STANFORD'S CHALLENGE IS to overcome its worst football loss in 18 years and shift the season's momentum in a Saturday contest at Oregon State.
"The big theme is not letting how we felt on Friday affect our preparation and the energy we're bringing into practice every day," free safety Noah Williams said.
Williams chose to emphasize film study this week, especially to break down the 52-7 loss to Utah.
"Everyone has to have that mindset of looking at what I can control, what I could have done better, and knowing there is work to be done and improvements to be made," he said. "If everyone has this attitude of reflecting on their own struggles, we can stop those from happening in the future.
"It all starts with reflecting on yourself and knowing what your assignment was and what you need to do better and taking those adjustments into the next game."
Playing Utah on Friday was good in one respect. It gave the Stanford players and staff more time to take a close look in all areas and determine a plan of action.
"We need to go back and look at the last few games and really look at who we have and how we can help them," said David Shaw, Stanford's Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "It's one thing to say, Hey, we're going to make all these changes, but it depends on who's available. As we put together the plan with some adjustments and changes, we need to take that into account."
For Oregon State, cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, outside linebacker Stephen Herron, and running back Casey Filkins are out. Wide receivers Elijah Higgins and John Humphreys, running back E.J. Smith, and safety Kendall Williamson are considered questionable.
"Whether or not we have Elijah Higgins and John Humphreys, there are some things we would emphasize if they're there that we won't emphasize if they're not there," Shaw said. "But at the same time, regardless of who's there, there are things we just need to do better.
"That's what we're working on this week, finding a way to get our guys excited about some of the adjustments that allow them to go out there and just play fast and physical, and play with the love and enjoyment that I know they have inside of them.
"Let that show on game day. Play the game with passion and get in that fourth quarter and do whatever it takes to come away with a victory."
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Ari Patu. Photo by Jim Shorin/ISIphotos.com.
TRUE FRESHMAN Ari Patu could become Stanford's fourth starting quarterback this season if Tanner McKee is unavailable Saturday.
McKee was described at "borderline questionable/doubtful," by Shaw, who said Patu will start if McKee is forced to miss his second consecutive game with an injury.
This would be Patu's first start since his junior year at Folsom High, in a 62-21 rout of Del Oro of Loomis on Nov. 1, 2019. Patu had no senior season because Folsom was among the California high schools to move its 2020 season to the spring because of COVID precautions. By then, Patu already was at Stanford as an early enrollee.
In Stanford's spring game, Patu completed two of four passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. He was impressive on two consecutive passes to tight ends that put the offense in the end zone. The first was zipped to Bradley Archer for 19 yards. Patu then executed a misdirection bootleg pass to Benjamin Yurosek for the score from 6 yards.
Patu, 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, made his collegiate debut Friday, entering with 1:43 left in Stanford's biggest loss since a 57-7 rout to Notre Dame in 2003. In his only series, Patu was 1-of-2 passing for minus-3 yards, though the Cardinal gained a first down and netted 37 yards in five plays before the clock ran out.
"He's got a quick release, strong arm, he's athletic and a great leader," Shaw said. "We were excited to get him here. We've always believed that Ari's got a chance to be a pretty special football player and this week may be his opportunity."
McKee has started seven games, and Jack West and Isaiah Sanders one apiece. Sanders is expected to see situational action Saturday as he has all season.
For McKee to start, he would need to be able to go full-speed during practice this week, Shaw said. "If there's any indecision on whether he can or can't, then he won't play."
If Patu does start, "We're going to run our offense," Shaw said. "There's no baby version of this thing. He's very smart. We're not going to put a ton of things on his plate that he's not comfortable with. It's all about what he's comfortable with."
But, as Shaw stressed, it's not all on Patu.
"We've got to be able to protect better than we did last week, make the throws we didn't make last week, make some of the catches we didn't make last week," Shaw said. "If we can, we can create some momentum to get us back in the winning column."
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Captains: Michael Wilson, Jordan Fox, Houston Heimuli, Thomas Booker. Photo by Jim Shorin/ISIphotos.com.
SENIOR receiver Michael Wilson returned to action from injury Friday and made his season debut. Wilson is glad that he has a chance to be a difference-maker as the Cardinal tries to right its season.
"I struggled with that early in the year," he said. "I never want to be a guy that talks too much without having the action to back up what they're saying."
As a captain, he's coming in at a crucial time.
"It's always hard being in a leadership role in a team or an organization when things aren't going the way you want them to," Wilson said. "What do you say to the guys after losing by 45? What is there to say?
"At this point, words can't do much. It just comes down to actions, being a positive role model and showing that we can still do whatever it takes to win. And that's what we're going to do this week. Showing up on Saturday after the game ready to work and letting guys see that. Just because we got blown out, that's not going to change how I prepare for the game. * * *
INJURIES HAVE ALLOWED sophomore receiver Silas Starr to step into the lineup and he is eager to show what he can do. He had two catches for 15 yards in a start against Utah and this season has the first five catches of his collegiate career.
"The thing that comes to mind when I think about Silas is consistency," Wilson said. "His attitude's always the same -- he's going to give you 100 percent on every play. And, anything that's in his vicinity, he's going to come down with.
"He's always looking to do the right thing, just really wants to be good at what he does. It's been exciting to watch him grow over the last few games."
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FOR THE THIRD consecutive season, Stanford will play in Corvallis. Santa Clara County COVID-19 restrictions forced last year's game to be moved from Stanford Stadium.
In Stanford's 27-24 victory in 2020, Davis Mills passed for 292 yards and a touchdown, and ran for two scores. Austin Jones rushed for 126 yards.
Jet Toner's 39-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining broke a 24-24 tie. Oregon State was in position to tie or win on its final possession, but Stanford's Gabe Reid forced a fumble and Curtis Robinson recovered at the Cardinal's 16-yard line with 23 seconds left to seal the win.
Stanford owns an 11-game winning streak over Oregon State, the Cardinal's longest current winning streak over any opponent.
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Nathaniel Peat. Photo by Erin Chang/ISIphotos.com.
PUTTING THE UTAH loss behind them is key toward turning the corner, especially after the Cardinal suffered its fourth consecutive loss since an overtime victory over No. 3 Oregon on Oct. 2.
"We've had tough stretches before," Shaw said. "I'm not going to say this is anything other than it is, which is it's a tough stretch -- a tough four weeks in a row. What I know, being around this game my entire life, is sometimes you've got to put your foot in the sand and try to stop the momentum and get it going back the positive way.
"The only way I know how to do that is lean on the people we have here, not pointing fingers. We've got a hell of a football team that has not played well. That's our job, to get these guys to play well and put them in a position so they can be successful.
"I truly believe, when this team builds some momentum and can really get back to the way we were playing early in the year, we can have some fun these last three weeks of the regular season."
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OREGON STATE (5-4) has beaten two teams that Stanford lost to, Washington and Utah, but has lost two straight, to Cal and Colorado.
"They run the ball up and down on people and they make big plays in the passing game," Shaw said. "They've had some dominating defensive performances, then they've had some that are not.
"It's one of those things where we'll see which Stanford team shows up and see which Oregon State team shows up. One thing I can tell you, because it seems to be exactly what happens every single time we play Oregon State, it's probably going to be a one-score game in the fourth quarter."
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NOAH WILLIAMS, the safety who is now a graduate student in management science and engineering, earned his bachelor's degree in product design last spring. For his capstone project, Williams and his team developed a social platform that allowed young adults with cancer to connect with each other to share resources and establish a community.
A classmate who overcame lymphoma to return to school and was part of Williams' group was the inspiration for the project.
"I knew from my capstone project that I wanted to do something that moved me personally, and that I was going to be passionate and invested in," he said. "We developed a prototype app and we actually shared our findings with a couple of cancer organizations.
"My team member served in a consultant-type role and actually advised them on a project that was similar to what we'd already done. We shared our findings so they could actually implement their product into what they already offer. That was pretty cool to see."
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WIN OR LOSE, Michael Wilson has grown to appreciate being on the field.
"It's just a privilege to be able to play the game of football," he said. "Walking off the field for the first time in 11 months, being healthy, I had to look at the game half-full. Being proud of the journey I went on and being able to conquer the injury and come out on the other side … That felt really good."