NCAA FOOTBALL: Cal, Stanford topple ranked foes in Pac-12 upsets; San Jose State stays unbeaten.
After being prohibited from practicing in Santa Clara County, Stanford relocated to Seattle, where it eventually conducted its walkthrough in a public park after being asked to leave a mall parking lot.
But Stanford made the best of yet another unprecedented situation, using a fast start and a dominant run game to upset No. 23 Washington 31-26 on Saturday at Husky Stadium.
“We were doing Thursday walkthrough in the freakin’ park and people were taking pictures (and) making fun of us,” senior tackle Foster Sarell said. “But we came out here and beat ’em up, so there’s no happier feeling right now.”
Stanford (2-2) flew to Seattle on Tuesday because of a Santa Clara County health order issued because of rising COVID-19 cases in the area. The team practiced at Washington’s indoor facility Tuesday night and also utilized area high school fields before seeking an outdoor location on Thursday.
“Some of the guys said we got
‘ Paul Blarted’ out of the mall parking lot,” Cardinal coach David Shaw said, referring to the “Mall Cop” movie character. “So we went to a park. And outside of the ducks walking through, the walkthrough was great.”
Shaw said it was just another example of a team that has seen more than its share of “punches” this season — to not being able to start training camp at Stanford, to quarterback Davis Mills being ruled out the day of the season opener because of a coronavirus testing error, to now being forced to move to the Pacific Northwest.
“The more things you go through, the tougher you are, the more resilient that you are,” Shaw said. “Our guys, when things hit them in the face, they bounce back.”
Here were the keys to Stanford’s response on Saturday:
DOMINANT RUNNING >> Stanford scored touchdowns on its first three possessions thanks to power running in the red zone. On eight goal-to-go plays, the Cardinal ran all eight times.
Austin Jones finished with 31 carries for 138 yards and two TDS and Nathaniel Peat had seven carries for 44 yards and a score. Jones now has multiple rushing touchdowns in three of Stanford’s four games, and seven total on the season.
“Especially the first half, we were rolling,” Sarell said. “I really didn’t feel like there was anything they could do to stop us. I felt like we broke their will. Obviously, there’s room for improvement but we’re on the right track. We’re turning into a pretty special unit and I’m really excited.”
The Cardinal had entered the game last in the Pac-12 in rushing offense at 120.7 yards a game.
“I love playing this physical brand of football,” Sarell said. “It’s what we’re known for. So it feels really good to get back to it.” CLOSING OUT >> Washington overcame a 21- 0 halftime deficit to beat Utah 24-21 last week, and almost came back from 21 points down again on Saturday.
Trailing 24- 3 at halftime, the Huskies scored t ouc hdow n s on t hei r f irst three possessions of the second half to get within 31-23. Then they forced the only turnover of the game, returning a Jones fumble to the 10yard line with 10 minutes remaining.
But Cardinal defensive tackle Dalyn Wade-perry forced a holding penalty that negated a touchdown pass on first down, and Stanford eventually held Washington to a 45-yard field goal.
“All week we talked about starting fast,” junior safety Kendall Williamson said. “Clearly the second half didn’t really go as planned as far as us carrying that same energy, but we still did hold them off at the end, so that shows our team’s resilience.”
Up 31-26, the Cardinal got the ball back on its own 12 with 7:47 remaining and was able to run out the clock. Simi Fehoko fought off defensive pass interference to make a 25yard one-handed catch on third-and-11 to extend the drive, and Jones ran for three first downs, including a fourth- and-inches from the Washington 12 with 38 seconds left.
“We’ re not mature enough yet and old enough yet and experienced yet to really put a team away,” Shaw said. “But even if we don’t play perfectly we’re going to fight until the end, and that’s what happened the last two games.”
PASS PROTECTION >> Complementing the ground game, Mills completed 20 of 30 passes for 252 yards, a TD and no interceptions against a defense that had allowed the third-fewest passing yards in the country (162.7 a game).
Sarell keyed a line that didn’t allow a sack despite facing outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-fetui, who led the nation in sacks at 2.33 per game.
“I was thrilled that he had zero sacks and didn’t do much,” Sarell said. “For me it was a statement that I can block anybody, and I think that goes for our whole line. They have a bunch of dudes who can rush the passer and for the most part we did a pretty good job.”
MORE TRAVEL AHEAD >> Santa Clara County’s order won’t expire until at least Dec. 21, so Stanford will spend next week in Oregon before it faces Oregon State on Saturday.
“There’ s two types of people, people who complain and people that act ,” Shaw said. “We want to be the people who act, so if this is where we have to do it, let’s do it with positive attitude and do it to the best of our ability.”
But they may have to do it with a depleted receiving corps. Shaw said that Osiris St. Brown is out for the remainder of the year, while starting wideouts Michael
Wilson and Connor Wedington both were injured Saturday and could be out for an extended period of time.