We continue our ambitious offseason series, counting down the top 40 moments of the Harbaugh/
Shaw era.
No matter how you slice it, Stanford football has arrived. Though we’ve since assumed all the
trappings of a football powerhouse – the three straight runner-up finishes in Heisman voting, the
two straight BCS bowl berths and top-10 finishes, the top-ten 2012 recruiting class, or the eminent
graduation of top pro prospect of the last decade – it wasn’t that long ago that Stanford football was an
afterthought.
On December 19, 2006, new athletic director Bob Bowlsby hired Jim Harbaugh, a former star
quarterback, but an unproven coach who had never worked at the FBS level. The rest, as they say, was
history.
We are pleased present Stanford football’s 40 most memorable moments, trends, games and
personalities from the magical five-plus years that followed that December 2006 announcement.
33. Sit down
Burfict's head leads go-ahead TD, Wilkerson's head ices the W at ASU
The 17-13 escape out of Tempe was the most tension-filled game of Stanford's 2010 season, save for
breaking USC's heart at the final second, which has become a nifty annual trick as of late. Without the
win against Arizona State, Stanford would not have played in a BCS bowl, without that demolition of
Virginia Tech, Stanford would not have signed the recruits it did the subsequent February, and without
those players, who knows, maybe Stanford doesn't make a BCS bowl this past year, or go on to ink
a recruiting class for the ages that, in turn, should lead to more memories for the ages in the years
to come. Success begets success, and so without this win in the desert, a butterfly effect may have
prevented our upward cycle from reaching the heights that it has.
In retrospect, three players most stand out for their contributions to Stanford's victory: Vontaze Burfict,
Andrew Luck and Anthony Wilkerson. Burfict, mind you, plays for Arizona State, but he is the textbook
classic case of an NFL talent with a junior varsity head, and that noggin helped will Stanford to victory.
(To be fair, we have all made dumb decisions at 21, and I hope Burfict can turn it around.) Burfict had 10
tackles on the day, more than anyone in the Cardinal and white, but another stat would matter more:
Stanford finished with 20 penalty yards to ASU's 67.
The game turned when Stanford faced a second and five at the Devils' 35. The good guys trailed 13-
10 midway through the fourth and, as the score suggests, had struggled all day against a Desert Storm
defense that was strong, fast and physical. On the play, Luck found Baldwin for a six-yard pass and a
first down. Meanwhile, off the ball, Burfict was whistled for a personal foul. The next snap, Burfict was
whistled again – this time for unsportsmanlike conduct – and Stanford found itself no longer at the
Devils' 29, but with a first and goal on the 7. Stepfan Taylor advanced the ball to the one, and then, on
second and goal, Owen Marecic ran the last 36 inches for the game winner.
Like Burfict, Anthony Wilkerson affected the game's outcome with a split-second decision. In marked
contrast to Burfict's choice, however, Wilkerson's was downright heady. Fast-forward 20 minutes in real
time: there is 1:38 remaining with the Card at the Devils' 23, trying to run out the clock on a 17-13 lead.
Wilkerson finds a crease and runs down the left sideline toward daylight, but then he slows up and falls
down at the Devils' four.
Instead of Arizona State receiving the ball down 24-13 with 90 seconds left, Wilkerson took away the
Devils' 1-in-200 chance at victory, as Stanford had a new set of downs, Arizona State didn't have enough
time outs, and the Cardinal kneeled out the ballgame. Perhaps a 24-13 margin would have looked better
in the polls and Wilkerson certainly would have appreciated his third touchdown of the season, but Luck
and Harbaugh were instructing players during the drive to sit down if they found themselves breaking
free, and the team came first. Here is
the play.
Finally, Luck ran a possession-based West Coast offense to perfection. Stanford's defense played a
great game, holding the Devils to 268 yards, 12 first downs and one measly third down conversion in
10 attempts. However, aiding the defense greatly was the fact that Stanford possessed the ball for an
incredible 42:25. Running was tough – the Card needed 42 carries to get 128 yards. So it would be Luck
who would deserve co-defensive MVP honors after completing 33 of 41 passes for 292 yards. With one
short throw after another, Luck helped Stanford convert 10 of 18 third downs and keep the
Devils off the field.
Ten minutes in, however, you wouldn't have guessed that the contest was shaping up to be a defensive
struggle. On Stanford's first possession, Marecic notched the first of his two one-yard touchdown runs.
Two minutes later, Steven Threet, a much maligned Michigan quarterback who went on to have a
respectable run at Arizona State, scrambled in from four yards out.
Only then did both defenses clamped down. The teams traded a slew of three- and four-play drives and
punts back and forth. The Devils upped the ante when Threet fumbled at the Stanford 1, but Luck would
return the favor the very next possession with a fumble of his own in the Devils' red zone. Finally, with
the first half running out, Nate Whitaker put a 34-yard field goal over the right upright. The officials
ruled it no good, but Stanford fans thought otherwise, and Jim Harbaugh wasn't shy in expressing that
belief as the first 30 minutes drew to a close.
In the third quarter, Whitaker unambiguously made a field goal from 44 yards out, but Threet responded
with an eight-yard touchdown pass. The Devils would miss the extra point, however, and so the score
stood 13-10. The punters worked out their legs some more as the third quarter turned into the fourth.
Then, with 10:36 left in the game, Stanford started the fateful drive that Burfict would cap with his
meltdowns.
Previous
50-41. More memorable moments -
Loukas, a lot of Luck, and a phantom clipping call
40. Fake out - Luck stuns UW with a naked
bootleg in 2010
39. Polls and bowls - Stanford climbs into
college football’s beauty contests
38. Steamrolled - Card run for 446 yards in 2011 beatdown of Washington
37. Opening act - 2009 win over Oregon launches a November to
remember
36. Going bowling - Loss to Oklahoma doesn't ruin first bowl game since
2001
35. "Shut up and play football" - After pregame jawing, Cal finds itself in a
45-0 hole in 2010
34. Look ma, no legs - Luck throws a 52-yard dart while in free fall
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