its troubles taking advantage of opportunities, but was able to do enough offensively to hold off a Washington State team with the potential to score at will. Sophomore tight end Greg Taboada caught two touchdown passes – his first career touchdowns on his second and third receptions, respectively.
“I thought tonight’s the first night that we looked like us and we felt like us,” said David Shaw, Stanford’s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “I thought our runners came out and ran extremely hard. Offensive line blocked well … Kevin Hogan played like he can play.”
But the Stanford story, again, was defense.
After Connor Halliday’s 734-yard passing effort in a 60-59 loss to Cal last week, Washington State led the nation in passing yards with 523 per game. On Friday, the Cougars were held to 292 on Halliday’s 42-of-69 outing. Hoffpauir played a role, with two pass breakups adding to his all-around game.
“I didn’t even realize how many I had,” said Hoffpauir, whose 15 tackles are the most by any active Stanford player for a single game. “The ball kept coming to me and I ended up making tackles. Didn’t miss many.”
No. 25 Stanford (4-2 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) remains on track to reach its goal of a third consecutive appearance in the Pac-12 Championship game. Despite two close early losses, that goal has not changed. The next test comes Saturday, Oct. 18 at Arizona State in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Meanwhile, Stanford can thank another of its stalwerts, receiver and return man Ty Montgomery. His 46-yard punt return to the Washington State 16-yard line reversed the game’s momentum after the Cougars had closed to within 10-7.
The return set up a third-down touchdown on a three-yard pass to Taboada, making it 17-7 and it gave the Cardinal enough breathing room to offset another frustrating series of lost opportunities.
After Washington State (2-5, 1-3) closed within 24-17 with 13:02 left in the fourth quarter, the Cougars were held to 17 total yards in their next three possessions to close the game. Halliday, he of the NCAA single-game passing-yardage record, was limited to only three completions in 12 attempts for 21 yards the rest of the way. An A.J. Tarpley sack, David Parry hurry, and Hoffpauir breakup contributed to the Cardinal stretch shutdown.
Stanford clinched the game with 10 fourth-quarter points, first on a 34-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson with 8:03 left, and then with a six-yard run Remound Wright with 1:38 to go for the final margin.
“Remound came in and was the hammer for us,” Shaw said.
The final Stanford offensive numbers: 477 total yards and 193 rushing. And Kevin Hogan completed 23 of 35 passes for 284 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Wright rushed for a career-high 98 yards on 14 carries, and Montgomery totaled seven catches for 72 yards.
Oh yes, and Stanford improved to 6-0 in their annual game wearing all-black uniforms.
“The difference was the physical nature of the Stanford players,” Washington State coach Mike Leach said.
Stanford actually held WSU to minus-26 rushing yards. The stat is a little deceiving because Halliday’s four sacks (by A.J. Tarpley, Henry Anderson, David Parry, and a combined sack for Peter Kalambayi and Aziz Shittu) were figured in the total, compared to the team’s seven true rushes for 30 yards. Still, it marked the fewest rushing yards Stanford has allowed since the 1998 Big Game (-36 for Cal) and the third-fewest allowed in school history.
“That’s just a really good defensive front,” Halliday said. “Nothing our offensive line did wrong, they’re just a darn good front.”
Offensively, Stanford ripped off big runs at the outset by Barry Sanders, for 21 and 29 yards, to put Stanford at the Cougar 7. Though Stanford didn’t get the ball in the end zone on that drive, it was an indication that the running game was working.
“If you run the ball well, play-action and boots now actually have some meaning,” Shaw said.
Stanford pressure by Parry forced consecutive incompletions and a punt early on, giving Stanford a chance to unleash its largely-unseen big-play offense.
A backward swing pass to Christian McCaffrey went for 24 yards down the left sideline, followed by a downfield toss to wide-open tight end Eric Cotton for a 39-yard touchdown. Two defenders followed Austin Hooper, allowing Cotton to sprint by the middle linebacker from the slot and into open field where he caught the ball in stride. It was the first collegiate touchdown for the sophomore and his longest reception.
Following Montgomery’s big return, Taboada scored his first career touchdown on his second career touch. He would score once again, on his second catch of the game later on.
“When they call your number, you’ve just got to make a play,” Taboada said.
However, the Cardinal continued to be its own worst enemy, leaving at least 10 points on the field as the team jogged back to the locker room at halftime, holding that same 17-7 lead.
Patrick Skov was an inch from the goal line as he stretched the ball forward on a second-quarter run, only for the ball to be dislodged by the helmet of Cougar Taylor Taliulu. WSU recovered.
As the quarter wound down, Hogan found Devon Cajuste, who made a spectacular catch at the edge of the end zone with blanket coverage. The catch was ruled out of bounds, but a replay may have reversed the call because Cajuste appeared to get a foot down as he first made the grab. However, a holding penalty prevented Stanford from finding out. The drive ended with a missed 37-yard field goal try by Williamson as the clock ran out, not getting help from a high snap.
“I told the team at halftime, we’re not going to worry about mistakes any more,” Shaw said. “We’re not going to over-analyze what we’re doing. We’re going to try to be perfect, but also realize that we’re not going to be perfect.”
The trend continued at the outset of the second half right after Blake Martinez intercepted a pass at the Cougar 34-yard line. On second down, Hogan hit Montgomery for an apparent touchdown pass, but the play was negated by an illegal shift call at the line of scrimmage. Stanford went for it on fourth-and-6 at the 30, but Hogan’s pass to Michael Rector fell incomplete in heavy coverage, prompting Shaw to lobby vehemently for a pass interference call that never came.
Stanford’s deficit shrunk when Quentin Breshears kicked a 46-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to draw the Cougars within one score, 17-10. Stanford fans had seen this before, against USC in a 13-10 loss.
But Stanford did not let that happen. The Cardinal drove downfield immediately afterward the field goal and gave itself a 24-10 cushion on Hogan’s bootleg pass to Taboada from four yards with 3:07 left in the third quarter.
Washington State countered with a drive that interspersed some effective running with the requisite passing. Facing fourth-and-goal at the 3, Halliday rolled right, but was pursued toward the sideline by a heavy rush. But just before getting knocked down, Halliday threw across his body and found River Cracraft in the back of the end zone. Stanford defenders saw receiver Vince Mayle, who already had one TD catch, in front and went for him, leaving Cracraft stationed alone with 13:02 left and the Cougars’ back within a touchdown.
Stanford answered with a long drive, culminating with Williamson’s 34-yard field goal for a 27-17 lead with 8:13 left. And Stanford’s defense did the rest.
“They throw a lot of stuff at you,” Hoffpauir said. “You’ve got to play your technique right, use your help in the middle of the field, and be sound.”
The Stanford defense has been consistent, the offense just has to match that consistency if the Cardinal means to live up to the high standards of recent seasons.
“The biggest question mark for me right now is, Can we play like this the rest of the year?” Shaw said. “We played hard, guys made plays, and that’s what we need. Can we get ourselves to play this way next week in Tempe and the week after that, and the week after that?
“No matter when, no matter where, can we give that kind of effort and have that kind of consistency?”
The fate of Stanford’s season hinges on that answer.