No. 18 Stanford football (6-3, 5-2 Pac-12) comes up short against No. 25 Washington State (8-2, 5-2) as it lost 21-24 in a snowy afternoon in Pullman, Washington.

The story of the game was the ineffectiveness of the offense as the return of junior running back Bryce Love and the insertion of sophomore quarterback KJ Costello did little to stop the offensive malaise that started in Oregon State last week.

Love, who sat out last week due to an ankle injury, had 69 of the 93 total rushing yards for Stanford but 52 came on the touchdown run in the second quarter.

He was averaging 198 rushing yards heading into today’s showdown.

Costello, who was thrown in harsh conditions in his second career start, struggled as he completed only nine passes on 20 attempts and a rushing touchdown. He was given 35 seconds at the Stanford-14 to tie or win the game but he threw an interception which sealed Stanford’s inevitable fate.

The defense played admirably against the team that ranked second in the Pac-12 in total offense. However, it still allowed Cougars quarterback Luke Falk to pass for 337 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior defensive tackle Harrison Phillips was a bright spot for the Cardinal as he had seven tackles, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. When he was able to get pressure on Falk, the Cougars offense would stall.

Senior inside linebacker Bobby Okereke had one of the more memorable moments for Stanford when he sat on a Cougars’ receiver’s route on fourth down and intercepted Falk and scored on the return.

The theme of the game was momentum as each side took turns looking like the better team.

The first quarter saw more of the punters on both teams than actual offensive production as the defenses came on strong. The Cougars tried to get the short passing game going early but players such as Phillips and Casey Toohill were able to snuff it out consistently.

The Cougars punted to start the second quarter but gave the Cardinal favorable field position at the Stanford-48. Love received the first play on a run up the middle and accelerated for a 52-yard touchdown after breaking an arm tackle.

It was Love’s 10th straight game with a 50+ yard touchdown.

Washington State quickly responded with a scoring drive of its own when Falk hit wide receiver Tavares Martin Jr. in the end zone.

It seemed that the Stanford touchdown was just an aberration for the Cardinal offense as it only gained 30 yards the rest of the quarter.

The Cougars, on the other hand, developed consistency on offense and scored on another Falk-passing touchdown on 2nd-and-27. The score put Washington State up 14-7 and Stanford was on the verge of letting the game slip away.

Washington State got the ball to start the second half and it was more of the same as it drove the ball into the red zone. However, the defense held strong with Phillips getting several tough shots in on Falk. The Cougars were forced to kick a field goal making it a two-possession game.

A decent kick off return from junior running back Cameron Scarlett gave Costello and the offense a shorter field to work with and they took advantage.

Costello finished an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown drive with a 14-yard run after fumbling the ball initially and recovering it. The scoring run brought Stanford closer as the lead shrunk to 14-17.

On Washington State’s next possession, the Cardinal forced the Cougars to punt but a 12 men on the field penalty gave Washington State a new set of downs.

The penalty would have proved costly if it were not for Bobby Okereke.

Falk on 4th-and-1 tried to complete a pass to his receiver on a pin down but was intercepted by Okereke, who took the ball 52-yards to the house.

The pick-six gave Stanford a 21-17 lead.

Both defenses then settled down again as Stanford and Washington State traded punts.

The Cougars had the ball with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. They went on an 11-play, 94-yard touchdown drive and it was capped off by Falk’s third passing touchdown of the game.

The Cardinal elected to punt with five minutes left near midfield after three consecutive run plays saw the offense go nowhere.

Washington State was then able to milk the clock and gave Stanford the ball back with little time left. Costello throws the interception on third down and the Cougars ended the game in victory formation.

Stanford’s five-game winning streak was snapped and it will now need luck in order to win the Pac-12 North.

Stanford returns to more hospitable conditions as it hosts No. 12 Washington on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

 

Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu.