Record
9-5 overall
7-2 Pac-12
Ranking
No. 20 (AP)
No. 19 (USA Today)
Postseason
Pac-12 Championship Game (vs. USC – L, 28-31)
Alamo Bowl (vs. TCU – L, 37-39)
Statistics
Team
Pac-12
NCAA
Team Captains
David Bright
Keller Chryst
Peter Kalambayi
Alameen Murphy
Harrison Phillips
Dalton Schultz
Brandon Simmons
Awards
Walker Little
Pac-12 Freshman Co-Offensive Player of the Year
Bryce Love
Doak Walker Award
Lombardi Award
Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year
Touchdown Club of Columbus Jim Brown Award
Harrison Phillips
AFCA Good Works Team
Alamo Bowl Sportsmanship Award
David Shaw
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
Pac-12 Coach of the Year
All-America
David Bright
The Sporting News (second team)
Bryce Love
AFCA (first team)
AP (first team)
Walter Camp (first team)
The Sporting News (first team)
FWAA (first team)
USA Today (first team)
CBS Sports (first team)
The All-American (first team)
SI.com (first team)
Phil Steele (first team)
Harrison Phillips
FWAA (second team)
AP (third team)
Justin Reid
FWAA (second team)
AP (second team)
All-Pac-12
Nate Herbig (first team)
Bryce Love (first team)
Harrison Phillips (first team)
Justin Reid (first team)
Dalton Schultz (first team)
David Bright (second team)
Quenton Meeks (second team)
Jake Bailey (second team)
Jesse Burkett (honorable mention)
A.T. Hall (honorable mention)
Walker Little (honorable mention)
Bobby Okereke (honorable mention)
Cameron Scarlett (honorable mention)
Brandon Simmons (honorable mention)
Jet Toner (honorable mention)
JJ Arcega-Whiteside (honorable mention)
CoSIDA Academic All-America
Jesse Burkett (second team)
Harrison Phillips (second team)
CoSIDA Academic All-District
Jesse Burkett
Richard McNitzky
Harrison Phillips
Casey Toohill
Pac-12 All-Academic
Dylan Jackson (first team)
Richard McNitzky (first team)
Harrison Phillips (first team)
Nick Wilson (first team)
Frank Buncom (second team)
Jesse Burkett (second team)
Treyjohn Butler (second team)
Devery Hamilton (second team)
Alijah Holder (second team)
Justin Reid (second team)
Cameron Scarlett (second team)
Dalton Schultz (second team)
Jovan Swann (second team)
Casey Toohill (second team)
Joey Alfieri (honorable mention)
Malik Antoine (honorable mention)
Jake Bailey (honorable mention)
Isaiah Brandt-Sims (honorable mention)
David Bright (honorable mention)
Keller Chryst (honorable mention)
K.J. Costello (honorable mention)
Obi Eboh (honorable mention)
Ben Edwards (honorable mention)
Scooter Harrington (honorable mention)
Nate Herbig (honorable mention)
Trenton Irwin (honorable mention)
Peter Kalambayi (honorable mention)
Quenton Meeks (honorable mention)
Alameen Murphy (honorable mention)
Kevin Palma (honorable mention)
Kaden Smith (honorable mention)
Donald Stewart (honorable mention)
Jet Toner (honorable mention)
Jay Tyler (honorable mention)
Mike Tyler (honorable mention)
NCAA Top-50 Team Statistical Rankings
Fumbles Lost (4th – 4)
Turnover Margin (4th - 1.14)
Turnovers Lost (7th - 12)
Kickoff Returns (8th - 25.11)
Kickoff Return Defense (9th - 17.38)
Turnovers Gained (9th - 28)
Net Punting (12th - 41.04)
Passes Intercepted (12th - 18)
Sacks Allowed (15th - 1.21)
Fourth Down Conversion Pct. Defense (16th - 0.389)
Blocked Punts (19th - 1)
Red Zone Offense (21st - 0.898)
Fumbles Recovered (27th - 10)
Passes Had Intercepted (29th - 8)
Rushing Offense (30th - 202.4)
Blocked Kicks (31st - 2)
Scoring Defense (34th - 22.7)
Tackles for Loss Allowed (35th - 5.21)
Winning Percentage (35th - 0.643)
Scoring Offense (38th - 32.4)
Third Down Conversion Pct. (41st - 0.426)
Fourth Down Conversion Pct. (41st - 0.583)
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (41st - 47.29)
Punt Returns (47th - 8.6)
Team Sacks (47th - 2.29)
NCAA Top-50 Individual Statistical Rankings
Rushing Yards – Bryce Love (2nd – 2,118)
Rushing Yards Per Game – Bryce Love (2nd – 162.9)
Combined Kick Returns – Cameron Scarlett (2nd – 1,008)
All-Purpose Yards – Bryce Love (3rd – 165.46)
Punting – Jake Bailey (7th – 45.4)
Total Touchdowns – Bryce Love (9th – 19)
Punt Return Touchdowns – Brandon Simmons (10th – 1)
Total Interceptions – Justin Reid (11th - 5)
Kickoff Returns – Cameron Scarlett (18th – 25.8)
Total Points Scored – Jet Toner (18th – 117)
Field Goals Per Game – Jet Toner (21st – 1.50)
Scoring – Bryce Love (21st – 8.8)
Total Points Scored – Bryce Love (23rd – 114)
Receiving Touchdowns – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (25th – 9)
Fumbles Recovered – Harrison Phillips (26th – 2)
Scoring – Jet Toner (30th – 8.4)
Interceptions Per Game – Justin Reid (34th – 0.4)
Field Goal Pct. – Jet Toner (37th - 0.808)
Passing Efficiency – K.J. Costello (38th – 139.5)
Passing Yards Per Completion – K.J. Costello (46th – 12.69)
Team Season Records
Extra Point Percentage – 1.000
Rushing Yards Per Attempt – 5.902
Individual Career Records
Rushing Yards – Bryce Love (7.76)
Consecutive 100-yard Rushing Games – Bryce Love (9)
Extra Point Percentage – Jet Toner (1.000)
Punting Average – Jake Bailey (43.67)
Individual Season Records
Rushing Yards – Bryce Love (2,118)
100-yard Rushing Games – Bryce Love (12)
Top Rushing Tandems – Bryce Love (2,118) and Cameron Scarlett (389)
Extra Point Percentage – Jet Toner (1.000)
Kickoff Returns – Cameron Scarlett (39)
Individual Game Record
Rushing Yards – Bryce Love (301 vs. Arizona State)
#14/14 Stanford 62, Rice 7
Aug. 26, 2017 • Sydney, Australia
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Bryce Love proved he could fill in quite nicely as Christian McCaffrey's replacement at Stanford, scoring a touchdown and finishing with 180 yard rushing to lead the 14th-ranked Cardinal to a 62-7 victory over Rice in the Sydney College Football Cup.
Love, installed as the No. 1 player in the backfield after McCaffrey was drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers, had 13 carries, including a 62-yard burst through the Rice line on Stanford's opening play from scrimmage. He didn't play much after the middle of the third quarter.
Cameron Scarlett, a junior who also moved up in the Stanford pecking order, had three touchdowns, all rushing, and finished with 68 yards on nine carries. He also had one 56-yard pass reception.
The Cardinal led 38-0 at halftime and scored touchdowns on its first four possessions.
Rice, trailing 55-0, finally broke its scoreless drought with six minutes remaining on running back Austin Walker's 23-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Keller Chryst, who tore the ACL in his right knee in December in the Sun Bowl, showed no sign of the injury. Chryst finished with 14 completions in 24 attempts for 253 yards and two touchdowns before Ryan Burns and later K.J. Costello took over with Stanford leading 45-0. Costello scored the final Stanford touchdown on a 25-yard run.
The Cardinal offense was in strong early-season form, with 656 total yards -- 369 passing and 287 rushing. Also, eight touchdowns, 27 first downs and an average of 9.0 yards per play.
It was Stanford's second game outside the U.S., and first since 1986 when the Cardinal beat Arizona, 29-24, in Tokyo.
#6/5 USC 42, #14/14 Stanford 24
Sept. 9, 2017 • Los Angeles, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett caught two touchdown passes apiece from Sam Darnold, and No. 6 Southern California extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 42-24 victory over No. 14 Stanford.
Darnold went 21 of 26 with 316 yards passing for the Trojans, who snapped their three-game losing streak in this California private-school rivalry.
Ronald Jones II rushed for 116 yards and scored a touchdown in his ninth consecutive game, running the ball for 307 yards and controlling both lines of scrimmage. Turnovers and penalties by the Trojans kept it fairly close, but freshman Stephen Carr added 119 yards rushing, and Jones cartwheeled into the end zone with a clinching 23-yard touchdown run with 4:15 to play.
Keller Chryst passed for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while Bryce Love had a 75-yard touchdown run among his 160 yards rushing for the Cardinal.
After a scoreless third quarter, USC made a 90-yard scoring drive capped by Mitchell's second touchdown on a feathery 11-yard touchdown pass by Darnold with 9:42 to play. Stanford stayed close with JJ Arcega-Whiteside's touchdown catch with 6:41 to play, but Jones' incredible second touchdown run capped a smooth 75-yard drive in USC's 11th consecutive win at the Coliseum.
Stanford had won eight of its last 11 meetings with USC in a dominant stretch that began with its historic 2007 upset victory at the Coliseum.
After USC scored 49 points in its season opener, Darnold's offense again was in fine form from the start. USC scored four touchdowns on five lengthy drives in the first half, with Darnold hitting Burnett for two of his three touchdown passes.
USC moved 74 yards on two plays late in the half to take a 28-17 lead on Burnett's leaping 25-yard touchdown grab.
San Diego State 20, #19/19 Stanford 17
Sept. 16, 2017 • San Diego, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Christian Chapman threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Wells with 54 seconds left, capping a wild ending sparked by a darkness delay in San Diego State's 20-17 victory over No. 19 Stanford.
Six plays before Wells' score, the game was delayed nearly 25 minutes when most of the lights went out at 50-year-old San Diego Stadium.
The game resumed with the Aztecs on the Stanford 42, and San Diego State quickly moved in for the score. On the winner, Chapman rolled right and found Wells, who slammed into Brandon Simmons and tumbled into the end zone.
The comeback by San Diego State overshadowed a huge night by Stanford's Bryce Love. He gained 184 yards on just 13 carries, including touchdown runs of 53 and 51 yards, plus a 47-yarder that set up a field goal.
Love's 53-yard scoring run came on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving Stanford a 17-13 lead.
Stanford 58, UCLA 34
Sept. 23, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Bryce Love didn't put up much of a fight to stay in and take a shot at Stanford's school record for rushing.
The Pac-12's top running back was even more hesitant to take credit for what he did to keep the Cardinal's lengthy win streak against UCLA going.
Love rushed for a career-high 263 yards and a touchdown to pad his conference-leading total, third-string quarterback K.J. Costello came off the bench and threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Stanford beat UCLA, 58-34.
Cameron Scarlett scored three touchdowns and Jet Toner kicked three field goals to help the Cardinal win their 10th straight over the Bruins after losing starting quarterback Keller Chryst to an injury in the first quarter.
Ryan Burns replaced Chryst for one series and made two other brief appearances but it was Costello who directed Stanford's offense most of the night. The redshirt sophomore had a 9-yard touchdown run in the first half then had scoring throws of 15 yards and three yards in the second half, the first two of Costello's career.
Costello finished 13 of 19 for 123 yards to outduel UCLA's Josh Rosen.
The nation's leading passer going in, Rosen got off to a sluggish start and was uneven much of the night for the Bruins. He completed 40 of 60 throws for 480 yards with two interceptions and three touchdowns, although two of the TDs came in the second half when Stanford was comfortably ahead.
Love's pounding runs hurt UCLA the most. The Pac-12's leading rusher averaged nearly 175 yards in his first three games and easily eclipsed that against the Bruins. Love would have topped the 300-yard mark but a holding penalty negated his 48-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The 263 yards are the second-most in one game in Stanford history. Christian McCaffrey ran for 284 yards against California on Nov. 19, 2016.
Stanford got plenty of help from its defense and special teams. The Cardinal forced four turnovers and blocked a field goal.
Chryst was knocked out of the game after getting tackled between a pair of UCLA defenders while running on a quarterback keeper.
Three players were ejected for targeting. UCLA's Adarius Pickett was thrown out in the first half after a call that had Bruins coach Jim Mora screaming on the sidelines. In the third quarter Stanford cornerback Alijah Holder was also tossed for targeting. Cardinal safety Ben Edwards was called for the same penalty on the next play but it was overturned upon review.
Stanford 34, Arizona State 24
Sept. 30, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
On a record-setting day for Bryce Love, Stanford coach David Shaw had a difficult time deciding which of the junior running back's runs was his favorite.
There was the 61-yard touchdown in the first quarter on Love's second carry of the afternoon, followed up not long after by a 43-yard score in the second. Or the 59-yard burst through the middle in the third.
No player in Stanford history has ever had the type of day that Love did when he set a single-game school record for 301 yards rushing and three touchdowns to help the Cardinal beat Arizona State, 34-24.
Love entered the day leading the nation in rushing and padded his total with another big day on the ground. Stanford's junior running back had scoring runs of 61, 43 and 59 yards. He has 1,088 yards overall this season, the third player since 2004 to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in his team's first five games.
Love repeatedly gouged the Sun Devils for big gains but did some of his best running late after Arizona State pulled within 31-24 following Demario Richard's second touchdown, a 2-yard run, with 8:02 remaining.
Love, who broke Christian McCaffrey's year-old record of 284 yards, helped Stanford secure the win with a series of clock-draining runs that set up Jet Toner's 22-yard field goal.
K.J. Costello, who came off the bench to lead Stanford past UCLA a week ago after starter Keller Chryst was injured, completed 15 of 24 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown as the Cardinal won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Stanford also got a lift from its defense which forced two turnovers and held Arizona State to seven points in the second half, one week after the Sun Devils rallied to upset then-No. 24 Oregon.
Richard finished with 80 yards and two touchdowns for the Sun Devils. Quarterback Manny Wilkins passed for 181 yards but was intercepted twice, ending his school-record streak of 192 attempts without one.
Costello made several key completions in the first start of his college career, none bigger than a 12-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the second quarter on a perfectly thrown fade.
Stanford 23, #20/18 Utah 20
Oct. 7, 2017 • Salt Lake City, Utah
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Bryce Love ran for 152 yards and a touchdown as Stanford defeated No. 20 Utah, 23-20, handing the Utes their first loss of the season.
Utah bottled up the nation's leading rusher for most of the night, but the Cardinal faithfully continued to give their star the ball. On his 18th touch, the 5-foot-10, 196-pound speedster made two defenders miss in the hole and ran away for a 68-yarder that put the Cardinal up 23-13 with 12:02 remaining.
Utah stormed down the field on the ensuing possession with Troy Williams hitting Darren Carrington for big gains, but an interception essentially ended the game.
The Utes had moved to the Stanford 30 and Williams was about to be sacked when he threw the ball up downfield. Quenton Meeks picked off the fluttering pass and allowed Stanford to work more time off the clock.
Williams threw another interception to Justin Reid with 5:52 remaining.
Keller Chryst threw for 106 yards and ran for a touchdown for Stanford. The senior got the start after missing the Arizona State game with an undisclosed injury. He began the season as the starter, but was hurt against UCLA, and sophomore K.J. Costello helped lead the team to its first two Pac-12 wins. Both played against Utah and Costello threw for 82 yards.
Williams completed 20 of 39 passes for 238 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Utah running back Moss had 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Carrington had 99 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. Sunia Tauteoli had 11 tackles and 3 1/2 for loss for Utah.
Stanford led 13-10 at halftime after Jet Toner hit a 46-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining in the half. The Cardinal didn't have a turnover and put the game away with the two interceptions.
Stanford 49, Oregon 7
Oct. 14, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Bryce Love needed less than five minutes to reach the 100-yard rushing mark for the ninth consecutive game as he used another big run to fuel No. 23 Stanford's 49-7 victory over Oregon.
Love's 67-yard touchdown run just 4:23 in was his second touchdown of the game, and the nation's leading rusher finished with 147 yards on 17 carries to help the Cardinal win its fourth straight game. The effort gave Love 1,387 yards through seven games.
Keller Chryst threw two of his three touchdown passes to JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Brandon Simmons returned a blocked punt by Curtis Robinson for another touchdown as Stanford overpowered the Ducks.
Royce Freeman ran for 143 yards for Oregon, but the Ducks had no passing game behind Braxton Burmeister and lost for the third time in four games. Oregon had its lowest-scoring game since getting shut out by UCLA on Nov. 24, 2007.
Love started his day by racing 34 yards on his first carry and capped the opening drive with a 5-yard score. He then took a pitch on the first play of the next drive and outran the Oregon defense for the long touchdown that gave him a run of at least 50 yards in a ninth straight game.
Perhaps the only thing tougher to contain than Love was a rabbit that got loose on the field in the first quarter, leading to a brief delay. The rabbit ran through the end zone before finally being caught on the Oregon sideline.
#20/20 Stanford 15, Oregon State 14
Oct. 14, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Keller Chryst threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 20 seconds left and No. 20 Stanford survived Bryce Love's absence for a 15-14 come-from-behind victory over Oregon State.
Stanford went for it on fourth-and-10 on the Oregon State 40 with 2:19 left in the game and Chryst hit Kaden Smith with a 25-yard pass to keep the drive alive. After Chryst found Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone, the 2-point conversion failed but Stanford intercepted Oregon State quarterback Darell Garretson's hurl with 3 seconds left to end it.
After the defenses dominated the first quarter, Stanford opened the scoring with Jet Toner's 40-yard field goal. On Oregon State's ensuing drive, Garretson's keeper put the Beavers up 7-3.
Stanford recovered Garretson's fumble at the Oregon State 16 but wasn't able to get closer and settled for a Toner's 33-yard field goal to head into halftime down 7-6.
Stanford was flagged for roughing Garretson on the Beavers' first series of the second half. On the same play, Cardinal cornerback Alijah Holder left the game with an apparent knee injury and inside linebacker Joey Alfieri was ejected from the game for targeting.
The Beavers went on to cap the drive with Thomas Tyner's touchdown run to go up 14-6.
The mistakes continued for Stanford on the next possession when Oregon State's Omar Hicks-Onu intercepted Chryst's pass. But the Beavers missed a 52-yard field goal attempt that would have extended their lead.
Toner kicked a 40-yard field goal to narrow the score to 14-9 at the end of the third quarter.
The leading rusher for Stanford in Love's place was Cameron Scarlett, who grew up in Portland, Oregon, and went to Central Catholic High School -- the same school as Oregon State running back Ryan Nall. Scarlett finished with 72 yards rushing.
Chryst completed 16 of 33 passes for 141 yards with the final touchdown and the interception, but Stanford managed just 222 yards of total offense.
#25 Washington State 24, #18/21 Stanford 21
Nov. 4, 2017 • Pullman, Wash.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Luke Falk threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns and No. 25 Washington State beat No. 18 Stanford 24-21.
Snow started to fall heavily at the end of the first quarter. Stanford hadn't played in snow since a 1936 game against Columbia in New York.
Bryce Love, the nation's leading rusher, was held to 69 yards for Stanford. Love ran 52 yards for a touchdown on Stanford's first play of the second quarter, his nation-leading 10th consecutive game with a touchdown.
Falk replied with a 12-yard pass to Tavares Martin Jr. to tie it.
On Washington State's next possession, Falk threw a 27-yard pass to Renard Bell in the end zone for a 14-7 lead that held up at halftime.
Washington State drove to Stanford's 13 on its first possession of the second half, but had to settle for Erik Powell's 41-yard field goal and a 17-7 lead.
Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello fumbled the ball after the snap, but it bounced back into his hands and he ran 14 yards for a touchdown that brought Stanford within 17-14 in the third.
On Washington State's next possession, the Cougars went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield. But Falk's pass was intercepted by Bobby Okereke and returned 52 yards for a touchdown that gave Stanford a 21-17 lead.
Falk led the Cougars 94 yards, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jamire Calvin, for a 24-21 lead with 6:56 left in the game.
Stanford went three-and-out and Washington State chewed up more than three minutes of clock before punting the ball with 35 seconds left in the game. Frankie Luvu's interception ended the Stanford threat.
Stanford 30, #9/8 Washington 22
Nov. 10, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
When Bryce Love aggravated an injury in the first half and had to go to the sideline to get checked out, Stanford coach David Shaw wasn't sure how much he'd be able to get out of his star running back.
Love showed he had plenty left in a signature performance in his campaign for the Heisman Trophy.
Love ran 30 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns against the nation's stingiest defense, leading Stanford to a 30-22 victory over No. 9 Washington.
Love had not had a full practice in about a month for Stanford. His missed one game with the injury and was held to 69 yards in a loss at Washington State.
But he gutted it out against a Huskies defense that came into the game ranked first in the nation in yards allowed and second in scoring defense.
While he failed to extend his streak of games with a run of at least 50 yards to 11 games, he helped Stanford control the clock and delivered a couple of big runs late. Quarterback K.J. Costello said he had to ask Love if he was alright a few times in the first half.
The Huskies started fast with touchdown runs by Myles Gaskin on the first two drives but stalled after that in a crippling blow to their hopes of getting back to the four-team playoff.
The Huskies used an up-tempo offense to drive 88 and 89 yards for touchdowns on their first two drives before getting stopped on a fourth-and-1 from the Stanford 19 on the third possession. Washington had only two first downs on the next five drives as the Cardinal adjusted and took control of the game. Gaskin, who ran for 120 yards, added his third touchdown with 4:22 left to tie Bishop Sankey's school record with 37 career touchdown runs.
Costello delivered a pair of 39-yard passes to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the first half for the two longest offensive plays of the season against the Huskies. Those set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Love and one of Jet Toner's three field goals. Costello converted six third downs through the air on the night and threw for a career-high 211 yards.
Shaw joined some illustrious company by winning his 71st game in seven seasons at Stanford. He tied Glenn "Pop" Warner's school record set for wins sent from 1924-32.
#20/23 Stanford 17, Cal 14
Nov. 18, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Bryce Love rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown despite missing most of the fourth quarter after aggravating an injury, and No. 20 Stanford held off California 17-14 to keep its Pac-12 title hopes alive.
K.J. Costello completed 17 of 26 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, Ben Edwards made a key interception in the fourth quarter and Cameron Scarlett rushed for 49 yards on the final drive in place of Love to help the Cardinal milk the clock and win its eighth straight Big Game.
The nation's leading rusher going into the game, Love sat out the final 11:43 after. He did stay on the field long enough to score a 57-yard touchdown -- his FBS-record 11th run of 50 yards or longer this season.
Scarlett, Love's primary backup all season, also came up big for Stanford. Scarlett rushed for 61 yards, the majority coming on the Cardinal's last drive that took the final 7:25. Scarlett's 2-yard gain on 4th-and-1 kept the drive going.
Patrick Laird ran for 153 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries while Ross Bowers passed for 182 yards and a touchdown for California. The Golden Bears need a win in their final game to become bowl eligible in coach Justin Wilcox's first season.
It wasn't the best game for Shaw's team but the Cardinal gritted it out and held off a pesky Cal team that had plenty to play for.
#20/20 Stanford 38, #9/9 Notre Dame 20
Nov. 18, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
K.J. Costello threw two of his career-high four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and No. 20 Stanford rallied for a 38-20 victory over No. 9 Notre Dame.
The night couldn't have gone much better for the Cardinal, who got the help they needed when Washington beat Washington State 41-14 in the Apple Cup to send Stanford to the Pac-12 title game. The Cardinal finished tied for first in the North with the Huskies but won the head-to-head matchup to take the tiebreaker.
It didn't seem like that opportunity would come after Stanford lost back-to-back games to Southern California and San Diego State in September to fall to 1-2. But the Cardinal won eight of nine since then with a boost from the change at quarterback to Costello and now get a rematch against USC in the conference championship game.
The one constant was Bryce Love, who capped a memorable regular season by running for 125 yards on a gimpy ankle.
But Costello was the star of the offense for a change by throwing for 176 yards and delivering the four scores. Stanford has won seven of nine in the series, including the last five at home against the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame had a meltdown in the fourth quarter with two turnovers in the opening minutes and was dealt a serious blow in its hopes for making a New Year's Six bowl game.
The game took a dramatic turn in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as Stanford turned a 20-17 deficit into a 38-20 lead in a span of 3:36 early in the fourth.
It started when Costello found Kaden Smith down the middle for a 19-yard score on third down that gave Stanford the lead for good. Brandon Wimbush then was intercepted by Curtis Robinson on the first play of the ensuing drive.
The Cardinal needed just three plays to turn that into another touchdown when Costello found Dalton Schultz in the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard score.
C.J. Sanders then fumbled the kickoff for Notre Dame and Cameron Scarlett put the game away with 3-yard run.
#11/9 USC 31, #14/15 Stanford 28
Dec. 1, 2017 • Santa Clara, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
With the Pac-12 championship hanging in the balance, Southern California delivered a goal-line stand followed by a 99-yard drive that gave the Trojans their first conference title in nine years.
Sam Darnold's 54-yard pass to Michael Pittman Jr. keyed the long drive after Uchenna Nwosu preserved the lead with the defensive stop that led No. 11 USC to a 31-28 victory over No. 14 Stanford.
Love ran for 125 yards and had his FBS-record 12th run of at least 50 yards that set up K.J. Costello's 11-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Smith that cut USC's lead to 24-21 late in the third quarter. Costello added a 28-yard touchdown pass to Smith with 2:09 remaining. Costello finished 10 for 22 for 192 yards.
The Trojans led 24-21 when the Cardinal drove down the field in position to tie the game or take the lead.
But facing a third down from the 2, Stanford kept star back Bryce Love on the sideline with his injured ankle to rely on short-yardage back Cameron Scarlett instead. Scarlett ran on successive plays, gaining one yard on third down and then being stopped just short of the end zone on fourth.
Shaw figured at worst, Stanford would come out of that situation with a defensive stop and good field position on the ensuing drive but those hopes ended when Darnold delivered the offensive play of the game.
After Ronald Jones gained one yard on first down, Darnold dropped back to pass and quickly was under pressure. He stepped up and appeared ready to run before launching a pass to Pittman to get USC out of trouble.
Jones finished that drive with an 8-yard run that made it 31-21 to cap a productive night where he ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns to give USC its first Pac-12 title since 2008.
Darnold was 17 for 24 for 325 yards with touchdown passes to Pittman and Tyler Vaughns to lead the way for USC.
#13/13 TCU 39, #15/16 Stanford 37
Dec. 28, 2017 • San Antonio, Texas
Box Score • Recap • Photos
TCU rallied from 21-3 down to beat 15 Stanford, 39-37, behind Kenny Hill, who passed for two touchdowns, ran for another, and even caught one. Cole Bunce kicked the winning 33-yard field goal with just over three minutes left after Stanford had retaken the lead.
Bryce Love rushed for 145 yards for Stanford, including a 69-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. K.J. Costello threw three touchdown passes to JJ Arcega-Whiteside, the last one giving Stanford a 37-36 lead.
Love finished with the season with 2,118 yards rushing, setting a Stanford single-season record.
Hill scored the Horned Frogs' first touchdown on a 6-yard scramble. His 27-yard touchdown catch on a throw from receiver Desmon White capped TCU's first drive of the second half.
Hill added a 93-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Reagor in the fourth quarter.
Hill completed three passes on TCU's winning drive. The Horned Frogs sealed the victory with an interception by Innis Gaines with 2:01 left.
After pinning TCU deep, Hill found Reagor for the long touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. White, who earlier had a costly fumble, then gave TCU its first lead with a punt return touchdown.