Best and Worst: Stanford vs. Washington State

by Scott Allen on Oct 16, 2025 7:05 AM PDT

Here's a look at the best and worst from Stanford's 44-14 win at Washington State.

Worst Way to Start a Game: After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, Andrew Luck was intercepted by Damante Horton on the Cardinal's second play from scrimmage. Jamal-Rashad Patterson appeared to have a step on Horton, but the pass was underthrown.

Best Winning Streak: Stanford established a new school record with its 14th straight win dating back to last year's thrilling victory over USC. Most of Stanford's wins since then have been far less tense. In fact, the Cardinal's last nine wins have all been by at least 25 points.

Worst Deja Vu: Chris Owusu was on the receiving end of another brutal hit in the first half and did not return. Owusu missed several games last season after suffering a concussion on a similar play against Oregon. The hit didn't draw a flag. "If there is contact on our guy's head then it should be a penalty," Stanford head coach David Shaw said after the game. I didn't think it was a dirty play, but it was definitely tough to watch. Get well soon, Chris.

Best Touchdown Celebration: Stanford really doesn't like settling for three points after it enters the red zone, so after doing it once earlier in the game, Shaw sent in the jumbo package on fourth and goal from the 1 and let his offensive line do its thing. After Jeremy Stewart plowed into the end zone, Luck celebrated with a leap.

Best 7 O'Clock Shadow: This graphic would lead you to believe that Stanford played a 23-game schedule last year. ("Well, now Versus has some things to learn," my grandfather said.) It might take me 23 games to grow the amount of stubble that Luck was sporting by the end of Saturday's win. Is it a coincidence that he got better as the night wore on? There's magic in that stubble, I tell you. Please, Andrew, let it grow. In all seriousness, Luck was masterful after halftime. He finished 23-of-36 for 336 yards. All four of his touchdowns came after the break.

Worst Labeling: Shortly after this gem appeared on the screen, Shayne Skov tweeted: "Apparently I am now a 6'9" 260 pound tight end..." Oh, and there's no 'i' in team, but there is one in T-O-I-L-O-L-O.

Best Unheralded RB: Stepfan Taylor reached 100 yards on only 17 carries and added three catches for 22 yards and a touchdown. The only blemish for Taylor was Stanford's first lost fumble of the season.

Worst Return: WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel, who started for the first time since suffering an injury in the first game of the season, didn't look good (17-of-30 for 145 yards and 1 TD). Marshall Lobbestael led the Cougars on their second scoring drive in garbage time.

Best or Worst Uniforms: My dad said Washington State's all-gray uniforms reminded him of old-fashioned underwear, but they were apparently the winning choice in a fan poll.

Best Defensive Stand: With Washington State trailing 10-7, Isiah Barton returned the opening kickoff of the second half to midfield. The Stanford defense forced a three-and-out, with Matt Masifilo and Chase Thomas combining for one of Stanford's six sacks on third down. On its ensuing drive, the Cardinal marched 85 yards on four plays to extend its lead to 10 and never looked back.

Worst Challenge: Shaw challenged a 4-yard completion on 1st and 10 from the WSU 1-yard line in the first quarter, presumably having received word that the ball had hit the ground. Replay upheld the call on the field and Stanford lost its only challenge.

Best Tight Ends: Zach Ertz, Coby Fleener, and Toilolo continue to put up eye-popping numbers. The trio combined for 11 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Fleener led the way with 128 yards and a score. Griff Whalen, who had 7 catches for 76 yards, was the only Stanford wide receiver with at least one reception.

Worst Hands (After Contact): Let's hope dental school-bound Washington State wide receiver Jared Karstetter can hold onto a drill better than he could the football on Saturday. Karstetter fumbled twice and it would've been three times if a play that was originally ruled a catch and fumble hadn't been challenged and then ruled an incompletion. Props to Johnson Bademosi, who forced Karstetter's two fumbles and had a team-high five tackles.

Best Way to End a Game: Special teams was an adventure for Stanford all night, especially Ty Montgomery. The freshman recovered his own fumble on a kickoff in the second quarter, but he more than made up for what could have been a costly mistake by taking Washington State's kickoff with 14 seconds remaining in the game 96 yards to the house. By the time Montgomery reached the end zone, the clock read 0:00, but just barely. It was a sign of great things to come.

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Read More: Andrew Luck (QB - Stanford), Chris Owusu (WR - Stanford), Jamal-Rashad Patterson (WR - Stanford), Stanford Cardinal

Comments

Two years in a row now

Owusu takes a pathetic cheap shot to the head, knocking him out of the game, and no flag is thrown.

The Stanford players are better men than I. Back in my (rather dubious) sport playing days, a shot like that on one of my teammates would’ve turned me into a headhunter, looking for any way to deliver a payback hit. These guys just rolled along and did their thing. Their way is definitely the better one, at least in terms of winning the game.

If I were Shaw I would be screaming bloody murder about that non-call all week though. Helmet-to-helmet hits like that need to be stamped out.

by RickeySteals on Oct 16, 2025 10:02 AM PDT reply actions

Dude, you've got to be kidding

that was not a cheap shot. The S was in a good tackling position and led with is shoulder. Helmets are allowed to collide on a play. It was a clean play. Frankly, I’m a little surprised nobody is calling out Luck for a bad play - he exposed his WR unnecessarily there.

Regardless, another dominating win. That streak of wins by more than 20 pts is amazing no matter how good or crappy the competition. I look forward to seeing you all over at the Dawgpound during Washington week.

Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon

by Gekko Mojo on Oct 16, 2025 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Football is football

and people will get hit, and sometimes they get hit hard.

But that safety led with his helmet, and hit Owusu square on his head. It wasn’t quite as egregious as the one last year in the Oregon game (or the one in the Duke game on Fleener), but it was exactly the kind of play that the helmet-to-helmet rules were created to stop.

Maybe I’m a bit more upset about this than usual because it is the second time it has happened to a Stanford player and gone uncalled this year (plus the hit on Owusu last year). Injuries to any other part of the body can be painful but ultimately they can be managed. You hit a guy in the head too many times, and there’s no coming back from it, not just int he sport but in the rest of his life too. If anything, especially in the college game, I would expect the officials to err on the side of caution with those types of hits, rather than just letting a player get away with it.

by RickeySteals on Oct 16, 2025 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Great Post

Interesting that as Montgomery crosses the goal line, there is :01 on the game clock, but the clock continues to run. I guess a 30-point margin is enough. Interesting this is precisely the same score as against Duke, this season’s first away game.

The officiating wasn’t the best, but Coach Shaw is magnanimous and showing great poise in not pointing that out in any public (or tweeted) quote. I don’t feel his constraints:

- The linesman at the goal line should have known Griff Whalen, a right-hander, would have NEVER intentionally reached with just his left hand to attempt an over-the-head catch (his right hand was pinned by the defender);

- When a helmet hits another, causing a concussion, this is dangerous and illegal, even when not called. Owusu’s game-ending hit might have been close, but the 270-spin-creating hit on Fleener in the Duke game was so obvious (on replay) as to be sickening.

- How a clear possession-then-fumble turns into an incompletion is beyond me, even when the next reviewed play, not even as close, is confirmed as a fumble. Oh, please.

On to the so-good-even-officials-can’t-take-it-away:

- The DEFENSE. They are playing as a team on a mission. OMG. This unit is simply awesome - channeling Shayne Skov’s force and hard-hitting as a multi-headed unit.

- Ty Montgomery. Wow. More speed than most everyone else, and phenomenal balance. Call it bottled excitement - we are all going to be watching for more from #88.

- The O-line: seems to me the pre-season under-informed blogging that expressed doubts about Stanford’s ability to reload has been answered. If not the reincarnated TMU, then this unit is at least the Stanford Steamroller (see Stewart’s 1-yard plunge for a TD, above).

by SacCardFan on Oct 16, 2025 12:00 PM PDT reply actions

Thanks, SacCardFan.

Welcome to the blog.

I wrote that I didn’t think the hit on Owusu was a dirty hit, but I’m beginning to think that a penalty should have been called. As RickeySteals points out above and David Shaw mentioned in the press conference, regardless of whether the Wazzu safety led with his head or his shoulder, the hit was directed at Owusu’s head and he made helmet-to-helmet contact. I watched a lot of less egregious hits to the head draw penalty flags during today’s NFL action.

- PI could’ve been called on the Whalen attempt. I forgot about that play. Might’ve been the greatest one-handed catch of them all had he been able to haul it in.

- The first Karstetter “incompletion” was a joke. That’s the call I was most annoyed with.

- This defense is legit. Like you said, they made some huge hits, including one on Karstetter along the sidelines that made me jump out of my seat. As aggressive as the defense was, I can’t recall any stupid personal foul penalties. There were a couple of times when I was sure a Stanford player was about to make a late hit out of bounds, but they managed to pull up and harness that energy for the next play.

by Scott Allen on Oct 16, 2025 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions