Looking to bounce back
SAN DIEGO — For the first time since its last losing season, 2008, Stanford is 1-2. It is badly in need of some answers, especially on offense.
The Cardinal entered the game as the No. 19 team in the nation but were soon to join the ranks of the unranked after losing to rugged San Diego State 20-17 Saturday night on a last-minute touchdown.
The Aztecs, now ranked No. 22, are mainly a running team, but unheralded quarterback Christian Chapman’s throw to tight end David Wells for an 8-yard score with 54 seconds left decided the game.
“We’re taught to deal with adversity,” Stanford linebacker Casey Toohill said. “That’s our training, from everything we do in the offseason.”
Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. One of the interceptions was by cornerback Kameron Kelly on Stanford’s final play. Chryst tried to hit J.J. Arcega-Whiteside deep, but left it a little short. Moments late, Aztecs fans swarmed the field in celebration.
Chryst, who was not available for comment afterward, completed just 8 of 19 pass for 56 yards.
“Keller up to this point has been playing very well,” head coach David Shaw said. “He did not have his best game today. We need him to play better, and we need a lot of guys to play better for us to be the team we want to be.”
Shaw said he needed to perform better as well. “I didn’t prepare the team well enough.” San Diego State “is a really good football team. I hope we didn’t take them lightly.”
The game shaped up as a duel between two of the top tailbacks in the country, Stanford’s Bryce Love and San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny, the nation’s leading rusher. Both delivered against defenses geared to stop them.
Love had 184 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He had TD runs of 51 and 53 yards and set up a field goal with a 47-yard run. That last play was a sore point with Love because of an ankle tackle by Kelly in the open field.
“I got tripped up,” Love said. “I’ve got to pick my feet up on a play like that. I’ve got to finish in the end zone.”
San Diego State head coach Rocky Long said of Kelly’s tackle: “That might have been the biggest difference in the game.”
Penny rushed an exhausting 31 times for 175 yards for the Aztecs, who beat Arizona State the previous Saturday. It’s the first time they have beaten two power-conference teams in a season in 36 years.
“He’s one of the best backs in the country,” cornerback Quenton Meeks said. “You’ve got to take your hats off to him, but we let him loose too many times, not doing our jobs.”
The final drive by San Diego State seemed to last forever, thanks to a 20minute power outage at San Diego Stadium. Shaw thought the outage could have stopped the Aztecs’ momentum. They had just gotten a first down at the Stanford 43 when the outage hit with 3:58 left.
Instead, Mikah Holder — the brother of Stanford cornerback Alijah — caught a key third-down pass for a first down. And Chapman, who had been sacked six times and pounded like a piñata most of the night, found Wells for the winner. Chapman completed 21 of 29 for 187 yards.
“This week, we worried about the run game a whole lot,” Alijah Holder said. “It could have been that we didn’t prepare enough for the pass.”
The Holder twins were matched against each other several times. Mikah had seven catches for 85 yards, both game highs. Alijah broke up a pass intended for Mikah late in the first half, then did it again to force a punt in the third quarter. Mikah was drilled by Brandon Simmons in the final minutes but came right back with receptions of 18 and 11 on the final drive.
Alijah said he was matched against his brother “countless times.’’ He said, “I’m very proud of him for what he did. I think he played an awesome game. … I was really rooting for him.”
As Long said, Mikah “has got bragging rights for the rest of his life, right?”
The most amazing statistic of the night was that Stanford, which for years has held the ball as zealously as a doctor protects his stethoscope, had it for 18:46 to 41:14 for the Aztecs.