Yes, it is true. We all saw it coming. K.J. Costello is the answer to Stanford’s offensive woes. Costello went 13/19, throwing for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
Bryce Love also had an amazing game. After being limited to just 13 carries last week, Love had 30 carries for a touchdown and 263 yards, nearly breaking Christian McCaffrey’s single game rushing yard record (284).
Stanford’s defense also helped secure the victory by forcing four turnovers.
Playing at home for the first time all season, Stanford looked to get back on track against the UCLA Bruins. Both teams needed this win badly as both were coming off losses last week. However, it was Stanford who came out on top, improving to 2-2 on the season and beating UCLA for the 10th consecutive time.
Stanford started off the game looking sluggish offensively. To make matters worse, starting quarterback Keller Chryst exited the game due to a head injury after being decked by two Bruins defenders on a quarterback run. Chryst would not return for the rest of the game. With backup quarterback Ryan Burns unable to move the ball down the field, the redshirt freshman K.J. Costello took over. Playing just his second career game and with only nine passes under his belt, Costello came into the game looking nervous and rusty. As the game progressed, however, Costello looked like he could be Stanford’s quarterback of the future.
With the offense looking unreliable, Stanford’s defense had to do all they could to keep the Bruin’s elite quarterback Josh Rosen from racking up points. Stanford’s pass rush did a great job making Rosen uncomfortable, but Rosen was still able to find the endzone in the second quarter. After the touchdown, Rosen and the Bruins once again drove down the field, but Stanford’s defense kept them out of the end zone. Stanford then blocked UCLA’s field goal, causing the momentum to shift to Stanford.
After the blocked field goal, everything seemed to finally click on both sides of the ball. Stanford’s defense forced turnovers while Costello, with the help of big runs from Bryce Love, was able to drive down the field, scoring 17 straight points and giving Stanford a 23-13 lead at halftime.
Coming back onto the field in the second half, the Bruins came back with a touchdown of their own. However, Stanford and Costello were able to quickly give an answer to UCLA. After a 43 yard run by Connor Wedington, Costello threw an impressive 15 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trent Irwin. Then after Stanford’s defense forced a fumble, Costello and Love were able to drive the ball down the field. Backup running back Cameron Scarlett was able to score a touchdown by punching it in at the goal line.
While things were looking up for Stanford, not everything was going its way. Both of Stanford’s starting cornerbacks were forced to leave the game: Alijah Holder due to a questionable targeting call and Quenton Meeks due to an injury. At the end of the third quarter, Stanford was only up 37-27 after Rosen was able to take advantage of Stanford’s weakened secondary, scoring a 39 yard touchdown pass.
After another Stanford touchdown, this time to tight end Dalton Schultz, Rosen and Bruins were threatening another massive comeback like they had done earlier in the year when they came back from a 34-point deficit against Texas A&M. Even against Stanford’s defense, Rosen was able to drive the ball 75 yards down the field and score in under two minutes. However, any hope of a UCLA comeback quickly vanished as Bryce Love scored on a 69-yard touchdown on Stanford’s next possession to seal the game for the Cardinal. Stanford defeated UCLA 58-34.
Stanford will look to continue their winning ways next Saturday against Arizona State University.
Comments
Wake-up call?
I managed to watch the final seven minutes of the game (08:00 AM on a Sunday morning over here when I tuned in) just when Rosen hit his final TD strike to pull the Bruins within 10 (44-34). After witnessing Stanford’s final two TDs (Love and Scarlett) and the waning minutes of the game, I watched the ESPN highlights to get some feel for how the rest of the game had gone.
First, Love was amazing and has shown that, if given any opportunity, he can rack up the yards in explosive fashion. His health going forward will be absolutely vital to the success of our offense. After week 4, he is the leading rusher in the nation.
But he finally got some help at the QB position. It is perhaps premature to say that Costello is the answer to all Stanford’s woes at the QB position; but with him in the game, there was a different vibe, a different flow, a more dynamic note to the offense. As many have noted, it was reminiscent of Hogan’s debut against Colorado during the 2012 season.
And this begs the question: why does David Shaw always need to be so resistant to change when the team gets in a funk? It took two early losses in 2012 and some uninspired play by Nunes before he saw fit to give Hogan the reins. In 2014, he was hesitant to set McCaffrey loose and insisted on sticking with Wright. After a season-opening egg against Northwestern in 2015, Hogan and McCaffrey were finally set free to go on a spectacular run. O-line struggles in 2016 finally (but at a very late stage in the season) prompted Shaw to burn Herbig’s redshirt and get him in the rotation, with excellent results. And in that same 2016 season, he stuck with Burns for far too long, although the switch to Chryst only appeared to spark an offense that then faced a battery of very weak defenses. Still, Shaw is so obstinately conservative that he prefers to stick with what is safe rather than what is untested, but might work better.
UCLA’s weak defense makes it difficult to conclude that Costello is the second-coming of Hogan; but he definitely showed a whole lot more offensive productivity than either Chryst or Burns; and with the season on the line, it would a positive sign if Shaw took a risk and gave Costello the starting job next week against ASU.
Credit also goes to the defense for keeping Rosen below 35 points. There was a bit more of the party-in-the-backfield spirit, which disrupted the rhythm of the passing game and led to some turnovers.
The team that played against UCLA yesterday could end up going 9-3 in the regular season (similar to last year’s team); but this won’t happen if Shaw goes back to his old habits.
On a separate note, it is really difficult to assess the strength of the conference and the individual teams. Cal looked really strong against USC until the 4th quarter meltdown; and USC (without RoJo) looked very beatable. Oregon got spanked by ASU (who saw that coming?), while Utah needed all it could muster to get by the Wildcats. Right now, the two Washington schools look to be the cream of the crop. Hopefully by the time we face them in November, we will have our habitual season-opening kinks worked out and can still challenge for the north crown.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.24.17 3:52am
Mostly agree
This UCLA is better than the Colorado team Hogan had his "debut" against (other than the pass against Kal), but I think their D is so bad that it is hard to reckon how good a performance it was. It was good, though, nonetheless.
The lack of Meeks and Holder for pretty much a half, and keeping a lead against Rosen was a great sign. You could see he was looking to capitalize and he couldn’t. That has complex reasons, but most of them are good for our side.
Always take a win over the Bruins. 10 losses to us is brutal for them. From their perspective they blew a winnable game against a rival with its "3rd string QB" (as the announcers kept insisting … we all know, of course, that Costello was the QB Future anyway). So it’s a big win for our guys after two tough weeks.
Washingtons look hard but not till Nov. ASU won’t be easy. Nothing is easy now in Pac. That’s not bad, just different,
By Brendan Ross on 09.24.17 7:28am
Start Costello Now
By Brendan Ross on 09.24.17 7:15am
What a glorious night of football it was
Not so much for the victory but for seeing signs of life in the Stanford team, instigated by KJ Costello’s energy, enthusiasm, and fire. He made plays, he made mistakes, he talked to the team, he celebrated—in short, he was pumped. Gone was the hangdog attitude and lack of grit as they team lost back-to-back games in lackluster fashion. As I said last night, I’m sure Costello will make young QB mistakes. But by jove, he wants to play FOOTBALL. Stanford football! The kid should keep starting and Shaw should thank his lucky stars that an unfortunate injury to Chryst forced him to make the change he should have made at the start of the season.
Let’s turn this season around!
By worldblee on 09.24.17 8:33am
Isn't It A Sad State of Affairs...
….that we have to wonder whether Shaw will start Costello next week? He is not the QB of the future, he is the QB of the present. The playbook is BIGGER with him at QB. Quicker release gets tight ends in play. Mobility creates misdirection opportunities in the run game, viable roll out passing plays and drive extending scrambles. The TEAM played better with him in the game. I am sorry that Chryst took a tough hit and hope that he is alright but Costello just won this QB competition – the one that Shaw was forced to entertain.
I get that UCLA is not a great team but we looked so much better in all aspects of our game.
We CAN win the Rose Bowl.
By hoyaparanoia on 09.24.17 9:43am
Yes, that's the part that has me worried
Shaw can be so obdurate: just because everybody else sees that Costello injected life into the offense doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to go that route. Yes, we are all Saturday armchair quarterbacks, so maybe he has some deep insight hidden from the rest of us. Still, I see little hope for this season if Shaw decides to go back to Chryst and make him the starter. I feel sorry for Chryst, because several years ago he was the QB of the future and was supposed to usher in another great era of Stanford football; but either our coaching staff ruined his development or he isn’t quite as talented as we had all assumed. Costello helps our offense unfold; Chryst keeps it reined in. The choice here is simple. Hopefully, Shaw sees it the same way.
On a related note, when Hogan burst onto the scene and led the Cardinal to their first of three Rose Bowl appearances in 2012, we all assumed his development from that point would be linear and he would simply get better by the year. He struggled at times during 2013 (Utah, Washington, USC) and went into a deep funk for the first ten games of 2014, before recovering and tagging on his brilliant 2015 campaign. If Costello is now to take over, I certainly hope he does not follow a similar curve. Is our coaching staff capable of refining a QB’s skills without weighing the player down with unnecessary baggage? I might be overthinking this, but QB development at Stanford is, for me, a red flag. We do not trust enough in a QB’s natural talents and instincts and are in danger of becoming a graveyard of 4-star QB talent.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.24.17 2:05pm
Obdurate Is A Great Word
So much better than stubborn or obstinate. And totally David Shaw.
Shaw may be the "expert" but that does not mean that he has made the right decisions on QB transitioning since he took over as head coach. Nunes > Hogan? Burns > Chryst? Chryst > Costello (so far)? and now??????! I feel badly for Chryst (sort of). But he has had 9 games (and four years on the Farm) to show his stuff and it remains lacking. I also seriously think his injury is bothering him. He is not even what he was last year in terms of mobility and arm strength.
QB development? Haven’t seen it. Hogan gained experience and with his competitiveness got "better". Not sure his flaws were addressed. Yet he seems to have made great strides in the NFL…..perhaps that is "development"? Stanford has a QB coach that I believe would not be hired by any top college program. Sure, he is a great guy and a former (pretty bad) Stanford QB. Gets along well with Shaw. But come on, as you note, we risk being a program where 4 star and 5 star talent comes to die. We get the talent because we run an NFL style offense that positions our QBs well to make a transition to the next level, not because they are otherwise developed physically. Right now we have the luxury of choosing between 4 players rated 4 or 5 star at the QB position. The two most senior (Burns and Chryst) have not generated the type of play that should let them remain on the field. Fortunately, an injury forced Shaw’s hand to reveal what we all suspected. There are better options…………..and Mills might be the best yet. But for now, stick with Costello.
By hoyaparanoia on 09.24.17 2:37pm
Thing with Shaw is seniority trumps talent
He will give his senior player the chance to win the job outright before trying out the talented junior. That walker little is starting at LT is no less significant of a development than the Costello magic.
By layman on 09.24.17 5:06pm
Thoughts on Costello
He needs to start immediately. In his first few series, I was a little hesitant because I noticed similar problems plaguing the other QBs. Stared down his receivers a little too much; often stared only in one direction down the field.
But after he settled down, he looked so much more poised and in command of the offense. His stats were nothing to write home about, but I knew this kid had a lot of potential when he ran in that TD. He didn’t force a pass and took matters into his own hands—maybe a little risky since that was a big hit he endured. Still, it was a good call instead of throwing to coverage and potentially getting picked.
He also showed good field presence and scanned the field before attempting to throw. Yes, this is UCLA we’re talking about, but showing such composure is encouraging for games when the team faces a better D. We won’t expect him to post video game numbers, but efficient management combined with an obviously lethal run attack might just make this season turn out fine.
Do what needs to be done, Coach Shaw. Start Costello.
By reportcard on 09.24.17 10:17am
Actually, they were:
"…His stats were nothing to write home about…" How about 68% completion rate, 3 TDs (two passing), and a 94+ QBR? Not a bad start for what I hope will be a long, productive career.
By jafco99 on 09.24.17 11:19am
Yah I agree
It was a fine debut. Not a great defense, but probably better than the Buffs that Hogan debuted against. It was a fine debut.
By Brendan Ross on 09.24.17 11:21am
Why did this take so long?
I don’t like to be proven right on the back of an injury to a fine young man like Keller Chryst, but without it would we be celebrating a stirring victory by Stanford over UCLA? The game started just as I described in another post – throw to one receiver who was fixed on from the get-go. A bounced pass in front of a wide-open receiver. We were on our way to losing from the outset.
In comes KJ (and doesn’t do much to impress in his first set). Then, suddenly, he was the man. From that point, I think (will watch again this PM) the Cardinal scored on every possession. When the opposing D finally has to start doing something other than loading the box and blasting off, the O line began to look pretty good. The receivers, given a ball near them, will catch it. The whole team seemed energized (the D wasn’t on field for most of the game).
The real question is: why do not Shaw and his staff realize what is wrong and what is a fix, without it taking a near-calamity to force a change? The other real question is: will we see KJ Costello again this season, if Chryst is good to go next week?
By jafco99 on 09.24.17 11:35am
Agreed on KJ...
And hoping against hope that the change is done. After the initial hesitation, he was pretty damned solid, but more importantly, he infused the whole offense with palpable energy. The thing about only needing a QB to "deal the cards" is that the guy has to be good enough to deal ’em right. That lets Burns off for sure, and apparently Chryst too.
Honestly, I think if Costello had started, more points would have been on the board for us, more time would have been eaten, and Rosen would have had less opportunity to chuck 60 balls. I’m thinking maybe 14 points less for the Bruins. Of course, I was feeling pretty high after Sydney, too… [roll eyes in retrospect]
By Plan Man on 09.24.17 11:55am
Its a little more complicated than simply one game.
Look, there’s no denying that KJ played better than the other two QBs. I also had the same immediate perception that with KJ at the helm suddenly the offense seemed to work exactly how it was designed to work. KJ felt like Stanford’s version of Sam Darnold.
But Shaw has a tough decision ahead. While all of us can sit here and clamor for the obvious choice moving forward, a coach has to manage the players as well as the game. A coach also had to be cognizant of what message he is sending to parents and future players. Chryst did not get a full game to redeem himself from SDSU. Would he have? Didn’t look like it, but we don’t know.
Another factor is that UCLA wasn’t prepared for Costello. Undoubtedly the UCLA DC’s had film on Burns and Chryst from last year. Knowing a QB’s tendencies is a tremendous advantage. It’s possible that after three or four games, opposing DCs will spot hug games and tells in KJ’s game that will make it easier to game-plan against him.
All that aside, I have to admit I would go with KJ from here on out. Chryst and Burns seem to be unable to find the open receiver. This was a HUGE problem for Tavita Pritchard and I really hope this deficiency isn’t somehow being transferred.
By Blackjoy on 09.24.17 3:24pm
Finally a Comment Here with Some Sense to It, Despite the Last 2 Sentences !
Shaw indeed "has a tough decision ahead".. but i wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he sticks with Chryst, primarily because a good coach should rarely change starters due to injury, once the original starter returns fully healthy.
But let’s be clear here, David Shaw is an excellent, AND innovative coach (BEST record, 66-19, of ALL coaches in the Pac12 since he was hired in 2011) regardless of the carping and chafing of all you armchair coaches who think you know what’s best for the team.
By maddogsfavsnpiks on 09.25.17 6:25pm