Hooper steps it up with 4 big catches
LOS ANGELES — If Stanford tight end Austin Hooper wasn’t an All-America candidate already, he became one Saturday night.
The former De La Salle-Concord athlete had four catches for 79 yards, and all four catches were huge.
“We’ve known it since the end of last year that going into this year Austin Hooper was going to be one of the best tight ends in the nation,” head coach David Shaw said. “We wanted to make sure we got him opportunities to make plays. … He made some big-time catches tonight.”
Hooper converted a Kevin Hogan pass into a 16-yard touchdown with sheer power in the first quarter.
In the second quarter he made a marvelous catch between two defenders at the 1yard line for 24 yards to set up a
touchdown. And a 24-yard catch by Hooper got a drive going late in the first half when it looked as if Stanford might run out the clock.
His fourth catch, for 15 yards, again set up a Remound Wright plunge from the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a huge win for the program,” Hooper said. “The last couple of years we got really close. This year we put four quarters together and finished the job.” Nice grab wasted: Francis Owusu caught a 41-yard bomb from Hogan despite tight coverage by Iman Marshall. But Stanford squandered a chance at a touchdown from the USC 19 when center Graham Shuler and tackle Casey Tucker were flagged for a chop block. Keeping Jackson in check: USC’s explosive Adoree’ Jackson broke loose on an apparent 97-yard kickoff return in the second quarter, only to see the play called back by a holding call. He was averaging less than 20 yards a return in the game until he uncorked a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter. Briefly: Neither team committed a turnover, but USC was assessed eight penalties for 87 yards. Stanford had just five penalties for 40 yards. … Backup linebacker Jordan Perez stopped USC’s Justin Davis short of a first down with a fine tackle in the third quarter. The third-down play forced a punt. … A 22-yard pass to redshirt freshman tight end Dalton Schultz got the Cardinal in striking range for a TD just before halftime. … Freshman Bryce Love turned a short pass into 21-yard gain with a nice cutback move to set up a Stanford score. … Devon Cajuste dropped what would have been a TD pass but later grabbed his first of the season. … Actor-comedian Will Ferrell, a USC alum, led the Trojans onto the field.