Top 10 Party in the Backfield Plays of David Shaw EraTop 10 Party in the Backfield Plays of David Shaw Era
Football

Top 10 Party in the Backfield Plays of David Shaw Era

October 29, 2011 at No. 20 USC
Terrence Stephens Forced Fumble & A.J. Tarpley Recovery in Third OTAfter a Stepfan Taylor touchdown handed the Cardinal a lead in the third overtime, the fourth-ranked Cardinal defense clinched a 56-48 victory at No. 20 USC when Terrence Stephens forced a fumble on the 1-yard line that rolled into the end zone where A.J. Tarpley recovered.
 

September 15, 2012 vs. No. 2 USC
David Parry & Trent Murphy Strip SackThe Cardinal defense forced a pair of fumbles in the second quarter, with the first coming as David Parry and Trent Murphy sacked Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley for a 13-yard loss. All told, Stanford collected nine tackles for loss, including four sacks, and limited USC to just 280 yards of offense (26 on the ground) in the victory.

A.J. Tarpley Forced Fumble Recovered by Josh MauroA.J. Tarpley forced the second Trojan fumble of the second quarter when he hit Silas Redd in the backfield, jarring the ball loose where it was recovered by Josh Mauro.

Chase Thomas Game-Sealing SackWith USC trying to put together a late drive and erase a seven-point deficit, Chase Thomas got to Barkley on third-and-33 for a 6-yard sack to effectively seal the 21-14 victory over No. 2 USC.
 

October 27, 2012 vs. Washington State
Henry Anderson Sack on Final Play of the GameStanford's defense limited Washington State to minus-16 yards rushing and recorded a program-best 10 sacks on pass rush, the final on second-and-goal from the Stanford 19-yard line as Henry Anderson went belly to belly to wrestle down Jeff Tuel on the final play of a 24-17 victory over the Cougars.
 

2013 Pac-12 Championship at No. 11 Arizona State
Shayne Skov Over the Top on Third-and-GoalAs the clock wound down in the third quarter, Arizona State drove 74 yards to the Stanford 1-yard line, but could not breach the goal as Shayne Skov timed the third-down snap count perfectly to leap over the pile and corral quarterback Michael Eubank.

Zach Hoffpauir Stop on Fourth-and-GoalOne play after Skov's third-down stop, Zach Hoffpauir hit De'Marieya Nelson in the backfield to complete the goal-line stand and maintain the 31-14 Stanford lead.  

2013 Rose Bowl Game (Wisconsin)
Ben Gardner Goal Line StandWith Stanford leading 14-0 in the second quarter, Wisconsin strung together a 13-play drive spanning 74 yards only to come up short when Ben Gardner stuffed James White on fourth down at the goal line to preserve the two-touchdown lead.

David Parry Third-and-1 StopHolding a three-point advantage with 12:42 left in regulation, Stanford's defense held strong with a three-and-out, anchored by David Parry's third-and-1 stop of Montee Ball to force the punt and set up Stanford's ensuing scoring drive.
 

November 28, 2015 vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
Brennan Scarlett Forced FumbleBrennan Scarlett ensured Stanford held a 21-20 halftime lead over No. 4 Notre Dame after hitting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer and forcing a fumble that was recovered by Solomon Thomas at the Cardinal 23-yard line with nine seconds remaining in the half.
 

2015 Pac-12 Championship vs. No. 20 USC
Blake Martinez & Solomon Thomas Sack, Forced Fumble and Scoop-and-ScoreWith Stanford holding a 20-16 lead and the clock winding down late in the third quarter, Mike Tyler dropped Ronald Jones for a 1-yard loss, Solomon Thomas hurried quarterback Cody Kessler into an incompletion, and Blake Martinez stripped the ball from Kessler with a blindside hit as Thomas returned it 34 yards for a scoop-and-score touchdown on consecutive plays to extend the advantage to 27-16.
 

2016 Rose Bowl Game (Iowa)
Blake Martinez, Aziz Shittu & Peter Kalambayi QB Hit on Fourth-and-12Stanford put the finishing touches on a dominant first half of play in the 2016 Rose Bowl Game when Blake Martinez, Aziz Shittu and Peter Kalambayi converged on Hawkeye quarterback C.J. Bethard for a 6-yard sack on fourth-and-12 to stall the Iowa drive at the Stanford 37-yard line.
 

2016 Sun Bowl (North Carolina)
Solomon Thomas Game-Ending SackWith North Carolina going for two in an attempt to push the Sun Bowl to overtime, Solomon Thomas preserved the 25-23 Stanford victory by sacking Tar Heel quarterback Mitch Trubisky with 25 seconds left in regulation. Thomas finished with seven tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, and was named the game's most valuable player.
 

September 22, 2018 at No. 20 Oregon
Joey Alfieri Scoop-and-ScoreThe seventh-ranked Cardinal rallied from a 24-7 deficit at halftime, ignited by Joey Alfieri's 80-yard fumble recovery scoop-and-score in the third quarter, to complete a 38-31 comeback victory in overtime at No. 20 Oregon.
 

Honorable MentionTrent Murphy QB Hit & Jordan Richards Pick-Six – September 28, 2013 at Washington State
After punter Ben Rhyne pinned Washington State inside its own 10-yard line, Trent Murphy blasted quarterback Connor Halliday as he threw on second-and-7, and the ball floated into the hands of safety Jordan Richards for the pick-six.

Harrison Phillips Fourth-Down Sack – September 24, 2016 at UCLA
With Stanford trailing 10-6 late in the third quarter, UCLA mounted a drive and reached the Cardinal 33, where it faced fourth-and-4. The Bruins went for it, but Josh Rosen was sacked by Harrison Phillips, turning the tides in favor of Stanford as the Cardinal outscored the Bruins 19-3 the rest of the way to earn the 22-13 victory.

Joey Alfieri & Solomon Thomas Sack, Forced Fumble and Scoop-and-Score to End Game – September 24, 2016 at UCLA
Trailing 16-13 with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, UCLA began a drive that eventually reached midfield with four seconds left on the clock. Thwarting the last-ditch effort from the Bruins, Joey Alfieri sacked quarterback Josh Rosen and forced a fumble that Solomon Thomas returned 42 yards for the scoop-and-score.

Sean Barton Back-to-Back Tackles for Loss – November 19, 2016 at California
Sean Barton was the catalyst in shutting down a third-quarter drive from California, exploding into the backfield to stop Bug Rivera and Tre Watson for losses on back-to-back plays in the 119th Big Game.

Bobby Okereke Fourth-Quarter Sack on Third-and-12 – October 26, 2019
With Stanford leading 30-22 and less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Bobby Okereke sacked Washington quarterback Jake Browning for a 9-yard loss to force a fourth-and-21 and all but ensure Stanford's victory over the ninth-ranked Huskies.