In recognizing the 125th season of Stanford football and the 150th year of college football, GoStanford.com is celebrating and highlighting Stanford's football history with a season-long series by decade.
Stanford 125: The 2010s
Games of the Decade:
Jan. 3, 2011 (Orange Bowl): Stanford 40, Virginia Tech 12
This game wasn't as notable for the contest itself as for the era that it launched. Stanford football introduced itself to the world as a member of the college football elite.
Stanford's Orange Bowl victory began a run of five elite bowls in six seasons. The Cardinal would finished ranked among the top-10 four times during that span, including a best of No. 3 in 2015.
The 2010s not only established a golden age of Stanford football, but ignited fierce rivalries with Oregon, USC, and Notre Dame – with each game vital and close, and where the unexpected often happened.
Stanford had only one 10-win season in 70 years before the 2010 team led by junior quarterback Andrew Luck on offense and cornerback Richard Sherman and linebacker Shayne Skov on defense went 12-1 and finished No. 4.
Luck threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns and was 9 of 10 in the second half for 201. Stanford led 13-12 at the half before outscoring the Hokies 27-0 in the second half, thanks largely to TD passes of 41, 58, and 38 to tight end Coby Fleener.
Stanford football was on the map.
Richard Sherman and Andrew Luck. Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com.
Oct. 29, 2011: Stanford 56, USC 48 (3OT)
Green Right Slot Spider 3 Y Banana. Yikes!
Andrew Luck, as illuminated in a meeting on Gruden's QB Camp on ESPN, didn't follow a Stanford bread-and-butter play call of throwing to a wide open fullback during a tie game against USC. Instead, he threw a backside pass that was returned 33 yards for a touchdown with 3:08 left.
A soldout L.A. Memorial Coliseum crowd sensed victory, and the stadium announcer warned fans against rushing the field after the final gun. Turns out, that gun was still about an hour away and wasn't necessary.
Instead, Luck engineered a 76-yard drive capped by Stepfan Taylor's touchdown with 38 seconds left to tie the game. Both teams scored in the first two overtimes, compounding the tension.
After Taylor's run in the third OT, Coby Fleener caught the 2-point conversion pass, and Stanford's defense did the rest. Jarek Lancaster forced a USC fumble that was recovered by A.J. Tarpley in the end zone to seal a 56-48 three-overtime thriller.
Tyler Gaffney scores in the triple-overtime victory over USC. Photo by Rob Erickson.
Nov. 17, 2012: Stanford 17, Oregon 14 (OT)
The 2011 season ended with kicker Jordan Williamson inconsolable in the locker room after missing two key field-goal tries in an overtime Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State – one that would have won in regulation and another that would have given the Cardinal the lead in overtime.
Williamson never shied away from that performance. For the next year, he wore a Fiesta Bowl hat to remind him and motivate him in the future.
At Oregon's Autzen Stadium, Williamson redeemed himself, kicking a 37-yard field goal in overtime to beat the No. 1 Ducks, 17-14, and propel Stanford to its first Rose Bowl in 13 years.
Down 14-7, Stanford went for it on fourth-and-1 on the Oregon 12 with 2:17 left in regulation and Ryan Hewitt ran for the first down to keep a pivotal drive alive. It ended when quarterback Kevin Hogan hit Zach Ertz with a 10-yard scoring pass to tie it at 14 with 1:35 to go.
Ertz fought to gain control of the ball with a defender as he fell to the turf on top of a Ducks player in the back of the end zone. The play was initially ruled incomplete, but a video review overturned it for the score.
Earlier in the game, Oregon QB Marcus Mariota ran 77 yards down the right side, only for backup defensive back Devon Carrington to make what turned out to be a game-saving tackle at the Cardinal 15. The Ducks came up empty when Stanford stopped the Ducks on fourth-and-2 on the Cardinal 7. That stop would be crucial.
Jordan Williamson vs. Oregon in 2012. Photo by ISIphotos.com.
Jan. 1, 2016 (Rose Bowl): Stanford 45, Iowa 16
The Stanford community was stunned when it felt Christian McCaffrey was snubbed in the Heisman Trophy voting, even though he broke Barry Sanders's NCAA season record for all-purpose yards (gaining 3,864 in 14 games) and became the first Stanford player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
McCaffrey took out his frustration on Iowa in the Rose Bowl.
On the game's first play from scrimmage, McCaffrey came out of the backfield to catch a short pass down the middle from Kevin Hogan and outsprinted the defense for a 75-yard touchdown. That sparked a scoring flurry from Stanford, which took a 35-0 halftime lead over the No. 6 Hawkeyes.
McCaffrey became the first player to rush for over 100 yards (172) and earn over 100 yards receiving (109) in a Rose Bowl game. He also set a Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards, and that didn't include a 72-yard touchdown run that was called back because of a downfield holding penalty.
This represented the apex of what Stanford football was all about -- a dominant performance in a Rose Bowl game.
Kevin Hogan scores in the Rose Bowl. Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com.
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Notable Coaches:
David Shaw (2011-present)
At the press conference announcing his hiring as Stanford's 34th head football coach, David Shaw expressed his desire to lead the program for a long time, following the example of women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, who built and maintained an elite program while making a home at Stanford.
Shaw, the first alum head coach since Paul Wiggin in the early 1980s, had deep roots inside the program. His father, Willie Shaw, was a Stanford assistant coach for two stints, beginning in 1974. And David Shaw himself was a receiver under Bill Walsh and Dennis Green.
Shaw combined a coaching acumen honed in the NFL and three seasons as Stanford's offensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh, with insight into the Stanford student-athlete.
Shaw is the most successful coach in Stanford football history by almost any measure, including longest tenure (9, tied with Pop Warner), most victories (86), most 10-win seasons (5), and most Rose Bowl victories (2, tied with John Ralston).
David Shaw, Stanford's Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com.
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Prominent Players:
Andrew Luck (2009-11)
Of all the great players, a handful, if that, truly epitomize the essence of Stanford football and of the university itself. One such rare player is Andrew Luck.
The son of an NFL quarterback, Luck combined enormous passing skills, great athleticism, and intellect to define the QB position at Stanford. Beyond his talent and success – Luck oversaw Stanford's transformation into a great program, presiding over an Orange Bowl victory and leading the program to a combined 23-3 record in his final two seasons.
Stanford's offense hummed under Luck like it rarely had before. Luck, a three-year starter, finished his collegiate career No. 2 in school history in career passing yards (9,430), No. 1 in career completion percentage (.670), and No. 1 in career passing efficiency (.162.8).
Of greater importance to the Stanford community was his loyalty. Luck chose to stay for his senior season and earn his engineering degree in architectural design. He was rewarded for his patience by becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, by the Indianapolis Colts.
Andrew Luck. Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com.
Christian McCaffrey (2014-16)
Ernie Nevers, Jim Plunkett, John Elway, Andrew Luck … great players all, and Christian McCaffrey certainly ranks among them as icons of Stanford football. But, who has had the greatest season in Stanford history? Hands down, McCaffrey in 2015.
McCaffrey could do the unthinkable and was so unpredictable that you couldn't take your eyes off him. A fast and shifty runner who could break tackles, McCaffrey was a superb pass-catcher, an excellent pass protector, and gifted returner.
In 2015, he crushed Barry Sanders's NCAA record of 3,250 all-purpose yards, finishing with 3,864. McCaffrey ranked second in the nation with 2,019 rushing yards, becoming the first Stanford player to gain 2,000 in a season on the ground. He set many other Stanford records that year, including rushing yards in a single game (243) and all-purpose yards in a game (461).
"You can say he had the best year in the history of college football," Stanford head coach David Shaw said.
Stanford beat USC, 41-12, in the Pac-12 championship game to win its third conference title in three years and McCaffrey was at his best. He gained 461 all-purpose yards -- the fifth-highest single-game total in FBS history. The sophomore rushed for 207 yards on 32 carries, caught four passes for 105 yards, returned five kickoffs for 120 yards, and returned two punts for 29 yards. He scored touchdowns rushing and receiving, and passing.
McCaffrey was a consensus All-American and was the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, Pac-12 Player of the Year, and Paul Hornung Award winner as the most versatile player in the nation.
Christian McCaffrey. Photo by Al Chang/Stanford Athletics.
Bryce Love (2015-18)
Bryce Love was the most explosive player in Stanford history.
A gifted sprinter, Love set the Stanford season rushing record with 2,118 yards in 2017. Many of those yards came after Love suffered a mid-season ankle injury that hampered him the rest of the season. His 8.1 yards per carry was the most in FBS history for a player with 215 carries. Love had 1,000 yards through the fifth game of the season, and piled up a school-record 301 against Arizona State.
Every carry was an invitation to the spectacular. Love often broke through the line with so much speed, defenders barely could react, and if they got a bead on him in the open field, their angle evaporated quickly.
Love totaled 13 50-yard runs in 2017, a number that only one entire FBS team could match. He recorded a 50-yard rush in 11 of the 13 games. In 20 years through that year, no other FBS player has had more than eight such games in a season.
Love won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back and was a unanimous first-team All American. The Pac-12 named Love its Offensive Player of the Year.
Bryce Love. Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com.
David DeCastro (2009-11)
Stanford's power running game was so good the Cardinal simply dared opponents to stop it. A string of great Stanford backs emerged from 2009 through the 2010s – Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor (Stanford's all-time career rushing leader), Tyler Gaffney, Christian McCaffrey, Bryce Love – and excelled in large part because of the standout line.
The offensive lines included 2015 Outland Trophy winner Joshua Garnett, a guard who had more than 100 pancake blocks and helped the Cardinal lead the nation in time of possession.
Offensive tackle Andrus Peat was a first-team All-American and 2015 first-round NFL draft pick. Chase Beeler (2010), Jonathan Martin (2011) and David Yankey (2012, 2013) were first-team All-Americans. But the best was David DeCastro, the son of South African immigrants.
A guard drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012, DeCastro is a two-time first-team All-Pro and has four Pro Bowl appearances.
In 2011, DeCastro's blocking-consistency grade (96.88) was the highest by any lineman since the Pac-10 began keeping that stat in 1987. He started all 39 games in which he played at Stanford, and allowed only one sack. And, as DeCastro said to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2012, he hadn't forgotten the moment, which came in his first season as a starter.
"To Brian Price of UCLA," DeCastro said to Dulac. "There were probably a couple more where Luck kind of saved me. But there is one in the books."
Stanford's highest scoring season was in 2011, in total points (561) and points per game (43.2). The most yards Stanford gained in a season (6,361) also was in 2011. DeCastro was a senior.
David DeCastro. Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com.
Zach Ertz (2010-12)
In 2009, Stanford had six tight ends who would play in the NFL – Jim Dray, Coby Fleener, Ryan Hewitt, Konrad Reuland, Levine Toilolo, and Zach Ertz.
The concept of Tight End U. has been a fixture at Stanford ever since. In the era of spread offenses, many college teams don't even have a tight end and few use the position as a weapon the way Stanford does in its pro-style offense.
Ertz and Fleener were first-team All-Americans, with Ertz going on to have one of the most productive NFL careers for the position in history. His 116 catches last year were an NFL record for the position, and only Kellen Winslow reached 500 catches in a career faster than Ertz has in 102 games.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Ertz made the go-ahead catch in the 2018 Super Bowl, diving in for an 11-yard score with just over two minutes left in Philadelphia's 41-33 victory over New England.
Zach Ertz. Photo by Grant Shorin/Stanford Athletics.
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Best Teams:
2015 (12-2)
There was reason to celebrate the creation of the four-team College Football Playoff in 2015 after the demise of the Bowl Championship Series, a format few supported.
The timing was perfect, because Stanford, despite an opening-game loss to Northwestern, created a path to the Playoff as the season evolved. That path was cut off with a 38-36 loss to visiting Oregon in the 10th game of the season when Stanford was unable to complete a two-point conversion pass with 10 seconds left.
Stanford would go on to edge Notre Dame, 38-36, and Christian McCaffrey ran over USC in a 41-22 Pac-12 championship game victory. By the time Stanford bolted to a 35-0 halftime lead in a 45-16 demolition of No. 6 Iowa in the Rose Bowl, it seemed clear that Stanford could compete toe to toe with any team in the nation by season's end.
The Cardinal, which rushed for more yards (3,132) than any other team in school history, finished with a No. 3 A.P. ranking, its' highest since 1940 (No. 2) and second-highest in program history.
Christian McCaffrey scores in the Rose Bowl. Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com.
2010 (12-1)
Four years removed from a 1-11 record, Stanford stood tall with a 12-1 season, setting a school record for victories.
It wasn't expected. Toby Gerhart, after nearly winning the Heisman Trophy in 2009, was gone, and there were questions about whether the team could build on an 8-5 season without him. But Stanford had quarterback Andrew Luck, a strong offensive line, a glut of talented tight ends, a worthy successor to Gerhart in Stepfan Taylor, and an emerging star in senior receiver Doug Baldwin. And that was just the offense.
Against USC at Stanford Stadium, Stanford trailed when it took possession with 1:02 left at its own 15-yard line. Luck engineered a flawless drive to set up a 30-yard field goal by Nate Whitaker as time expired for a 37-35 victory.
The Orange Bowl was Stanford's coming-out-party. Luck was nearly flawless and the Cardinal defense shut out Virginia Tech in the second half of a 40-12 victory.
2011 (11-2)
Andrew Luck's collegiate career ended with a 41-38 overtime loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. That result takes away from the fact that the 2011 team this might have been the best in school history, at least in the two-platoon era.
Stanford was 9-0, ranked No. 3 and riding a national-best 17-game winning streak when Oregon knocked the Cardinal out of Rose Bowl and BCS contention, and damaged Luck's Heisman Trophy chances, with a 53-30 victory.
Stanford rebounded and was ranked No. 4 when it faced No. 3 Oklahoma State. Stanford had chances to win, only to fall short in a narrow and painful loss. Stanford finished with a No. 7 ranking, but deserved higher. This was the only season in program history where Stanford was ranked in the Top 10 every week from beginning to end.
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Key Moments:
Iron Man Marecic (Sept. 25, 2010)
Owen Marecic was a two-way starter over the final nine games of the 2010 season, at fullback and linebacker. He logged an average of 110 plays a game – equivalent to nearly two full seasons – and earned all-conference recognition in each.
In a 37-14 victory at Notre Dame, Marecic scored touchdowns on both sides of the ball on back-to-back plays. After scoring on a one-yard run, he intercepted a pass on the next play from scrimmage and returned it 20 yards for a score. Two touchdowns in 13 seconds. One on offense. One on defense.
Teammates celebrate Owen Marecic's interception return for a TD. Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com.
Long Time Coming (Jan. 1, 2013)
Stanford hadn't won a Rose Bowl in 41 years when Stanford took the field against Wisconsin. The game was hard-fought and a defensive struggle, and Stanford held a 20-14 lead with just over two minutes left and Wisconsin at midfield making its final push.
Stanford nickelback Usua Amanam lined up across from the slot receiver on second-and-6, and dropped into zone coverage. The tight end stuck his route and turned to look for the ball. But Amanam stepped in front and made the interception to cement the victory.
For longtime Stanford fans, the Rose Bowl is considered the ultimate goal. Finally, after the back-to-back victories in 1971 and 1972 with Jim Plunkett and Don Bunce under center, Stanford finally was able to reach that pinnacle again.
Kevin Hogan took over as quarterback that season as a redshirt freshman and would become a fixture at the position for four seasons, leading Stanford to three Rose Bowls, including two victories in Pasadena. He remains the winningest quarterback in school history with a 36-10 record.
David Shaw after beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Photo by David Bernal/ISIphtoto.com.
"Ukulele!" (Nov. 28, 2015)
Victory seemed remote to all but those in cardinal and white after Notre Dame took a 36-35 lead with 30 seconds left at Stanford Stadium. Stanford was down to 25 seconds after Christian McCaffrey's kickoff return gave the Cardinal possession at its own 27.
A Notre Dame facemask penalty on a short gain by quarterback Kevin Hogan proved crucial in stopping the clock and allowing the Cardinal to move into field-goal position if it could make a single play, and that's what happened.
Hogan found Devon Cajuste down the middle of the field for 27 yards to the Notre Dame 30 with 10 seconds left, prompting network broadcaster Gus Johnson to scream "ukulele!" in reference to Cajuste's interest in the instrument.
A handoff to McCaffrey for two yards to set up Conrad Ukropina's 45-yard field goal with no time left to give Stanford a 38-36 victory in a wild game that featured eight lead changes, including six in the second half.
The Sack (Dec. 30, 2016)
Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas polished off a sterling individual performance and preserved the victory. Thomas sacked North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky on a two-point conversion attempt with 25 seconds left, allowing Stanford to capture the Sun Bowl, 25-23.
Thomas finished with seven tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, and was named the game's most valuable player as Stanford reached 10 victories for the sixth time in seven years and closed the season on a six-game winning streak.
Solomon Thomas in the Sun Bowl. Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com.
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Devon Cajuste vs. Oregon in 2015. Photo by Jim Shorin/Stanford Athletics.
Lead photo of Stepfan Taylor vs. Oregon State in 2012 by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com.
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Previous Stanford 125 stories:
1890s
1900s and 1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s