NFL opener — these aren’t same 49ers that started 0-9 last year; Stanford tops USC with stingy ‘D’.
STANFORD >> It may lack the star power that previous Stanford defenses had, but there’s no denying the unit’s effectiveness after Saturday night’s 17-3 win over No. 17 USC at Stanford Stadium.
The Trojans (1-1) hadn’t been held to three points in the series since 1941, or held to three points in any game since 1997. Just last year, USC piled up a combined 73 points and 1,124 yards in two wins over the Cardinal. And Stanford hadn’t held a ranked opponent to three points since Penn State in the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl.
Here are three takeaways from a surprisingly low-scoring Pac-12 opener:
DOMINANT DEFENSE >> Stanford’s playmakers and experience on offense
received the majority of the attention before the season, but it’s been the Cardinal defense that has led the way for No. 10 Stanford. The run defense has been spotty at times, but opportunistic when it counted. USC reached the Stanford 40 six times but came away with just three points.
After giving up 10 points last week to SDSU, the Cardinal harassed freshman quarterback JT Daniels, who was making his first road start. The front seven recorded four sacks and generated constant pressure.
“I challenged our guys at the beginning of the year and we have
a saying around here about having parties in the backfield, and I don’t think we were that team last year,” coach David Shaw said. “But I challenged them to be that team this year. And it’s not just one guy getting there, it’s groups of guys getting there.”
The secondary benefited from the return of senior cornerback Alijah Holder, and junior free safety Malik Antoine, who moved over from cornerback last spring, got his first two career interceptions in the final three minutes to seal the win.
‘He’s got instincts, he’s got great feel, he’s got great ball skills,” Shaw said of Antoine. “One of my conversations I had with Bill Walsh a long time ago, he talked about the most important thing is instincts. It’s those things you can’t coach. And this guy is always around the ball.”
The defense was also helped by Stanford’s offense. The Cardinal didn’t give up a sack or turn the ball over.
HALFTIME MOMENTUM >> In both games this season, Stanford got a critical score to end the first half. Against the Aztecs, the Cardinal scored the go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds left in the second quarter. It started when linebacker Joey Alfieri broke free on a stunt and stripped Daniels on fourth-and-2 from the Stanford 40 with 1:18 remaining.
Linebacker Bobby Okereke recovered the fumble at the Cardinal 49, and Stanford needed only four plays (plus a spike) to make it a two-score game at the break. K.J. Costello completed all four of his passes, including a 9-yard fade to 6-foot-7 Colby Parkinson in the end zone that made it 14-0.
LOVE GETS GOING >> After
being held to 29 yards and no points by SDSU, Love posted a 28-yard run and a 6-yard touchdown in the opening drive against USC.
“It was good to see him get going and it just makes everything else better,” Shaw said.
Love finished with 136 yards on 22 carries, including a 59-yard rush in the third quarter – his first run of 50-plus this year after setting an FBS record with 13 such runs last season.
“Can’t commend Bryce Love enough,” Shaw said. “Getting two yards when there was two yards there, getting two yards sometimes when two yards weren’t there and then the big runs happen.”
Love has run for at least 100 yards in 15 of the past 17 games.