STANFORD, Calif. -- This was the offense Stanford fans were waiting to see.
When it got going during the Cardinal’s 31-7 home-opening victory over UCF on Saturday night, it had all the elements of a high-production attack: precision passing from a veteran quarterback, downfield throws, short-yardage power, and game-breakers everywhere.
Kevin Hogan threw three touchdown passes and the Cardinal defense held UCF to 181 total yards at Stanford Stadium. Oh yes … and Stanford got to unleash Bryce Love.
The freshman running back had three touches for 143 yards, including a 93-yard catch and run that clinched the nonconference contest midway through the fourth quarter. After one rush for minus-2 in his collegiate debut last week against Northwestern, the speedster gained 8 on a carry, and followed with 42 on a swing pass – swiveling past and outrunning three defenders – before concluding with his big catch on a third-and-20 play.
Barry Sanders provided a spectacular finish for Stanford by juking a defender out of the play on a 20-yard run that completed the Cardinal scoring, with 2:13 to play. UCF (0-2) scored on a 36-yard pass play with 1:22 remaining for the final margin.
It all added up to a feel-good game when Stanford (1-1) desperately needed one, especially with USC next week in a Pac-12 opener at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanford now brings momentum on both sides of the ball.
“I’m excited about where we are,” said David Shaw, Stanford’s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “We have so much room to improve. If we can play cleaner, we can play better.”
The feeling, especially in comparison to last week’s desultory 16-6 season-opening loss at Northwestern, was full of optimism. And no wonder:
- Hogan completed 17 of 29 for a career-high 341 yards with no interceptions.
- The Cardinal allowed only 181 total yards – 30 on 29 carries, and 151 through the air.
- Stanford gained 491 yards in total offense, 361 passing and 130 on the ground.
“Great bounce back win,” Shaw said.
It took a while – Stanford didn’t get on the scoreboard until 4:23 remained in the second quarter – but it wasn’t so much a lack of production that kept the Cardinal scoreless, but rather a series of self-inflicted wounds.
Hogan changed that with the first of his scoring tosses -- 53 yards to Michael Rector on a flea flicker to give Stanford its first touchdown of the season. Hogan handed off to Barry Sanders who took a couple of steps before pitching back to his quarterback. Hogan stepped up in the pocket to escape a backside rush and fired the ball 50 yards in the air to Rector crossing from the left side. He caught the ball at the 10 and tucked inside the right pylon and into the end zone.
“We needed to get into the end zone,” Hogan said. “It was kind of like breaking the ice.”
The drive was set up when safety Dallas Lloyd popped UCF running back William Stanback and forced a fumble that was recovered by Brannon Scarlett at the Cardinal’s own 36. The recovery was the first the collegiate career of Scarlett, including four seasons at Cal.
It also was a tangible reward for a thin defensive line that got even thinner when defensive end Aziz Shittu was ejected for targeting. Shittu was the second man in on a tackle when the runner was spun around. Because the penalty was called in the first half, Shittu will be available to Stanford’s entire next game, at USC next week. However, the line already was hamstrung because of a season-ending knee injury suffered by nose tackle Harrison Phillips last week.
“If a man goes down, then we have to be able to pick up his load and carry it the rest of the way,” Scarlett said.
Without Shittu the defensive line was Scarlett and Solomon Thomas, a sophomore who got his first sack, with Nate Lohn and Jordan Watkins rotating in.
“Our guys were fired up,” Shaw said. “The biggest thing is our guys up front had to double up. They had to play double duty losing to Harrison last week and losing Aziz in the first half today. They sucked it up. They played extremely hard. They didn't tap out, and I give them a lot of credit for how well and how hard they played. I love the guys that we have there. I love their attitude.”
Indeed, the defense was the Stanford story of the game until the offense came to life. Rector’s score helped get the offense in motion and a hurry-up tempo on its next series, which resulted in a 52-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina late in the first half, seemed to ensure a sense of rhythm that continued for the rest of the game.
Until then, Stanford was frustrated by some of the same issues that plagued it at Northwestern – penalties at horrendous times. The Cardinal was called for six penalties in the first-quarter alone, including an illegal block that wiped out an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown by Christian McCaffrey. Another illegal block nullified a Hogan run for a first down with Stanford driving deep in UCF territory. On both series, Stanford failed to score.
The Shittu targeting penalty, a pass interference call, and one for illegal hands to the face all UCF drives alive. In all, Stanford was penalized 12 times for 137 yards, to UCF’s two penalties for 19 yards. The calls frustrated Shaw and he refused to take any questions about the officiating after the game.
Instead, the focus, as it should be, was on players like McCaffrey, who had 166 all-purpose yards without the nullified punt return – 58 rushing, 59 receiving, and 49 on returns. He also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-0.
“We’re going to stretch him thin,” Shaw said.
Added Hogan, “He’s going to get more comfortable each week. We’re just scratching the surface for what he can do.”
Perhaps just as satisfying was Stanford’s success in short-yardage. When Stanford faced a fourth-and-1 Remound Wright followed Brendon Austin in a jumbo formation for three yards and a first down. Wright also gained two on third-and-1. Power football was back.
As for Love, his 93-yarder was the third-longest touchdown in Stanford history. He seems to be in the mold of Darrin Nelson and Glyn Milburn. Great speed matched with football sense.
“You see what Bryce Love can do,” Shaw said. “We've got a really good combination of guys. We may not have a guy that carries the ball 30 times in a game – 20 is probably going to be the most. But it's going to spread out, and if we can keep these guys fresh and get them out in space, they can do some special things.”
Perhaps that’s what was most encouraging for Stanford after the victory -- the anticipation of what’s to come.