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.
17. Whitaker Beats USC
Stanford hands the Trojans another gut punch
USC came to the Farm in 2010 a wounded soldier. Less than a year before, Stanford had
butchered the Trojans 55-21 in the Coliseum. Pete Carroll had fled
to the NFL ranks. Lane Kiffin had taken his place at the helm of a
program locked in the stranglehold of a two-year NCAA bowl ban and severe
scholarship reductions.
To be sure, the men of Troy weren't their usual selves coming to
Stanford Stadium. Perhaps that explained why the Cardinal were
10-point favorites entering the contest. (Side note: a Vegas book
had Stanford as 41 point underdogs before their 2007 upset at USC.
So, in just three years, the odds had swung 51 points in the Farm
Boys' favor. Talk about a role reversal)
It turns out that the money had been pouring too aggressively toward
Stanford's side, though. From the get-go, it was apparent that -
though it was weakened - the USC mystique still packed some punch.
Combine that with the fact that the Cardinal were still reeling from
their deflating 55-31 second-half collapse at Oregon the week
before, and it was immediately clear that there was no way this was
going to be a double-digit Stanford win.
The Trojans struck first on a Dillon Baxter touchdown run. Stanford
answered with an Andrew Luck to Doug Baldwin scoring connection. And
so went the game that defense forgot. Matt Barkley (28-45-390-3 TD)
and Luck (20-24-285-3 TD) delivered dueling virtuoso performances.
The teams continuously traded touchdowns, but three Cardinal fumbles exposed Jim
Harbaugh's club to grave danger. After one of those cough-ups, Luck
famously
flattened Trojan linebacker Shareece Wright to prevent any
further damage.
A missed Nate Whitaker extra point and a Stepfan Taylor fumble, both
in the fourth quarter, gave the Cardinal a severe sweat. Jim
Harbaugh was never seen more nervous than during this contest under
the lights. But a simple truth held: the team with the ball last was
going to win this game. The Trojans made the mistake of scoring too
early when Allen Bradford plunged into the end zone to give them a
35-34 lead with 1:08 left.
For Andrew Luck, 68 seconds was an eternity - especially given the
help of a boneheaded personal foul penalty against USC linebacker
Chris Galippo. The Cardinal knifed their way downfield with ease to
set up Whitaker's shot at redemption. Unlike his previously shanked
extra point, the senior's 30-yard kick split the uprights as time
expired. Stanford 37, USC 35. The stadium shook. The Cardinal's BCS
hopes were still alive. And as we all now know, the story ended happily ever after.
Previous
50-41. More
memorable moments -
Loukas, 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 UW
37. Opening
act - 2009 win over Ducks
launches a November to remember
36. Going
bowling - Loss to Sooners
doesn't ruin first bowl game since 2001
35. "Shut up
and play football" - Cal jaws
pregame, falls behind 45-0 in 2010
34. Look ma,
no legs - Luck throws a 52-
yard dart while in free fall
33. Sit down
- Burfict's head leads to go-
ahead TD, Wilkerson's ices W at ASU
32. Injury bug
- Despite multiple injuries,
2011 Card manage to rally
31. Whale
watching - Stanford starts
recruiting at an elite level
30. Suck for
Luck - The media machine anoints the next football savior
29. Outta my
way - Luck bounces off Cattouse for a 50-yard run
28. 0 for 3
- Card post three shutouts in 2010 campaign
27. Laying the
wood - Luck lays out Wright
26. Concussed
- Owusu is knocked out of four games
25. Jumping
ahead - A 21-3 lead vanishes in Autzen in 2010
24. So close,
yet so far - Luck’s worst game costs Card 2009 Big Game
23. Run, Toby,
run - Gerhart takes over against the Irish
22. Xs and
Os… and Ys and Zs - Stanford toys with defensive
coordinators
21. “The
perfect football player” - Marecic makes purists weep
20. Rumor Mill
- Report: Harbaugh to take every NFL job
19. "What's
Your Deal?" - Stanford hands USC worst home beatdown ever
18. Continuity
Unknown to Mankind - David Shaw named Harbaugh's successor
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