Final Thoughts
This win was as impressive as any that Stanford has put together this season. In what can only be described as a complete performance, the Cardinal dominated on both sides of the football, holding a potent Oregon State offense to no points while racking up 38 of its own. Turnovers killed the Beavers in this game; they gave up five in all to Stanford, most of them coming while they were driving inside Stanford territory.
Now over 3,000 passing yards for the season, Andrew Luck showed why he is considered one of the best quarterbacks ever to come through the Stanford football program. He was unflappable during the game, drilling receivers and looking worthy of an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York next month. Luck racked up 305 passing yards and four touchdowns, in the type of performance that Stanford fans have come to expect. Stepfan Taylor also joined the ranks of Stanford’s top running backs, with over 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
For Stanford’s fifth-year and sixth-year players, this game marks the completion of quite a turnaround. Five years ago, in 2006, Stanford finished the season with a 1-11 overall record, the last season before Harbaugh arrived. This year, that equation has been exactly reversed, with the Cardinal now poised for a berth in a BCS bowl.
Check back later tonight for a full recap, with reactions from Harbaugh and other Stanford players.
Game over. Final Score: Stanford 38, Oregon State 0
Stanford stated its case for a BCS bowl berth with a big win over Oregon State tonight. Stanford concludes the regular season at 11-1 and 8-1 in the Pac-10. The 11 wins represents the most wins in program history. Stanford’s defense engineered another dominating performance, getting its third shutout over a conference opponent this year.
Check back later for my final thoughts, and look for a full recap of Stanford’s victory later tonight on The Daily’s website!
3:00 remaining, fourth quarter
TURNOVER ON DOWNS, STANFORD BALL! On fourth-and-10, Josh Mauro bats down a Vaz pass, giving Stanford the ball on OSU’s 40-yard line. Luck and the starters are no longer in the game; in at quarterback for the Cardinal is redshirt freshman Robbie Picazo.
This game is basically over. Stanford will likely just run the football until the clock hits zero, with Tyler Gaffney lining up now as the primary back.
5:38 remaining, fourth quarter
TURNOVER ON DOWNS, OSU BALL! A pass by Andrew Luck on fourth down was deflected incomplete, and Oregon State takes over on its own seven-yard line. Backup quarterback Cody Vaz is in the game for the Beavers, indicating that OSU head coach Mike Riley has basically given up on this game.
5:42 remaining, fourth quarter
Stanford has the ball at the Oregon State seven-yard line, but is facing a fourth-and-3.
9:40 remaining, fourth quarter
PUNT BLOCKED BY STANFORD! Austin Yancy blocked an Oregon State punt, and it was recovered by Chike Amajoyi. Yancy did an excellent job of getting around his blocker and just getting a hand on the punt, giving Stanford excellent field position at Oregon State’s 26-yard line. The Cardinal will likely use its running game to burn off as much time as possible, maximizing its time of possession on this short field. The Cardinal still leads, 38-0. The blocked punt it Stanford’s first blocked punt of the season.
11:52 remaining, fourth quarter
Stanford punts away after a three-and-out, and OSU will start with the ball on its own eight-yard line. Fans are beginning to leave the stadium as the outcome is apparent and a nighttime chill descends on the field. The announced attendance for today’s game is just under 39,000 fans.
13:25 remaining, fourth quarter
FUMBLE, RECOVERED BY STANFORD! Aaron Nichols, an OSU receiver, fumbled the ball, with the ball forced out by Owen Marecic. Delano Howell recovered the fumble for Stanford, and the Cardinal now has the ball on its own 41-yard line.
Turnovers are absolutely slaughtering the Beavers today. Ryan Katz has thrown three picks (though one of them was a garbage interception as time expired in the second quarter) and Oregon State has lost two fumbles as well. For those of you scoring at home, that’s four meaningful turnovers. You just can’t give the ball to a team like Stanford that often and expect to win the game, and we’re seeing the result on the scoreboard as the Card still holds a 38-0 lead. Andrew Luck and Stanford’s starters on offense are still in the game; it doesn’t look like Harbaugh is going to let up on the Beavers quite yet.
14:50 remaining, fourth quarter
TOUCHDOWN, STANFORD! Luck throws a short out wide to Tyler Gaffney, who takes the ball 52 yards down the field for a Stanford touchdown. The score puts Stanford up, 38-0. The touchdown pass is Luck’s 28th on the season, which is a new single-season record for the Cardinal. He has four touchdown throws tonight.
That score very likely puts the final nail in OSU’s coffin. A 38-point deficit with one quarter left to play is fairly insurmountable, even if you offense has shown exactly zero ability to come through in the clutch.
In another statistical note, Luck is now over 3,000 yards passing for the season, only the fourth Stanford quarterback to go over 3,000 yards in a single season.
End of third quarter: Stanford 31, Oregon State 0
The third quarter was pretty quiet on the scoring front, with the only big play coming on Stepfan Taylor’s 62-yard touchdown run. Both defenses locked down in this quarter, but unfortunately for the Beavers, Stanford has a big enough lead to afford some mistakes on offense. The Stanford defense has been very good, forcing turnovers and making clutch plays. The stat of the day might be Oregon State’s third and fourth-down efficiency: the Beavers have converted just one of eight third downs, and failed on their only fourth down attempt. Facing a 31-point deficit with just one quarter remaining, it’s very unlikely that the Beavers will come back and find a way to win this one.
2:45 remaining, third quarter
TURNOVER ON DOWNS, STANFORD BALL! On fourth down, Katz throws a pass incomplete into the flat, giving Stanford the ball. The Cardinal leads, 31-0.
On the play before the OSU fourth down, a dispute broke out on the field between Stanford and Oregon State players, and offsetting personal fouls were called on Katz and Stanford safety Michael Thomas. It appeared that an Oregon State player flew onto the pile at the line of scrimmage after the play was over, prompting a heated exchange between the two players.
5:16 remaining, third quarter
TOUCHDOWN, STANFORD! Stepfan Taylor breaks through the Oregon State defense for a 62-yard touchdown run. Taylor sidestepped around the first Beaver defender he saw and simply had an open field all the way to the end zone. A good Whitaker PAT makes it 31-0, Stanford. The touchdown is Taylor’s 15th of the season, and the run puts him over 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
At this point, it’s going to be very difficult for the Beavers to get back into this game. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s over; however, if the Beavers can’t muster a scoring drive on its next possession, I might be willing to make that declaration. Oregon State just hasn’t shown that it can hang with this Stanford team, and might be suffering a bit of a letdown after its big win last weekend against USC.
7:07 remaining, third quarter
INTERCEPTION, STANFORD! Safety Delano Howell makes a spectacular interception on a Ryan Katz pass into the end zone to return possession to Stanford. Andrew Luck and offense will take over on their own 20-yard line after Howell is taken down by the intended receiver, Joe Halahuni.
Stanford’s defense is making opportunistic plays and forcing mistakes onto the Beavers. That last drive looked like Oregon State would get points on the board for sure, but the Howell interception kills any chance of that. It will be interesting to see whether Stanford will come out throwing on this drive, or if Harbaugh will put the ball in Stepfan Taylor’s hands instead.
8:42 remaining, third quarter
Ryan Katz is down on the field after getting hammered as he threw on third down. The ball was intercepted by Stanford, but a blatant pass interference by safety Michael Thomas gives OSU a 15-yard penalty and a first down.
Katz is taken off the field, and Cody Vaz is now in at quarterback for Oregon State. However, Katz returns after a couple of plays off.
9:45 remaining, third quarter
Katz sacked again by Chase Thomas. Oregon State is just not doing a good job of protecting its quarterback; that was the fourth sack for Stanford on the game. The offensive line has managed to reestablish some semblance of a running game, but you can’t win football games if your quarterback hits the turf with alarming frequency.
11:15 remaining, third quarter
Stanford is forced to punt it away after a three-and-out. OSU will take over on its own 29-yard line.
12:57 remaining, third quarter
INTERCEPTION, STANFORD! Barry Browning makes a great play on a Katz pass thrown behind his intended receiver to give Stanford possession back. The Card will start with the ball at its own 24-yard line.
That turnover was definitely a big momentum-killer for Oregon State. The Beavers finally looked like they were gaining some ground against Stanford’s defense, but now the Cardinal has an opportunity to expand its lead. While the Beavers can still get back into this game, it will be extremely difficult for them to do so if Stanford scores again on this drive.
14:53 remaining, third quarter
Oregon State will start the half with the ball. After a good kickoff return, it will start its drive at its own 38-yard line.
Jacquizz Rodgers is looking a little better on this drive, gaining good chunks of yardage against the Stanford front seven.
Halftime: Stanford 24, Oregon State 0
At halftime, the Card shows the same domination it showed last week at Cal. With two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, as well as another TD and a field goal in the second, Stanford has managed to hold its opponent scoreless at halftime for its second game in a row.
On both sides of the ball, the Cardinal has dominated at the line of scrimmage. Offensively, Stanford’s rushing attack is as good as ever, grinding out yardage on a fairly consistent basis, while Andrew Luck has virtually all day to stand back in the pocket and find open receivers downfield. It shows on the stat sheet—Luck is 15-of-21 throwing the ball, with 226 yards and three touchdowns. The protection has broken down at times, but overall, this offensive line has been its usual stellar self.
On defense, Stanford has put excellent pressure on OSU quarterback Ryan Katz, sacking him twice and forcing him to make quick throws with defenders bearing down on him. To a degree, the Card front seven has also bottled up Jacquizz Rodgers, holding him to just 31 yards on nine carries in the first half (a 3.4 yards per carry average).
For the second half, look to Stanford to fall back on a conservative offensive gameplan that sees it mounting clock-killing drives that simply pound the defense into submission. I don’t know how much of an eye Harbaugh keeps on the polls, but that could actually hurt Stanford nationally. Right now, style points matter, and that approach won’t give Stanford too much in that department. Because of that reality, Harbaugh may be willing to go back to the air in the second half.
Oregon State must establish its passing game better if it hopes to win this game. It needs to keep its quarterback on his feet, and give him time to make throws like Luck has had. So far, Katz is just 9-for-16 with 87 yards passing and a garbage interception at the end of the first half, but has been sacked twice and has struggled to find open receivers on big downs. Simply put, Oregon State’s offensive line needs to do a better job at containing the Cardinal front seven.
0:00 remaining, second quarter
Katz throws a deep bomb into the end zone which is intercepted by Richard Sherman, who takes it back to the Stanford 24-yard line before he is tackled to end the half. Stanford will carry a 24-0 lead into the locker room.
0:37 remaining, second quarter
With Stanford facing a fourth-and-two, the Card lined up for a punt, but punter David Green suddenly ran forward and lined up under center, looking ready to execute a play. The Beavers called timeout to figure out what was going on, though I for one would have been interested to see exactly what kind of play Harbaugh had in his sleeve on that one. After the timeout, Green proceeded to simply punt the ball to the Oregon State 33-yard line.
1:18 remaining, second quarter
Oregon State is forced to punt away again, after Katz’s third down pass falls incomplete. Katz actually escaped the Stanford rush after looking like he was going down for a sack, but failed to find an open receiver. Stanford will start the next drive from its own 24-yard line. However, Harbaugh may elect to simply run the ball out to halftime and go into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.
1:56 remaining, second quarter
TOUCHDOWN, STANFORD! Andrew Luck throws a 29-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin. Luck threw the ball to Baldwin at the left hash mark, but Baldwin slipped from one defender’s grasp and danced around two more defenders on his way into the right corner of the end zone. The touchdown pass is Luck’s 27th of the season. It’s just another highlight-reel play for Baldwin, who has been generating his fair share of those this season. Stanford leads, 24-0.
Stanford is looking every inch like one of the best teams in the country. The Cardinal is simply having its way with Oregon State’s defense, utilizing its wide variety of weapons to prevent the Beavers from keying in on any one aspect of Stanford’s offense. On the last drive, Oregon State focusing its energies up front to bottle up Stanford’s rushing attack, but Luck simply responded by going to the air and finding big gaps in the OSU pass defense.
3:46 remaining, second quarter
Stanford is now at midfield, driving forward with a combination of up-the-middle runs and downfield Andrew Luck throws. Luck has plenty of time in the pocket to wait for routes to develop and make throws, and he has been using it to shred the Oregon State secondary.
5:55 remaining, second quarter
After another solid defensive effort, Stanford will get the ball back on its own 24-yard line. The Oregon State punter, Johnny Hekker, has been putting in a good effort, with an average of 37.3 yards on three punts. After sputtering on its last drive, the Stanford offense has a chance to fully seize control of this game and carry a big lead into the locker room at halftime.
8:08 remaining, second quarter
FIELD GOAL, STANFORD! Nate Whitaker drills a kick from 20 yards out to expand Stanford’s lead to 17-0 over the Beavers.
Oregon State’s defense was finally able to make a stand on that drive, mounting a solid goal-line defense to keep the Card out of the end zone. Stanford tried three different approaches—a run up the middle, a passing play and a toss outside—to try and score a touchdown, and all three failed to punch the ball into the end zone. Still, Stanford has a pretty good lead, and the Beavers will need to find a crack in the Stanford defense soon if they want to have some momentum heading into the locker room at halftime.
In other news, Stanford has scored 463 points on the season, a new single-season points record for the program. The mark eclipses the previous record on 461, set last season.
8:28 remaining, second quarter
Sparked by a long 23-yard run from Anthony Wilkerson off a checkdown pass from Luck (with eight yards added on an OSU facemask penalty), Stanford is deep inside the Oregon State red zone.
11:02 remaining, second quarter
FUMBLE, OREGON ST., RECOVERED BY STANFORD! On third down, Ryan Katz is sacked by Chase Thomas and fumbles the ball, with the recovery by Thomas Keiser. That’s the type of opportunistic play that the Card has been known for, and Stanford now has a golden opportunity to expand its lead and really take control of this game.
12:29 remaining, second quarter
Stanford must punt away on a fourth-and-20. Oregon State will start its next drive at its own 37-yard line.
This next drive will be critical for the Beavers. So far, Stanford’s defense hasn’t been spectacular, but it personifies the idea of “bending but not breaking”: on both of its drives, Oregon State has gotten into Stanford territory, but has been kept just out of field goal range and out of the end zone by timely plays and its own penalties. Putting some points on the board would do wonders for Oregon State’s morale, and we’ve all seen that this team has the talent to pose a danger to any team.
13:34 remaining, second quarter
FUMBLE, STANFORD, RECOVERED BY STANFORD! Luck is sacked by Stephen Paea, who also forces a fumble. Fortunately for Stanford, receiver Ryan Whalen managed to fall on the ball and preserve the Card’s possession. Still, Stanford now faces a second-and-25, but it could be much worse.
14:23 remaining, second quarter
Oregon State will punt on a fourth-and-31 at their own 36-yard line. Ryan Katz just got hammered on third down by Chase Thomas and Sione Fua, with the Beavers already facing a long third down thanks to a personal foul penalty. Stanford will have first-and-10 from its own 30-yard line with a 14-0 lead.
End of first quarter: Stanford 14, Oregon State 0
Stanford looked much better than Oregon State in the first quarter. The Cardinal offense executed its gameplan and more or less had its way with Stephen Paea and the Beaver defense, while the Stanford defense came up with a key stop and is generally making life difficult for Jacquizz Rodgers—he only has eight rushing yards on four attempts.
Stanford Stadium has at least somewhat filled up at this point. The lower bowl is mostly full, although I can still see pockets of empty seats in places. The same goes for the Red Zone.
2:21 remaining, first quarter
TOUCHDOWN, STANFORD! Luck throws a deep bomb to wide receiver Doug Baldwin, a 42-yard strike that hit Baldwin on the five-yard line; Baldwin ran into the end zone, with two steps on the nearest Oregon State defender. Stanford leads, 14-0.
Stanford went more aggressive and over the top on that drive, with head coach Jim Harbaugh seeming ready to unleash Luck on the OSU secondary. As long as his receivers keep getting open, there’s no reason to think that Harbaugh will go back to the ground-and-pound approach until his teams builds up a very nice, comfortable cushion.
2:35 remaining, first quarter
Stanford is driving into Oregon State territory. Stanford is going more over the top on this drive, with one deep ball to Doug Baldwin just overthrown.
6:45 remaining, first quarter
Stanford forces Oregon State into a punt. The Beavers were going to go for it with fourth and one at the Stanford 34-yard line, but a false start pushed them back and convinced them to go for a punt.
Stanford’s defense didn’t exactly manhandle Oregon State on that drive, but it did its job and kept the Beavers off the board. Andrew Luck and his offense now face 91 yards between themselves and the end zone, but look for them to go back to the same formula of dominance on the line and accurate Luck throws.
9:38 remaining, first quarter
TOUCHDOWN, STANFORD! Andrew Luck throws a 21-yard strike to tight end Zach Ertz for the Cardinal’s first score of the game. Ertz got two steps on his defender and Luck drilled him for an easy touchdown. 10 plays, 71 yards in 5 minutes and 22 seconds. A good PAT makes it Stanford 7, Oregon State 0.
Stanford’s offense looked strong on that first drive, following the same formula that has given it success all season: power running up the middle and short, accurate throws from Luck to wear the defense down. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor was going for chunks of yardage against the Oregon State front seven, and Luck finally found an opening for the vertical passing game with his strike to Ertz. If Stanford’s defense can come out and contain Jacquizz Rodgers, it will be a very good start to the game for the Cardinal.
15:00 remaining, first quarter
Oregon State has won the toss and will receive. It’s time for Stanford football!
With kickoff right now, Stanford Stadium is still somewhat sparsely populated. Even the student section has big pockets of emptiness, and the only solidly-populated section (at least from our vantage point up here in the Skybox) is the Oregon State corner of the stadium.
4:20 p.m., Pregame
In other news, Stanford Stadium is very, well, empty with just 15 minutes to go until kickoff. Even the student section is sparsely populated. With officials here in the press box from a number of big bowl games, this is not the type of turnout Stanford was hoping for. Even the lower bowl, which usually fills up, has giant chunks of empty seats.
3:45 p.m., Pregame
Welcome to another edition of The Stanford Daily’s live coverage of Stanford football! We are coming to you live from Stanford Stadium, where the Cardinal is set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. against Oregon State. It will be Stanford’s final regular-season game, while the Beavers have a Dec. 4 contest with Oregon left on the schedule.
Stanford is 10-1, the first time since 1926 the team has reached 10 regular-season wins, and is looking to get to 11 wins for the first time in program history, a history which stretches to the founding of the University in 1892. The Card is currently second in the Pac-10, behind only undefeated Oregon. The Ducks are ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings, and will likely remain that way after beating Arizona 48-29 last night. Stanford is No. 6 in the BCS standings and still has hopes for an at-large berth to a BCS bowl, but will see those hopes shattered if it fails to come away with a win today. You can read a breakdown of Stanford’s bowl possibilities here.
Stanford will look to win this game in much the same way it won last week’s Big Game at California: by dominating on the lines of scrimmage and controlling the tempo of the game. The Cardinal will key in on the running game, both on establishing its own attack and containing the Beavers up front. Of course, Stanford also has an excellent passing attack, and a Heisman Trophy candidate under center in redshirt sophomore Andrew Luck. He has been stellar in Stanford’s recent games, but will likely be again without his top receiving threat for this game—junior wide receiver Chris Owusu has been out with a leg injury, and remained on crutches this week.
Stanford’s defense has been suffocating in recent weeks, and its transformation into one of the Pac-10’s best units has been behind much of Stanford’s success this season. The Card has held its last four opponents to 0, 17, 13 and 14 points respectively, and those include victories over Jake Locker’s Washington offense and Arizona’s feared passing attack, led by Nick Foles. Look for coordinator Vic Fangio to throw a ton of different looks at the Beavers, making life difficult for quarterback Ryan Katz.
Oregon State (5-5, 4-3 Pac-10) enters today’s game in a very different situation. The Beavers entered this season with high hopes for a Rose Bowl berth after coming incredibly close last season, but have failed to live up to those expectations. After a questionable decision to schedule non-AQ powers Boise State and TCU on their non-conference schedule, Oregon State was 1-2 heading into Pac-10 play. In the conference, the Beavers have looked pretty inconsistent; they pounded USC last week, 36-7, but have lost to Washington State, UCLA and Washington, who all rank near the bottom of the conference this season. Oregon State has also been bitten by the injury bug; it lost star receiver James Rodgers earlier in the season. However, Jacquizz Rodgers, OSU’s star running back, is healthy and will look to bounce back today against the Cardinal.
Check back at 4:30 p.m., when we’ll bring you coverage of the coin toss and the kickoff to Stanford’s final regular-season game of the year!