STANFORD, Calif. - One play showed the kind of savvy Kevin Hogan brings as the winningest starting quarterback in Stanford history and why the team seems in such good hands as it begins a crucial stretch run.
On Saturday, Stanford was tied with Colorado, 7-7, in the second quarter when it faced third-and-18 at the Buffaloes’ 43-yard line.
A punt probably was in the offing this distance from the end zone if the play didn’t work.
Receiver Michael Rector was supposed to run a stop route, but coaches have given Rector and Hogan the freedom to change calls. At the snap, Hogan looked off the safety and threw a dart down the left sideline and behind the Colorado cornerback that Rector plucked out of the air in stride for a touchdown. The score put Stanford ahead for good and ignited a 42-10 victory.
“Kev threw a perfect ball and it was easy to walk in the end zone after that,” Rector said.
Football » Hogan Connects With Rector For A 43-Yard TDBIG TIME. Hogan » Rector = TD. Watch now on Pac-12 Network.#GoStanford #BeatCU
Posted by Stanford Athletics on Saturday, November 7, 2015
That play was brought up by David Shaw as an example of Hogan’s skill as a quarterback, decision-maker and leader during the Cardinal’s run this season.
“Plays like that happen in every game this year, where he takes control, and makes a play either with his arm or with his legs,” said Shaw, Stanford’s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, who explained there are layers to simply changing a play.
“Now, he can change to a pass play and change to a protection within that pass play, and then change the route scheme also,” Shaw said. “Now, you’re looking at a guy that can manipulate the offense.”
“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Rector said.
There is an assumption that Stanford, now at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, needs to not only win, but win convincingly to enhance its chances at jumping into the final four.
Shaw says that’s not the case.
“We won’t play to any of that,” he said. “I don’t believe in that. I don’t believe it’s right. I don’t believe it’s good.”
One play against Colorado -- Christian McCaffrey’s 28-yard halfback pass to Austin Hooper on the first play of the fourth quarter -- created some conversation on that topic and Shaw was asked about it after the game.
“Bill Walsh used to say, ‘There are no trick plays, only football plays,’” Shaw said. “That play was something to take advantage of what they were doing. They were playing nine guys within seven yards of the line of scrimmage. We wanted to put the game away. That was a great way to do it.”
Stanford began promoting McCaffrey as a Heisman Trophy candidate by launching a web site for stats, highlights, and information, at WildCaff.com.
“He’s played himself into the Heisman conversation,” Shaw said. “We want to support him. Christian’s earned so much respect on the football team, and it’s not just on gameday -- it’s how he practices, how he prepares, how serious he took his off-season and his training. He finishes every play in practice 20-30 yards down the field and sprints to get back into the huddle for the next play.
“All the yards and touchdowns … none of that matters. It’s all about the next play and what he needs to do for this football team.”
Rector agrees.
“Give him the Heisman,” he said. “He deserves it.”
Oregon possesses two special offensive weapons in particular: quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and sophomore running back Royce Freeman.
Stanford outside linebacker Kevin Anderson offered his opinion on both.
On Adams, “We’ve got to figure out how to contain him. We can’t jump. We have to make the sound tackle and not try to make the blow-up tackle, and just do whatever we can to keep him in the pocket.”
On Freeman, “That guy’s a beast. All I remember is last year trying to tackle him and not being able to because he’s big and strong. All he’s done is gotten bigger and stronger.”
Freshman wide receiver Jay Tyler is giving the Stanford defense his best Adams imitation as Stanford’s scout team quarterback.
Tyler, a quarterback who broke some of Peyton Manning’s records at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, has provided the elusiveness that the Cardinal defense will expect.
47 yards later & we're still lovin' it. Watch on @Pac12Networks. #GoStanford #BeatCU pic.twitter.com/7XhmV1UWqC
— Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) November 7, 2015
Bryce Love, the 5-foot-10 184-pound freshman who bolted 47 yards for a touchdown against Colorado was seen by running backs coach Lance Taylor on a recruiting visit to North Carolina.
“The film said ‘fast and explosive,’ but you always want to send someone to go see him live,” Shaw said. “He’s elusive and can make people miss and has the speed to finish in the end zone, but he’s also a physical runner. That’s what you need to see live.
“There are lot of smaller backs in high school football that make a lot of plays and gain a lot of yards, but aren’t physically capable of doing that on the college level.”
Taylor phoned Shaw that night with this message:
“This kid’s got it,” Taylor said. “He can play.”
The first collegiate touchdown pass for Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost, and the last collegiate touchdown reception for Shaw, came on the same play.
Frost, a sophomore making his first collegiate start as a replacement for injured Steve Stenstrom, fired a 13-yard strike to Shaw on Nov. 12, 1994, late in a 55-21 loss to Oregon at Stanford Stadium.
A big-time recruit who came to Stanford to play for Bill Walsh, Frost transferred to Nebraska after that season and led the Cornhuskers to the 1997 national championship before a five-year career as an NFL safety. His brother and Stanford teammate, Steve Frost, is Stanford’s football public address announcer.