Stanford surging into USC rematch
Cardinal bolsters resume with defeat of No. 9 Irish while also vaulting into Pac-12 title game
STANFORD >> While No. 20 Stanford was taking down ninthranked Notre Dame 38-20 on Saturday night, Cardinal players insist they knew nothing about the game in Seattle that would decide if they were playing in Friday’s Pac-12 championship game.
Stanford needed Washington to beat Washington State, but players and coaches apparently were focused entirely on the Fighting Irish.
“I heard someone say it was 20-zip,” said quarterback K.J. Costello, who threw a career-best four touchdown passes. “I didn’t know exactly who was leading but people seemed to be smiling so I figured Washington was doing all right.”
“No idea to be honest with you,” said running back Bryce Love, offering corroboration. “I heard about it after the game.”
The Huskies’ 41-14 rout of the Cougars in the Apple Cup gives Stanford (9-3, 7-2) a share of the Pac-12 North title with UW and a trip to the conference championship game for the fourth time in six years. The Cardinal will face Pac-12 South champ and 11thranked USC (10-2) at Levi’s Stadium.
“To go from 1-2 (to start the season) to the Pac-12 championship game says a lot about our team,” Cardinal coach David Shaw said.
Stanford beat USC 41-22 in in the 2015 Pac-12 title game, but the Trojans won 42-24 when the
teams met at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sept. 9.
“We’ll get destroyed if we don’t play our best game,” Shaw said.
If Notre Dame is a measuring stick, the Cardinal will enter the conference championship game with an edge after scoring three touchdowns in a span of 3 minutes, 36 seconds early in the fourth quarter to erase a 20-17 deficit.
The Trojans lost to Notre Dame 49-14 on Oct. 21.
Shaw called the performance “not perfect,” but perhaps the team’s best game of the season.
Costello, in his fifth start, said he struggled early to decipher Notre Dame’s defensive scheme, but wound up delivering his finest game, including a 19-yard strike to tight end Kaden Smith with 13:46 left to give the Cardinal a 24-20 lead.
Earlier, he threw TDs of 29 yards to Trenton Irwin in the first quarter and 4 yards to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the second.
“This is for the seniors,” Costello said. “Being able to play for guys who’ve given four or five years of their life to this program, it means a lot to me to be able to serve them.”
After linebacker Curtis Robinson intercepted Notre Dame’s Brandon Wimbush on the game’s next snap after the go-ahead score, Costello found his fourth different target for a touchdown, hitting Brandon Schultz with a 19-yard pass for a 31-20 lead with 12:21 left in the game.
The Irish coughed the ball up again, on the ensuing kickoff return, and Cameron Scarlett was the beneficiary, scoring on a 3-yard run with 10:10 left to make it 38-20.
“For a young guy in this environment …. he has taken the next step,” Shaw said of Costello.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Bryce Love had his 10th 100-yard rushing performance of the season, gaining 125 yards, but for the first time all season did not have a touchdown run of 50 yards or longer.
The Cardinal led 14-10 in the first half despite the fact that five of Love’s 10 carried went for minus-1 yard each.
Love, who has battled a nagging ankle injury the past four weeks, pushed his season rushing total to 1,848 yards, joining Toby Gerhart (1,871 yards in 2009) and Christian McCaffrey (2,019 yards in 2015) as the only Cardinal backs to top 1,800 in a season.
“You run out of words what what Bryce Love is,” Shaw said. “He been in pain for a month. His pain tolerance is unbelievable. It’s not about national awards for him. He just loves to play.”
The Cardinal defense gave up two big plays — TD passes of 83 and 75 yards by Wimbush — but otherwise allowed just two field goals. Stanford also had six sacks and created three turnovers.
Punter Jake Bailey did hit part, punting seven times for a 50.3-yard average, including five that covered at least 50 yards and three that were downed inside the 20.