Sundays With SoltauSundays With Soltau
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Football

Sundays With Soltau

PASADENA, Calif. – Winning the California "championship" is significant to head coach David Shaw and the Stanford football program. It means defeating Cal, USC and UCLA in the same season, earning bragging rights and sometimes a recruiting edge.
 
This Saturday, the Cardinal can accomplish it for the third time in four years by beating the Bears in the 121st Big Game in Berkeley. Stanford knocked off USC in the second game of the season, then held off UCLA on Saturday, 49-42.
 
The Cardinal most recently swept all three in 2015 and 2016.

Stanford (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) had to dig deep to secure its 11th consecutive victory against the upset-minded Bruins (3-9, 3-6). The teams combined for 91 points and 998 yards in the fan-friendly contest at the Rose Bowl.
 
The Stanford defense sealed the come-from-behind win on a fourth-down stop with 30 seconds remaining at its 43-yard line.
 
"They gave us all we could handle," said senior inside linebacker Sean Barton. "It was a lot of heart; we stood up when it mattered most."
 
Senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin, who caught one of five touchdown passes thrown by junior quarterback K.J. Costello, summed it up nicely.
 
"It was a roller-coaster game," he said.
 
Stepping up: The defense began the game short-handed and had several players go down with injuries. Others stepped up, including freshman cornerback Kendall Williamson, whose seven tackles tied for the team-high with Barton and fifth-year senior inside linebacker Bobby Okereke. Coming into the contest, Williamson had two stops on the season.
 
"You saw guys going down left and right," said Costello. "The next guy has to step up."
 
The unit collected 10 tackles for loss and sacked UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight six times. It also produced an interception and fumble recovery.
 
Stanford is 7-0 this season when forcing a turnover.
 

 
Welcome back: Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside missed the previous game against Oregon State with an injury and got healthier when last week's game against Cal was postponed due to poor air quality from the tragic Camp Fire in Butte County.
 
"I had so much energy going into this game, stored up from the last two weeks," he said. "It was like playing the first game of the year all over again."
 
Arcega-Whiteside caught three scoring passes from Costello and now has 14 on the season, tying him for the single-season school record with James Lofton (1978). Arcega-Whiteside ranks No. 3 in the country in total receiving touchdowns and No. 1 in receiving touchdowns per game.
 
On Saturday, he had seven receptions for 106 yards and drew two pass interference penalties. For the season, Arcega-Whiteside has earned 14 pass interference penalties and two holding calls.
 

Group effort: Arcega-Whiteside wasn't the only Cardinal receiver who came up big. Irwin also grabbed seven passes for 103 yards and a score, while freshman Michael Wilson from Simi Valley, California, caught four for 41 yards – both career-bests -- and sophomore Osiris St. Brown hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter in what proved the game winner, the first of his career.
 
"He (Brown) can be a great weapon for us," Costello said. "Michael did a phenomenal job. I just want to keep pulling those guys along."
 
Brown had added incentive. Last week, his younger brother Amon-Ra, a freshman wide receiver at USC, delivered a 44-yard touchdown catch against UCLA.
 
Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, texted Osiris and said they were going to call the same play.
 
"Yea, coach, let's go get it," Osiris said.
 
The play was set up beautifully after bursts of 12 and 11 yards by senior running back Cameron Scarlett. The Bruin defense bit on a nice play fake by Costello and Brown broke free across the middle of the field.
 

 
Rare air: Costello's five touchdown passes are tied for the second-most in Stanford history. John Elway holds the record, firing six against Oregon State in 1980.
 
Costello's first attempt was intercepted but he regrouped to complete 23-of-37 for 344 yards, surpassing 300 for the fourth straight game and seventh time this season. Steve Stenstrom set the school mark with eight 300-yard passing games in 1993.
 
"It's got to be part of my job description as a leader of this offense and a leader of this team," he said of resiliency. "We settled in as an offense and a lot of guys contributed."
 
Costello, who hails from Coto de Caza, California, said it was a thrill to compete in a college game in southern California, especially at the famed Rose Bowl.
 
"It was an incredible feeling," said Costello
 
He has tossed 15 scoring passes in his last four starts and ranks ninth in the FBS with 28 heading into the Big Game, the second-most in a single season in Stanford history. 

Costello is ninth in the nation in passing yards per game (290.7),13th in passing efficiency (159.1),14th in total passing yards (3,198) and 16th in completion percentage (.668). 
 
"I've learned a lot this year," said Shaw. "Apparently my comfort level doesn't matter. We've been an enigma but one thing that has been consistent are the big plays in our passing game. Hopefully they continue to happen and we'll grow in the running game."
 
The Cardinal recorded nine pass plays of 15 or more yards, with four resulting in touchdowns.

Loving it: Senior running back Bryce Love looked as fresh as he has since the first game against San Diego State. Love churned for 85 yards on 22 carries and bulled his way into the end zone on a 2-yard run, senior guard Nick Wilson clearing the way.
 

 
Doing it all: Irwin caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Costello, returned a punt 22 yards, and pinned UCLA by catching/downing a Jake Bailey punt at the Bruin five-yard line.
 
Irwin has at least one catch in 39 consecutive games, the seventh-longest streak in the country.
 
The scoring play was especially exciting for the Valencia, California, native, who was playing in front of family and friends. It came on third and 10, with Irwin getting behind the UCLA secondary and making a nice grab at the goal line just in front of Arcega-Whiteside, who collided with two defenders.
 
Asked if Irwin was the intended target, Costello said, "Absolutely. That was the first thing I told coach (Shaw)."
 


Clean jersey: Junior Dylan Powell received his second start in a row at right guard for the banged up offensive front, which held UCLA without a sack.
 
"Hats off to the offensive line," said Costello. "Cleanest game I've played all year. They were solid as nails across the board."


 
Toner perfect: Junior place kicker Jet Toner returned after missing two games with an injury. He made both field goal attempts and all six extra point tries.
 
Toner has converted 84-straight PATs in two seasons and is one of three Stanford kickers all-time without a miss. He's now 11-of-12 in field goals this year, and his .917 percentage ranks No. 2 in the nation.


Targeting call: Fifth-year senior cornerback Alijah Holder was ejected for targeting and must sit out the first half against Cal.
 
"It's a call they have to make," Shaw said. "Our player had his head down."
 
Notable numbers: UCLA ran 17 more plays, but Stanford finished with a two-minute time of possession advantage.
 
The Bruins were 3-of-14 on third down but converted 3-of-five on fourth down. The Cardinal was 5-of-12 on third down.
 
The Stanford defense had allowed only one touchdown and no more than seven points in the third quarter coming into the game. UCLA scored 16, but nine points came on a safety and 93-yard return (free kick).
 

 
Big Game: Stanford and Cal (7-4, 4-4) were originally scheduled to play on November 17. However, it seems fitting they meet in the regular-season finale, as has been customary through the years.

The Cardinal has captured the last eight meetings and the noon kickoff will be televised by Pac-12 Network.
 
Both teams will be looking to improve their postseason bowl stock, the Bears coming off a 33-21 win against Colorado on Saturday. 
 
Bowl tickets: Stanford season ticket members have access to the Bowl Game Ticket application and can now request tickets for potential postseason destinations by logging into your online Athletics Ticketing account. For more information, visit gostanford.com/bowlcentral.
 

 
Extra points … Sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo added his second interception of the season and ranks No. 5 in the country in passes defended with 18 and No. 4 with 16 pass breakups ... Fifth-year senior outside linebacker Joey Alfieri returned after a long absence and made three tackles … Scarlett almost broke a kickoff return in the closing minute of the first half, carting it 74 yards to the UCLA 26 to set up a field goal … Junior tight end Kaden Smith and sophomore wide receiver Connor Wedington did not play but could see action against Cal … Senior free safety Frank Buncom collected the first sack of his career … Ralf Reuland served as honorary captain. His late son, Konrad, played tight end at Stanford and in the NFL before passing from a ruptured brain aneurysm in December of 2016 at age 29 … The Stanford Band and Dollies made the trip.
 

 
Quotable
"You pick your poison out there." - K.J. Costello, on why double-teams create opportunities for other players.