The Compulsive Purchase Award

Few purchases rival that of a jersey bought in the light of a beautiful sport’s moment. Allowing the crazed excitement of an incredible play or an unforgettable instant to dictate the acquisition of a players jersey is all part of this thing we call being a sports fan. In the spirit of such a moment, this is the jersey from week 11 I would buy in the heat of the moment.

The jersey belonging to the player who raised me to my feet the most, elevated my blood pressure consistently and gave me no choice but to invest in his numbers. This is the winner of the Compulsive Purchase Award- week 11.

It was a desperately needed dominant performance from the Stanford Cardinal, posting a blistering 34-point first half on the Oregon State Beavers, later winning by a 48-17 margin.

While the efficiency of the passing attack and the authority of the tight end position over the Beavers’ secondary will be the two things that live on in the memories of fans, maybe the most encouraging stat for Stanford going forward is from the ground game.

The Cardinal averaged 8.1 yards on their 30 carries, with 244 yards from eight contributors. Bryce Love went for 90 yards on 11 carries, also finding the end zone. Both K.J. Costello and Cameron Scarlett surpassed 40 yards on the ground, and three touchdowns came from the run game. The Cardinal have found a way to add a dose of the rushing game to complement their passing attack, without dying by it. That, and a fast start helped make Stanford’s offense look elite (and the Beavers’ terrible defense did not hurt).

Winner - Colby Parkinson

Stat Line - six catches, 166 yards, four touchdowns

Someone needed to fill the shoes of injured receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Few thought it would be the second tight end, who not only set career bests in yards and scores but tied the Stanford record for receiving touchdowns in a single game.

Parkinson was one of ten players to record at least one catch against the Beavers, as Costello completed 69.7 percent of his passes in route to 342 yards and four scores.

Parkinson victimized the middle of the field, going deep on the Beavers for receptions of 75, 28, 26 and 23 yards. He also took advantage of 1-on-1 matchups in the red zone, boxing out defenders and highlighting a big night for the Cardinal offense, a unit in desperate need of a statement outing.

The most encouraging stat of the night, however, was the 13-0 first-quarter, the best start Stanford has had this season. Leaping out in front and jumping on opponents quickly has been an area requiring growth from Stanford, an offense that started slow the vast majority of their games.

Finding a rhythm at home versus Oregon State was exactly what the doctor ordered for a team that was hot off a 1-4 stretch. Ideally, the trouncing that saw the Cardinal step on their adversaries throat early will translate into momentum for the final pair of games this season.