According to David Shaw, this was an “attitude game.”
Stanford entered the contest at 2-3, playing host to the nation’s 15th ranked Washington Huskies. The coach brought in legendary back Tyler Gaffney to instill some confidence and swagger in this team. Whether it be Tyler’s inspiration or simply the fear of dropping to 2-4, something clicked: the Cardinal swaggered their way to a 23-13 upset.
Cameron Scarlett was Gaffney-esque today, but that’s almost a disservice to how good of a performance he had. He finished the day with a whopping 33 carries for 151 yards and a score, as well as 2 receptions for another 32 yards. “He’s playing the best football of his career right now,” said Shaw. His day was highlighted by scoring a touchdown behind an o-line of freshman reserves, and was punctuated by ending the game with 12 straight runs.
“I like to think of myself as a hard-nose runner, workhorse type guy,” said Scarlett. “You give me the ball [and] I’m going to make something happen, even if it’s not there.” He converted two third downs in the game’s final minutes, bulldozing through stacked boxes purely by force of will.
But he’s more than just a tough runner. “Probably one of his biggest plays of the night was in pass protection,” said Shaw. In the second quarter, with the Cardinal trailing 7-6 and needing to finish a drive with 6, they dialed up some play action. “We’re faking on the left and the safety blitz came on the right and Cam came all the way down and made a great block and allowed us to get the ball off.” Davis Mills had ample time, and threw a dart to a wide open Simi Fehoko streaking down the right sideline. He crossed the goal line untouched, and Stanford would never again trail.
For Fehoko, it was a bit of a breakout game. He came into the year with high expectations, as a big, speedy receiver filling some of the void left by JJ Arcega-Whiteside. But coming into Saturday, he had just 2 receptions for 37 yards on the season. By the end of the first half, Mills connected with him 3 times for 91 yards, including that 42 yard score. “That’s a big sucker that runs a 4-3 [40 yard dash],” said Shaw. “Great to see him make some big plays.”
Fehoko and the Stanford offense got going from the opening kick. They took the first two drives down inside the Washington 5 yard line, balancing run and pass and keeping the vaunted Huskies defense on its heels. But the visitors stiffened at the goal line on both occasions, holding the Cardinal to a pair of Jet Toner 20 yard field goals.
“We have to score touchdowns,” said Shaw. The Huskies entered this one averaging 38.2 points per game, and looked every bit the part early as they efficiently put their first possession in the end zone; Jacob Eason was 5-5 on the drive. But that was one of the only times they would find any rhythm.
From that point on, Eason would complete just 11 of his 31 attempts, including a critical fourth quarter interception. “Defensively, our best game start to finish,” said Shaw. He credited their ability to pressure the quarterback as the reason for the accuracy issues.
After the Fehoko score made it 13-7 Stanford, the Huskies took the ball back down to the red zone, but this time would settle for 3 as Eason missed open receivers in the flat on consecutive plays. The score remained 13-10 at the half, despite better than 300 yards of offense for the Cardinal.
Washington received the second half kickoff and picked up 54 yards on their first two plays from scrimmage. They once again found their way into the red zone. But on a 4th and 2 from the Stanford 13, Chris Petersen opted to roll the dice and forego a game-tying field goal try. Eason threw a quick slant to the left, but Paulson Adebo was in great position to knock it down to the turf. “Kicking field goals, that’s not going to beat this team,” said Petersen. “Thought we could make it.”
The teams exchanged punts, but a Gabe Reid sack of 18 yards set Stanford up on the right side of the 50. Big pass plays to Colby Parkinson and Osiris St. Brown moved the ball deep into Husky territory, and Scarlett finished the job for a 20-10 advantage. He eclipsed the 100 yard mark for the first time in his career, and did so before the end of the third quarter.
The Huskies added a field goal late in the third, and trailed by just one score with the ball in the fourth. But on 3rd and 10 from their own 15, Curtis Robinson nearly got home on a blitz, forcing Eason to make a poor throw, one that freshman corner Kyu Kelly would make a great play on and intercept. It was the first of Kelly’s young career. A few Scarlett runs later and Jet Toner would add the game’s final score for a comfortable 10 point lead.
The last two Stanford drives saw sophomore Jack West under center. Davis Mills was apparently looked at twice during this game, opting to return after the first. He was held out the second time for precautionary reasons, and there is no update on his status. West did not attempt a pass, as the Cardinal force-fed to Scarlett to bleed away the clock.
For the second straight week, Mills turned in an excellent performance. He was accurate, decisive, mobile, and seemingly in complete control. “He’s a very confident guy and one of the best arms I’ve seen,” said Scarlett. Before bowing out, he was 21-30 for 293 yards and a touchdown, and ran the ball three times for 26 yards. Mills has a bye week to recover, as the Cardinal next host UCLA on Thursday 10/17.
The Stanford offense was marred by untimely penalties. But that’s to be expected of a unit featuring an offensive line held together by duct tape and prayers. Henry Hattis went down today with a seemingly serious leg injury. By the end, the line was comprised of 3 freshmen and 2 juniors, with a serious shortage of healthy reserves.
Jacob Eason was 16-36 on the night for 206 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Senior receiver Aaron Fuller was targeted 17 times, and finished with 9 catches for 171 yards. Remarkably, all other Husky players combined for just 35 receiving yards. They did, however, combine to drop a large number of passes.
The Cardinal’s second consecutive victory moves them to 3-3 (2-2 in Pac-12). Washington drops to 4-2 (1-2 in Pac-12).
Comments
Best game I've seen the team play in quite some time
I forgot how much fun it was to watch the offense just grind down the opposing team in the fourth quarter to ice the game. I think you do have to go back to the Gaffney year to really see the team be effective at doing that.
By RickeySteals on 10.06.19 9:13am
One minor quibble though
The team actually has a bye this week (and boy do they need it). Not a short week before UCLA – instead they have 12 days…
By RickeySteals on 10.06.19 9:13am
This Stanford Team Was Unrecognizable From The Team That Has Been On The Field This Year
The offense controlled the clock and wore the Huskies down. We were able to run the ball effectively, even getting first downs to seal the win at the end against stacked boxes with predictable playcalling (and our 3rd string QB). The defense got a lot of 3rd down stops………..both against the run and the short pass. Pressure on the QB was excellent.
So let us all celebrate BUT I do have some quibbles about coaching calls in this game:
1. The red zone playcalling of run up the middle, run up the middle, throw a fade needs to stop. We have other options. That resulted in two field goals when we were first and goal inside the five. Yes, Scarlett finally took it in from a little further out behind a newbie offensive lineman (who did a great job on the play), but we need to get more touchdowns.
2. Time out management. Shaw often burns timeouts early. We might have needed those timeouts to put some points on the board. Shaw called a time out BEFORE a kick off? And then at the end of the half burned the last time out to avoid a 10 second run off. There probably are many ways to look at that but having the option to run the ball even with 10 fewer seconds seems like a good trade off. Also, not a Shaw call probably, but getting called for more than 11 men on the field by trying to substitute on defense when the Huskies did not cost us a critical 3rd down stop and kept a Husky drive alive. We are not good enough to win always with these kinds of issues.
3. Conservative field position strategy. OK. I get it. It worked. But punting on 4th and 5 on the Husky 40 is something that needs to be thought about. We need to score points, unless the D that showed up last night is there every week (so far……NOT). Also, our punter is sending those kicks often into the end zone, resulting a minimal net field position gain.
We were blessed by an abundance of dropped passes by the Husky receivers. Sure, our D was very good, but some of those Husky drives got blown up by themselves.
I think the overall play of the Freshmen is impressive, and I hope David Shaw learns from that. We need to have the best 22 players on the field irrespective of seniority. When Harbaugh came to Stanford, he moved players around from their previously established positions to get his best athletes on to the field. If this means simplifying the offense or defense, so be it.
But CONGRATULATIONS CARDINAL! Enjoy the rest week………….
And I hope Davis Mills is ok…………..
By hoyaparanoia on 10.06.19 9:31am
Davis Mills
Last week you negated his performance saying "but it was against Oregon state"
what’s the consensus after last night?
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 9:59am
UW's part?
Stanford’s TWU was down to 7 players, of a crew that hadn’t been doing well in the ground game this season. Several freshmen against veteran front sevens…hadn’t gone well. Yet, Cam Scarlett had been asymptotic to a 100 yards for most of the early season. For this skeleton TWU to support Scarlett like this, Gaffney-esque plus! So, what does this say about the Huskies’ touted defensive front?
Maybe the TWU’s freshmen haven’t had time to master their upperclassmen’s toreador choreography that continually allowed Bryce Love to get caught as Costello arrived for the handoff, last season? I’ve been a Scarlett fan since his RS-frosh year as he sat behind McCaffrey and Love. Of course, even Gaffney would’ve been sitting behind those two. As Avalon implies, this was a better showing than Gaffney had against Oregon in 2013…44 carries for 158 yards, although that Cardinal-Ducks matchup was higher quality for both teams. Whatever, this win wasn’t a fluke, although it did seem too good to be true at times.
By Candid One on 10.11.19 11:00am
Good morning Cardinal Fans! It's me! <img src="//fonts.voxmedia.com/emoji/unicode/1f60a.png" alt=":blush:" class="emoji">
ok fans..saying I told you so would be an understatement . Let’s see, where shall we begin this discussion…Oh I know, let’s start w the infamous ridiculous notion that Harbaugh would replace Coach Shaw. Nah, not happening. After last night I think we can all agree that Coach Shaw’s job is safe.
2nd item- "What happened to Stanford football"
The Answer is that the team is back and stronger than ever. We have a young squad and sometimes it takes a few games to find rhythm…
3rd item – The Defense! OMG
OK not gonna lie, I did not predict the defense playing as well as they did! They were lights out from start to finish! WOW!!
4th item – The Offense!!
Great performance by the young Oline, Great performance by RB Cameron Scarlett, WRs Fehoko, Weddington, Osiris and Michael all played well!!
Last but definitely not least the key ingredient, the man who needs no further edification, the man who completed 21/30 passes for 290 yards, the 2nd string QB, the guy who’s "not quite there yet", the guy who "needs more time", You know him well and his name is Davis Mills!
I’m about to start my day but let me say one more thing before I depart. No knock on KJ or anyone else but………
DAVIS MILLS IS THE BEST QB IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 9:46am
You're fun.
I hope I can enjoy more games with you in the future.
By CreatureOfTheNight on 10.06.19 11:57am
Definitely! Full speed ahead! #CardinalHypeTrain <img src="//fonts.voxmedia.com/emoji/unicode/1f60e.png" alt=":sunglasses:" class="emoji">
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 2:25pm
Well Slot you could be right.
Contrary to Hoya, we played extremely well for nearly 3 quarters at OSU. We then played well enough to get to FG range once they stormed back. That’s both away (a venue where USC notably has come up dry), and against a pretty good team. They smacked UCLA hard last night. This game was complete from start to finish. Now we have to hope that Mills is not seriously hurt, and that this long bye (the author got the wrong Thursday when we play next) will allow some of our walking wounded to make it back on the field. There is a lot of talent on the field, on both sides of the line. We just need to thicken up a bit. There are some tough games in front of us, but I’m finally a lot more confident than I was after the UCF debacle. If he’s not injured, I’m all for Mills continuing to start. He’s very accurate, mobile, and getting better. Stick with a winner.
By jafco99 on 10.06.19 9:59am
Cardinal Hype Train!
Yessir Welcome aboard!!!
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 10:11am
Sure...Our D Has Played Well For A Few Quarters In A Few Games
But we have ultimately given up enough points for us to lose……….or come very close to losing. We got to field goal range against OSU mostly by a strong return from Wedington AFTER we had allowed OSU to score to tie the game. Last night we were strong from start to finish, against both the pass and the run. I have to think that being able to control the TOP helped our D alot – which may also explain some of the late defensive collapses against USC and OSU. Given the travel to the East Coast, which has always been an issue for Stanford, I look at UCF as a bit of an outlier. Kelly at the corner has been a big upgrade, whicle Adebo seemed to avoid getting burned and, in fact, played really well last night (as an All American candidate should).
I am also of the view that Davis Mills should continue to start. Regardless of what KJ accomplished LAST YEAR with a different set of receivers, Mills has done a much better job of getting our playmakers involved in the offense this year. His decision making has been solid, his passes very accurate, and he throws a very nice catchable ball – well placed with air on it if needed. Mobility is a plus.
Momentum is important. Let’s do everything to keep it going.
By hoyaparanoia on 10.06.19 10:44am
Serious speed
kills. We have in places speed like we’ve never had before. Shaw says Fehoko is a 4.3 burner. I’m guessing St. Brown and Weddington give him a pretty good race. Toohill and some other LBs are pretty fleet, too. The D backs have speed. That adds great potential. It’s Shaw’s job to make it kinetic.
By jafco99 on 10.06.19 11:22am
I agree on Mills
Mills is undeniably playing better than Costello has at any point this year. I hate the fact that his will screw over Costello and his possible future as an NFL QB, but Mills is clearly the choice going forward. It’ll be interesting to see what David Shaw does moving forward. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if he tries to give Costello another shot.
If I’m Costello, I have to decide if I want to enter the Transfer Portal or stick around and see if I get back on the field via injury to Mills.
By Blackjoy on 10.06.19 11:39am
I say stick around
This team is getting so unlucky with injuries, he could be needed again.
By CreatureOfTheNight on 10.06.19 12:00pm
Costello
At this point he has enough on his resume to get invited to next year’s combine… Not a 1st round pick but he’ll definitely get selected..
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 2:17pm
I love it Hoya! Cardinal Hype Train ready to roll!!! <img src="//fonts.voxmedia.com/emoji/unicode/1f600.png" alt=":grinning:" class="emoji"><img src="//fonts.voxmedia.com/emoji/unicode/1f44a.png" alt=":fist_oncoming:" class="emoji">
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 11:11am
Shawball punks Peterson...shushems to all the haters.
This was Shawball as Shaw imagines it when he goes to sleep at night. Run the ball and play defense. What was different about this game?
1. Our Safeties didn’t give up home runs in the run game. I think there were one or two big runs by Newton that one of our Safeties was able to come up and make the tackle and keep a 15 yard run from being a TD. In my opinion, the major problem with the defense over the last to years has been the lack of decent Safeties. I think SU74 and others have also noticed this.
2. We got pressure on the QB and our CB’s didn’t get beat deep repeatedly. Yes, Eason completed some deep balls to Fuller, but you can’t defend a perfect pass. Nevetheless, Stanford was able to get pressure on Eason without blitzing. More on this later.
3. Shaw was committed to running the ball. If I recall correctly. Shaw did not throw the ball on a single 3rd and 1. Shaw ran the ball on 4th and 2. A-f*king-MEN. For the first time in a long time, Shaw consistently ran the ball at UW in short yardage. In previous games, Shaw would insist on trying to throw it. But….but…he totally screwed up when he brought in West and tried to throw on 2nd down. West almost fumbles the ball and gets tackled for a loss. Had he simply kept running, we probably get another 1st down.
Words from Husky Radio and Chris Peterson after the game.
1. Peterson said Stanford beat UW on execution. We didn’t do anything special, or anything they didn’t anticipate.
2. Peterson shifts the blame to his players. Throughout the interview, Peterson kept insisting his staff had been warning the players of this type of game all week. If you’re paying attention, you can see that Peterson is trying to paint the picture that the he and his staff were prepared, but the players failed to get onboard. It’s very passive and subtle, but there is no denying that Peterson wants to put the failure on his players, not himself.
3. Peterson noted that Stanford was able to pressure Eason without a lot of blitzing. Peterson stated that in the past games, teams have blitzed and UW has been able to gash teams for doing that. So…Shaw clearly saw that heavy blitzing was not the answer. That should be a wake up call for people on this forum who think our failures to put pressure on QB are because Anderson doesn’t know how to call a blitz. Forum readers need to understand there’s a lot of metaphorical chess in play calling.
Will this silence some of the perennial nonsense?
Every year, when Stanford gets knocked out of consideration for the CFP, the peanut gallery gets on here and starts calling for Shaw to get fired. lol. Every year.
Every year, people trot out the same "Shaw can’t adapt,’" "Shaw is arrogant and stubborn," etc. regardless of the evidence to the contrary.
Oh…but Stanford’s plays are so obvious. I could call them from the stands!
Stanford ran the ball eight straight times on their last possession. UW, a supposedly great defense, knew we were going to run the ball and they couldn’t stop it. You win conference titles and national championships because people can’t stop you from executing, not because you fake them out on every play.
This win doesn’t mean that Stanford’s problems are solved. It doesn’t even mean they are solved for this year. But it shows, unequivocably, that Shaw knows what he’s doing and anyone who thinks Shaw should be fired, should take a long hard look at themselves and what they think they know about football (because it’s nothing).
I’ll concede that football (along with any major sport) coaching is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately affair. Shaw does need to produce to keep his job. But anyone who thinks some other non-alumni coach is going to come to Stanford and lead us to the promised land…and stick around, is totally delusional. Any other coach who even sniffs the CFP i.e. wins the conference or a non-CFP New Years Six game, is going to leave Stanford for greener pastures. Stanford is NOT a destination school for football coaches not named David Shaw.
By Blackjoy on 10.06.19 11:36am
I'll admit, I was getting down on Shaw. Again.
And I was proven wrong. Again.
By CreatureOfTheNight on 10.06.19 11:59am
Great Analysis! The Hype Train is now boarding! Are you with us?
By Slot_Man22 on 10.06.19 2:13pm