Stanford senior wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (6’4” / 228 lbs) was a man playing against boys Friday night on The Farm, going for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 6 catches. While this equates to an amazing 37.7 yards per catch, what was far more important to the Cardinal in game, was the mojo that each of his grabs seemed to steal back from the opponent.
In that regard, his 39 yard TD in the 2nd quarter gave #10 Stanford (1-0) their first lead of the game, which they were able to take in to halftime. Then in the 2nd half, his scores from 80 and 19 yards respectively each seemed to win back the momentum from a strong SDSU (0-1) defensive unit.
Giving credit where credit is due, State loaded the box the entire game with eight and sometimes nine defenders, in order to slow down Stanford’s All-World running back Bryce Love. They did just that with both physical and fast play, effectively holding ‘Dr. Love’ to just 48 total yards in the contest.
However, it was that same tactic which left one-on-one coverage outside for the Cardinal, and junior quarterback K.J. Costello (6’6” / 220 lbs) took full advantage of the simple math. Costello went 21/31 in the air, passing for 332 yards, four touchdowns, and an 81.8 QBR on the evening. Equally, what the Stanford faithful have to feel great about, are the winning adjustments that their junior QB made in the 2nd half in order to pull away.
The Stanford coaching staff also deserves credit for the halftime changes which opened up the offense, and must figure that everyone is going to stack the box against Bryce Love going forward. In that capacity, it was critical for the passing game to come alive with such vigor as it did in game one of the ’18 campaign. If the Cardinal can continue to be a dangerous dual-threat offense, they will be a difficult match-up for everyone they face this season.
Defensively, Stanford brought both intensity and intelligence to the table all night, though they looked susceptible to the run early on. For a large portion of the 1st half, diminutive and elusive SDSU running back Juwan Washington (5’6” / 188 lbs) seemed to hide behind his O-line perfectly, before bursting past the line of scrimmage for consistent gains. The Cardinal began keying on the backfield by the 2nd quarter, and from that point on they closed down the running lanes effectively.
Senior linebackers Sean Barton (6’4” / 228 lbs), Joey Alfieri (6’4” / 242 lbs), and Bobby Okereke (6’4” / 240 lbs) were the tip of the spear for the Stanford D. Barton controlled the middle of the field for most of the 2nd half, finishing with 9 tackles and a QBH. Alfieri was the strength on the edge for the Cardinal, playing at the line or in the backfield for much of the game. He racked up 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 TFL, and 3 QB hurries in the victory.
Okereke made the largest impact of all by taking down Chapman in his own end-zone for a safety in the 2nd quarter, and Stanford’s first points of the game. He had 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, and 2 passes defended on the evening.
The elite Stanford secondary also held their own in the 2018 opener, keeping SDSU senior quarterback Christian Chapman (6’1” / 202 lbs) in check from start to finish. Senior standout cornerback Alameen Murphy (6’0” / 201 lbs) and super sophomore Paulson Adebo (6’2” / 191 lbs) were everywhere for the Cardinal. Each had 9 tackles, was critical in run support, and completely shutdown the receiver they were locked up on.
Back on the offensive side, highly touted sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson (6’8” / 244 lbs) added a quality 4th quarter touchdown catch to cap off the Stanford scoring at 31.
A ‘watershed moment’ that does not show up in the offensive stat sheet took place in the 2nd quarter, when Stanford QB K.J. Costello had a pass deflected in to the air at the line of scrimmage, and eventually intercepted by SDSU defensive end Noble Hall (6’3” / 265 lbs). Cardinal senior wideout Trenton Irwin (6’3” / 211 lbs) hustled all the way back to the ball from his route downfield, and then proceeded to both strip the ball from Hall and recover it himself amidst a crowd. It may have been the single most impressive play of the game, from a football purist standpoint.
This Saturday, #10 Stanford hosts PAC-12 foe #17 USC (1-0) on The Farm, in what has been a rivalry game for both sides since 1905. Meanwhile, SDSU will host the Sacramento State Hornets (1-0), at the once glorious but now downtrodden Jack Murphy Stadium. Shame on the San Diego city government plain and simple, they are appalling, and I will leave it at that. However, as a proud San Diego native I will be pulling for the Aztecs the rest of the way, and as always I consider Rocky Long one of the best coaches in the game.
In any case, college football is back. Be the ball y’all.
Comments
Alternative view
ffishman1 makes it sound like the end of the world, and you Max, as a denizen of Dante’s fifth or sixth circle. Interesting take. I too was screaming at the screen about midway through the second quarter when it seemed like we had two plays: a one-yard burst by Bryce, to be tackled by about 45 Aztecs, and a 25-yard burst by their diminutive rain-bringer Mr. Washington. After that, things began to brighten. Jake Bailey is one of the best kickers in the game, and he pinned them deep. The D really started to respond, and Okereke showed his speed and knack for taking down QBs way back behind the line of scrimmage.
A bit later the two minute drill nearly went off the rails on that deflection interception, but Lance Alworth Trenton Irwin made a fabulous athletic move to right the ship. Moments later, KJ threw the first big strike to JJ. After that, the game was pretty much dominated by Stanford. It showcased great pass blocking (a real improvement over last year, and Bryce can really pop those blitzing LBs), beautiful passing by KJ (he puts the ball where only the receiver can get it, and it’s always a perfect spiral), and really athletic moves by JJ to get to and snag those passes.
The D was stout up front, and faster than anything I can remember. This was the big question mark in everyone’s mind for this season, and I think I saw something far stouter and faster than I had hope to believe in. Adebo is a jet; Alfieri, Toohill and Barton are up there with Okereke. Swann and crew on the line can get into the backfield. I feel far more confident about the season now than I did before kickoff.
One or two more teams may try what SDSU did, loading the box against the run. They’ll die quickly because of the ensuing long passing attack. Others will play us more honestly. I suspect that Bryce and Co. will make them regret that in a hurry. This team has more O potential than we have ever had in the Harbaugh-Shaw era. I trust (and pray) that Shaw and Co. will use it – all 300 plays in that storied playbook. Couple that O with a D that I think can be one of our better ones, and there is a chance to sniff the rarified air of the CFP Final Four. That may be a chimera, given what I saw on Saturday when ’Bama skinned Louisville, but then, Washington played Auburn down to the wire on on that "neutral field" 3,000 miles from Seattle, and 30 miles from Auburn.
By jafco99 on 09.04.18 8:30pm
Nothing New About Opponents Stacking The Box
We saw it all last year. And Bryce Love would have 15 runs averaging 2 yards per carry and then break 2 – 3 for another 120 yards keeping his rushing average high. Against SDSU, he got none of the latter. Credit Rocky Long and SDSU. Costello (and JJ) were able to exploit the secondary and we won.
Am I concerned that Bryce only ran for something like 35 yards? ABSOLUTELY. Is our O-Line not capable of opening holes against a stacked box? Does Bryce have a lingering (and undisclosed) injury impacting him?
USC is going to stack the box and have defensive backs that are likely better than SDSU. I am not sure that Shaw is mentally prepared to move away quickly from a run first offense which may cause us to waste a half like we did with SDSU. That could bury us.
On the other hand, our defense looked better than expected.
We will know more by the end of Saturday night.
By hoyaparanoia on 09.04.18 9:19pm
USC doesn't usually stack the box.
I’ve posted this before, but when the other team has to stack the box, you’ve got them right where you want them. Blitzing/Mad dog defense is gambling. USC is unlikely to stack the box. They typically only rush four and try to beat you straight up because they have superior athletes. Yes, if we line up in the Ogre formation, the safeties will drop down, but like Stanford, USC tends to play teams honest because of their star power.
Love should find more holes against USC.
By Blackjoy on 09.05.18 12:57am
Yes...........You've Replied To Me Before On This Issue
And I tend to agree with you…….as long as we take advantage of it. Which we, ultimately, did against SDSU. My points were merely that:
1. Even against stacked boxes last year, we mounted a "successful" running attack in terms of total yards. Against SDSU, we did not.
2. However, that running attack was less of a TOP sustained drive oriented offense, and more of a Bryce Love home run attack. We were in third and long all too often last year following running gains of 0 – 2 yards. Yet Shaw stuck with it and Bryce bailed him out in the end.
3. While Shaw has shown that he will adjust when imperative (like we are losing and getting close to halftime), I fear that the failure to make an earlier adjustment (or just game plan a little differently to start the game) may put us in a hole that we won’t be able to crawl out of.
USC is a great test. And SDSU and Rocky Long are better than they get credit for.
By hoyaparanoia on 09.05.18 9:36am
Memory is often subjective.
The idea that Shaw is fatally stubborn keeps being brought up. Go back and watch Stanford vs Oregon when we had Toby and we beat them into the ground The entire first half, Toby was getting 0-3 yards. Maybe he had one run longer than 5 yards. But Harbaugh kept running and kept running. By the 3rd and 4th quarter, it paid off. The point being, getting shut down early happens all the time. If a team is going to use a power running game, then it takes time to develop. You don’t wear a team down by the second possession.
SDSU was a one possession game. So was actually surprised Shaw went to the air so quickly. If Rocky Long had been a little more subtle with his mad dog approach, he might have deterred Shaw from passing as much as Stanford did in the 2nd half.
But my point here, is that a power running game usually takes time to develop. We’ve been spoiled with McCaffery and Love hitting big runs early and Stanford has become less "power." Personally, I’d love to see Stanford pound it and pound it…and eventually break through. I don’t want to see us go back to the "finesse" football we played under Walsh and Teevens. Stanford became a household name when we were running Power over and over.
By Blackjoy on 09.05.18 11:12am
Power running is effective when we are getting 2-3 yards initially not getting stuffed for negative yardage
There were times even last year against UW and ND where shaw was stubborn with the run game but in those games we were atleast getting some positive runs and having manageable down and distance. Not 3rd and very long every single time.
By layman on 09.05.18 1:21pm
C’mon DS!!!
I love D Shaw. But he does get a little too much slack from us. Why is he being applauded for not making the most obvious offensive adjustment until halftime? Lucky we weren’t down by 3 scores at that point. I can’t help but seriously doubt we will fulfill our offensive potential, but rather just keep on re-using the same 20 plays out of 300 on that sheet. Remember the promise of McLovin? What a dud that was. True test coming up…
Also, it seems to me that a lot of our kids are listed taller in this article than elsewhere. Costello is really 6’6"? JJA 6’4"? Maybe it’s just me.
By Krisifoa on 09.04.18 9:23pm
Parkinson 6'8"?
By drkato9 on 09.06.18 7:59pm
Truth is somewhere in the middle
Disclaimers: I haven’t played football and nor have I coached it. I have no rights to judge anybody and just putting on my fan hat here.
We should have adjusted on offense a little earlier especially running out of pass formations rather than the obvious jumbo formations. At the very least try play action out of those heavy sets to keep the safeties from cheating. It was likely the green OL especially the center that might have stopped DS from going that route.
Considering that SDSU blizted on almost 70-75% of the plays, I thought the OL did well on pass protection and KJ did well maneuvering the pocket to find JJ downfield. Our OL is not athletic enough for those stretch plays and DS might want to go more wildcat snaps rather than the power toss. Lets see the adjustments next week before final judgements.
I was definitely surprised by the play of the defense in the second half. Lance Anderson adjusted really well, designing some great run blitzes while keeping the pass coverage downfield. I am really excited about the potential of Paulson Adebo and Thomas Booker. They both stood out to me on a lot of plays. The ILB were a little more hit/miss but it definitely helps having both barton and alfieri since they have a good nose for the ball which helps unleash okereke to take a beeline to the QB.
The only unit that I was disappointed with on defense were the safeties in run support. Tackling was also a bit soft but that can be put down to first game jitters.
By layman on 09.04.18 9:49pm
Plan Man already covered this...
It’s the first game and we win by three touchdowns. The entire outcome was perfect for Shaw. Not only did the offensive line get a reality check that running the ball is not automatic, Shaw go to show everyone on the schedule that Stanford can throw the ball this year.
As others have posted, opponents stuffing the box is absolutely nothing new. Somehow SDSU was better at it/Stanford kept the run plays vanilla(?). It was good to see Shaw continue to test the run, never mind that Costello did plenty of passing the first half. But the second half gave Costello more confidence and hopefully he’ll carry that forward to the USC game.
I agree with layman that the Defense was a pleasant surprise. Booker and Adebo look like all-conference players in the making. We’ll have to see how Stanford does against legitimate receivers this Saturday. Last year, I felt like Stanford had to overachieve to win. This year, it feels like the team it’s got more potential
By Blackjoy on 09.05.18 12:48am
It helps that this is the second game of the season
The best post-game comment was the one by Shaw where he admitted he was stubborn in the first half of the SDSU game. (Duh!) His willingness to adjust in the second half, as well as Lance Anderson’s proven ability to adjust on defense, caused the win and showed hope for more adjustments in this, the second game of the season. The two things Shaw seemed to do were: (1) insert personnel (particularly more receiving targets) into formations that weren’t so predictable; and (2) allow KJ Costello to attack what he perceived at the line of scrimmage as defensive tendencies. As for Anderson, it seemed like less adjustments in schemes than in keeping his players where they were supposed to be. Stanford’s defense does seem to have more speed this year than last. Alfieri, Barton, Adebo, Okereke, and Swann all possess excellent motors. But Anderson toned down the linebackers’ tendency to use that speed and overrun (allowing SDSU’s cutbacks) in the first half. SDSU’s offensive line was not chopped liver; maybe not as talented as USC’s but quite experienced. So the front seven’s dominate performance in the second half is a very good sign.
What to look forward to (or not) this week: Iman Marshal v. JJ. Marshal is one of the best DB’s in the country. If he can’t stop JJ, then Stanford will have its first All American receiver in some time.
JJ Costello v. USC linebackers. They are the strength of that defense and will blitz, if only to stop Bryce Love. Not as much as SDSU, but more than usual. If JJ spots that in time and can unload to Trent Irwin or a tight end across the middle, it could be a long day for USC. Also, If Wedington is healthy, Shaw will probably insert a few sweeps into the mix to keep the SC linebackers honest.
Sean Barton and Bobby Okereke v. Carr. Carr will get yards. He’s a strong runner. But if the two can limit him to short gains, that puts infinitely more pressure on the SC QB by putting him in long yardage situations.
Holder or Adebo v. St. Brown. On one SC blog, someone said the SC QB was better than KJ Costello. (SC fans have never lacked for confidence.) But you can expect Lance Anderson to throw the kitchen sink up against the freshman. If Holder or Adebo can shut down his security blanket, he could have a long day.
Just as the Auburn game dictated (and dashed) Washington’s playoff hopes, this game will go a long way to determine Stanford’s post season plans. Stanford is playing a lot of talented, but inexperienced players, who will clearly get better every week. The longer Stanford can keep posting W’s, the scarier this team will be.
By SU74 on 09.05.18 9:04am
Bit of a disagreement.
This game is no more important than any other game on the schedule. In fact, it’s actually less impactful than UW and California will be.
1) It’s early in the season. If you have to lose a game, you want it to be as early in the season as possible.
2) It’s against USC. The only loss in-conference that looks good (if a loss can look good) is one to USC. USC is the only team in the Pac-12 that gets national respect, regardless.
3) USC is not in the North. We lost to USC last year and we still won the North. The same could happen this year.
4) If we lose to USC and run the table, we are probably in the CFP. If our only loss is to say, California, we probably don’t go to the CFP.
Still, I am excited for this game. Last year, as soon as I saw USC run it down our throat on 1st down, I knew we were in trouble. Add to that, Keller Chryst was simply not in full command, and the game was kind fo painful to watch. This year, I feel like Costello is a legitimate QB and will make teams pay for stacking the box.
By Blackjoy on 09.05.18 11:20am