Stanford loses to Washington State 42-16

Well, that was hard to watch. I expected the game to be close in Stanford’s favor but never expected Washington State to dominate. After losing to Washington State, Stanford showed that they have serious problems going forward. Here’s how Stanford got manhandled.

Stanford began the game by starting where they left off versus Washington. The offense was struggling and embarrassing while the defense couldn’t carry the team. Stanford did not control both sides of the line, and they paid for it as they were down 14-3 going into the second half. On offense, Christian McCaffrey did not find openings and only rushed seven times for 32 yards, one carry alone for 23 yards. McCaffrey and the offensive line were pushed around in the first half. Meanwhile, Burns looked decent passing the ball. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 131 yards but seemed to hold the ball too long at times. With the combination of two missed field goals, Stanford’s offense was pretty much terrible in the first half. Defensively, the secondary started the game off hot when Dallas Lloyd intercepted Luke Falk. After the interception, everything went downhill for the Cardinal. Luke Falk and the Cougars consistently drove on the Cardinal, and the Cardinal defense was lucky to escape the half only allowing fourteen points.

After another Cougar touchdown drive, Stanford started the second half passing the ball and made good progress until Ryan Burns threw an interception. Luckily, Frank Buncom responded with an with interception of his own and returned it all the way, putting Stanford back in the game, 21-10 Washington State. On the ensuing drive, Justin Reid was called for targeting and was ejected from the game, a big loss for an already struggling secondary. That same drive, Luke Falk found a wide open receiver in the end zone on a long third and goal conversion, 28-10.

Stanford needed to spark a comeback in the fourth quarter. Down eighteen, both the offense and the defense had to step up. That didn’t happen. Washington State drove yet again and scored with ease. 35-10. Washington State had the game locked up with over ten minutes to go. With McCaffrey on the sideline nursing a minor injury, Keller Chryst entered the game as our last hope. He passed the ball confidently, but with a couple missed throws and drops, the offense was forced to punt on the 50. Down 25, why would Shaw punt? Finishing the game, Stanford never had a chance to make a comeback. Chryst threw an interception, the Cougars scored, and Ryan Burns threw a touchdown. Stanford had weak comeback effort and lost 42-16.

In conclusion, Stanford missed last year’s line and this year’s starting corners. The offense clearly could not work efficiently or even at all without that strong offensive line. They couldn’t rely on the run game, and the passing game doesn’t have a superstar quarterback. On defense, Luke Falk threw for 357 yards. The secondary was vulnerable, and he took advantage of it. Although Stanford had injuries, those injuries did not account for 26 points. Stanford was flat out terrible tonight, and they will have very long year ahead. Next week is Notre Dame.