Foster Farms Bowl: Stanford Wins 45-21

It is a very, very windy night. The stands are largely empty from a combination of a small Stanford Fan base, Maryland playing on the opposite side of the continent, the fact that the game is played on a Tuesday evening, and for the Bay Area it is cold.

FIRST HALF

Stanford first possession 15:00 left in the first quarter:

Stanford takes a touchback and starts from the 25 running up the middle with Remound Wright on the first played followed up by a nice pass from Hogan to Rector for a first down. Austin Hooper is the target for the next pass. The first possession has been very pass heavy. High winds be damned! Kevin Hogan is spreading the ball around quite nicely with Austin Hooper making a gorgeous catch at the 15 yard line. This first possession is starting to look like Stanford's version of the spread . . . and then they went to the wildcat formation.  I can hear the collective groan of the entire Nerd Nation all the way in Ohio. Fortunately Remound Wright is a very impressive running back and capped the drive off with a touchdown run. Stanford 7, Maryland 0.  Thus far, the Stanford offense we saw against Cal and UCLA had shown up this evening.

Maryland first possession 7:58 left in the first quarter:

Great kick coverage and a penalty left the Terps starting deep in their own territory. On the first play Maryland went right to their explosive receiver Stefon Diggs for 5 yards, followed by a draw play for 2. On 3^rd and 3 Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown hit a nice pass for a first down. The ensuing play Maryland went back to the inside run. The Terps seem committed to using the pass to establish the run as this pattern was on display for the majority of the opening drive. After a handful of first downs Maryland failed to cross midfield and punted the ball away with Christian McCaffrey back to return.

Stanford second possession 3:19 left in the first quarter

After several obligatory shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and Union Square, Stanford took over at the 22 yard line. On the first play of the drive Hogan took a shot 30 yards down field, but a great defensive play broke up the pass. The second play yielding nothing. The drive then ended abruptly after a sack and the Cardinal punted the ball away.

Maryland second possession 1:46 left in the first quarter:

The Terps took over at the 48 but they did not stay there for long. A nice pass to Stefon Diggs over the middle moved Maryland to the Stanford 26. A running play for 7 yards to the Cardinal 19 followed. Another completion to Diggs gives him four receptions at this point and Maryland is driving the ball with ease. Maryland was inside the 10 yard line at the close of the first quarter.

Second Quarter:

After a penalty in the endzone Maryland had first and goal from the 2 yard line. They ran up the middle twice eventually scoring a touchdown. Tie ballgame 7-7.

Stanford third possession 14:19 left in the second quarter:

After a short kickoff, Skov picked the ball up and ran across midfield. Hogan on the first play threw another deep pass taking the Cardinal inside the 25. A pitch to Christian McCaffrey for 9 yards to the 11 followed. After a couple more plays Remound Wright did what he seems to do best as of late - punching the ball into the endzone. After just 18 minutes of game time Wright has 2 touchdowns. Stanford retook the lead 14-7 with 11:46 left in the first half.

Maryland third possession 11:46 left in the second quarter:

Maryland almost got the rushing game going on this drive, but a dropped pass ended the drive, more shots of Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf to follow.

Stanford fourth possession roughly 10 minutes left in the half:

Hogan starts the drive off with a huge quarterback run to the Maryland 40. After an incomplete pass Hogan connects with a wide open Austin Hooper who took the ball inside the Maryland 5. Unsurprisingly Stanford goes back to Remound Wright on the ensuing play who ran the ball in for his 3^rd touchdown of the game. Stanford led 21-7 with 8:44 left in the half. At this point Remound Wright is averaging 1 rushing touchdown every 7 minutes which, based on my thoroughly unscientific calculations puts him on (a completely absurd) pace to score 8 and half touchdowns this game.

Maryland fourth possession:

The most impressive aspect of this possession was when the Terps punted and Christian McCaffrey returned the kick to near midfield.

Stanford fifth possession 6:14 left in the first half:

Hogan out of the shotgun goes deep and just overthrows Michael Rector, the Cardinal offense really opened up the passing game in this first half. After a Barry Sanders run, and a Hogan scramble Stanford was left with 4^th down and 1 from the Maryland 41 yard line. Stanford opted to go for it. In a play call that was equal parts unsurprising and effective Remound Wright ran the ball up the middle for a first down. The Stanford offensive line dominated up front all evening.

The next play was a backwards pass to Christian McCaffrey, after the play was almost blown up in the backfield McCaffrey was able to slip free and reverse field for a huge gain.  The next play was a pass that seemed to be overthrown but Cajuste laid out and made an amazing catch. After another inside run the Cardinal had first and goal.

With a short run, and a blown up pass, Stanford faced 3^rd and goal. After a Maryland timeout, Kevin Hogan threw an 8 yard completion to Devon Cajuste, throwing Remound Wright WAY off his 8 and a half touchdown pace. Stanford led 28-7 with 1:17 left in the first half.

Maryland fifth possession 1:17 left in the first half:

Maryland was able to move the ball inside of the Stanford 40 yard line but the wind was far too great even for the Lou Groza Award winner Brad Craddock. Maryland opted to attempt a fourth down try with 9 seconds left in the half but failed to convert. The first half came to a close with Stanford leading 28-7.

It is at this point I would like to point out a comment made by Jeff Tarnungus long before the game started:

Now, I'm not saying Jeff is a wizard, no, of course not. For totally unrelated reasons it might not be the worst idea to avoid upsetting Gandal . . . I mean, Jeff.

SECOND HALF

Maryland sixth possession 15:00 left in the third quarter:

The kickoff went for a touchback an incomplete pass, a short 3 yard run, and another incomplete pass under heavy pressure led to a 3 and out on Maryland's first possession.

Stanford sixth possession 14:01 left in the third quarter:

Stanford took over at their own 25 and ran the ball up the middle for 2 yards to the 27. Hogan then scrambled for 14 yards to the 41. On the next play Wright was able to run to the outside (an honor one apparently earns at Stanford only after 3 rushing touchdowns in a single half). Wright was able to break for a huge gain into the red zone. Sadly, Kevin Hogan fumbled the ball on the next play and Maryland recovered.

Maryland seventh possession

C.J. Brown not to be outdone in the mistake department throws an interception to Kyle Olugbode

<script src="http://player.espn.com/player.js?playerBrandingId=4ef8000cbaf34c1687a7d9a26fe0e89e&adSetCode=91cDU6NuXTGKz3OdjOxFdAgJVtQcKJnI&pcode=1kNG061cgaoolOncv54OAO1ceO-I&width=576&height=324&externalId=espn:12101550&thruParam_espn-ui[autoPlay]=false&thruParam_espn-ui[playRelatedExternally]=true"></script>

Stanford seventh possession 11:14 left in the third quarter:

A penalty put the Cardinal at the Maryland 25. Hogan connects to Hooper for a first down to the Maryland 9. On the next play Hogan hits Cajuste for the touchdown. It feels so long ago since Remound Wright has scored a touchdown. Stanford leads 35-7 with over 25 minutes left to play in the game.

Maryland eighth possession 10:10 left in the 3^rd quarter:

I'm going to be honest here. At this point in the game it is getting a little difficult for me to pay attention, but as best as I can tell the Stanford defensive front seven is really giving Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown the business. The ensuing punt was blocked by Dallas Lloyd a former quarterback and we officially have ourselves a good ole fashioned butt whoopin'

Stanford eighth possession left in the 3^rd quarter

After a short possession deep inside Maryland territory Stanford attempted a field goal and Williamson's kick was way off. Not a good night to kick.

We have now reached the point in the evening where Maryland continues to struggle on offense and Stanford puts on a running game clinic all while the announcers struggle mightily to think of things to discuss. At any rate, Stanford runs the ball up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of the final quarter. Senior Ricky Seale, in his final game at Stanford, carried the ball into the end zone for his first career touchdown. Stanford leads 42-7 with 14:52 left in the game. This would also be Hogan's final play in the game and possibly in a Stanford uniform.

4^th Quarter

After Ricky Seale's touchdown, Maryland's William Likely returned the kickoff 100 yards pulling Maryland to within 28.

With about 5 minutes left in the game Stanford tacked on a field goal extending the Cardinal lead to 45-14.

Maryland kept fighting, and with 2:12 left in the game C.J. Brown ran the ball in for a Stanford touchdown. Stanford wins 45-21.