If you wanted different looks from Stanford's offense, to
shake things up and move the ball, you may have been pleased with
the Cardinal's opening series. The starting play on offense
showed a bunch formation on the right side with three tight ends:
Brett Pierce, Alex Smith and Matt Traverso. On the left side,
Evan Moore was split out wide. That was a new look, though the
Cardinal had previously used the bunch as a power running
formation. If the Bruins were looking to the strong side of the
field for the ball, they were surprised when Chris Lewis gave a
hand-off fake and ran the ball to the left side for a nine-yard
pickup. A quick toss to Luke Powell on the next play gave
Stanford a first down and much needed confidence.
Lewis used his trademark hard cadence on the next play to draw
an off-sides penalty and favorable 1st and 5. But Stanford looked
like they might stall when they soon were faced with 3rd and 4 at
their own 40. Lewis connected with classmate and old friend Luke Powell on a comeback for nine yards and another first down. A
Kenneth Tolon run on first down gave Stanford another favorable
position with 2nd and 4 in UCLA territory, but a false start
moved them back across midfield. The improved playcalling came to
the rescuse again when Lewis used play-action and found Smith on
a screen play for a four-yard pickup. Lewis would be forced out
of the pocket on third down, however, throwing the ball away.
Eric Johnson hit one of his best placed punts of the year to
give the Bruins the ball on their own five-yardline, but they
would transverse the length of the field, nonetheless. They drove
95 yards on 18 plays, successful with both the run and the pass.
The final play was a 10-yard scamper by Maurice Drew right
through the heart of Stanford's defense. The true freshman shared
time on the drive with sophomore Tyler Ebell in the backfield,
but it was Drew who showed a powerful and darting running style
that both eluded tacklers and pushed them backward.
UCLA ate up 7:45 on the clock with their efficient and
balanced offense. By the time the Bruins kicked off, Stanford
would start its second possession of the game inside 14 minutes
remaining in the second quarter. This game was going to move
quickly, and the way the rapidly evolving UCLA offense was
handling the clock and Stanford's defense, the Cardinal needed to
do something productive in a hurry. So it seemed at the time, at
least...
Lewis and the offense would again move the chains on their
second play of the drive, a threaded needle to Powell on the
right sideline for 13 yards. An incompletion and short run later,
they faced third down and again Lewis went to Powell, this time
in the middle of the field on a comeback just past the line of
scrimmage. For the second time in two drives, Stanford was in
UCLA territory.
The Card were facing third down again, and put Lewis deep in
the shotgun with Tolon as the single back. Lewis called an
audible for a draw to Tolon, which he took off the right side for
what looked to be a first down. The shifty redshirt junior from
New Mexico then made his first truly electric run of the season.
He made two nifty cuts during the run to dodge would-be tacklers
and stretch the play from a first down into a drive-defining gain
of 20 yards.
With the ball on the UCLA 18, Lewis found Smith crossing the
middle of the field for nine yards, and then moved the chains
with a quick four-yard strike to Powell. The ball stood on the
five-yardline. Stanford was in that most uniquely uncomfortable
of positions for its offense - in a goalline scoring situation.
1st and goal at the five, Stanford employed its bunch
formation on the right side and pitched to Tolon running behind
the tight end blockers. UCLA swarmed to the ball and pushed Tolon
back for a loss of one. To the shock of all in Stanford Stadium,
the Cardinal went back to the very same play. This time Tolon
found a seam through his blockers and picked up four yards down
to the two-yardline. Stanford fans around the globe breathed a
lung-rupturing sigh of relief on that play. After all it was
futile playcalling and execution in goalline situations last week
which stamped the very disheartening 35-0 loss at Oregon.
Admit it. When you saw that formation and Tolon run again
to the same side on the same play where he was smothered the
previous down, you cursed and raged. But the move ahead to the
two-yardline would set up an even sweeter success. Stanford lined
up in a power I-formation with fullback Cooper Blackhurst as the
lead blocker and Tolon behind him. Evan Moore was split out wide
to the left side which has been a formation in redzone territory
where Stanford has often attempted a corner fade to the 6'7"
true freshman. The UCLA defense took notice and leaned slightly
to that side.
Lewis appeared to handoff to Tolon, who lunged through the
line behind Blackhurst and dove over the goalline. Cheers
immediately erupted from the loyal Stanford fans in attendance,
but they quickly caught themselves when they saw Lewis roll out
to his right and toss the easiest touchdown of his career to a
wide open Traverso. It was one of the best play-action fakes seen
in Stanford Stadium in years, and with the extra point by Michael Sgroi it evened the score at 7-7.
The balanced drive took 14 plays for 75 yards and ate up 4:57
on the clock. They gained 36 yards on the ground and 39 in the
air. This offense looked viable against this very formidable UCLA
defense.
The Bruins moved the ball on their next possession largely
aided by a questionable pass interference call against Stanley Wilson, but the defense held on the next three plays to force a
punt. The final play saw blitzing pressure by Stanford where
Jared Newberry and Will Svitek barely missed a sack. Matt Moore
just got the ball off for a completion, but short of the first
down.
On Stanford's third series, they continued to establish the
running game. Tolon took a delayed draw up the middle for four
yards to the right side. The next play was a toss sweep to the
same side, which Tolon ran for nine yards, including two at the
end as he bowled over a Bruin defender. With the chains moved and
the Bru-crew focused on the run, Stanford went to play-action and
found an open Alex Smith for eight yards in the flat. A run by
Tolon the next play would pickup another first down.
Nearing midfield, Lewis gave a play-action fake again and
rolled out to his right but found nobody and scrambled back to
the line of scrimmage. The Card crossed the 50-yardline the next
play with a quick sideline pass to Powell for six yards and set
up 3rd and 4. Lewis rolled out and looked deep downfield to Luke Powell, but as the senior quarterback felt the pressure of the
Bruin pass rush, he unloaded an unwise ball that was easily
picked off by UCLA strong safety Jarrad Page and returned 29
yards to the Stanford 45-yardline.
That gave the visitors their best starting field position of
the game, and with the clock winding down in the half, you could
feel the UCLA confidence return. They were in excellent position
to make a score before halftime and regain the lead. But the
hopes of the UCLA Nation were quickly crushed by the Nigerian
Nightmare, Babatunde Oshinowo. He put Matt Moore into the turf
for a seven-yard sack that put the Bruins back on their heels.
They would look deep on their third down play on the right
sideline with a high-arching attempt to Junior Taylor, which had
some of the same markings of the play that earlier resulted in a
putative interference call against Stanley Wilson. Sophomore T.J. Rushing had the coverage on this play and made a great reaction
at the last second to bat away the ball.
UCLA would punt for the third time in the game, and it was
fielded cleanly by Powell on his 10-yardline. Jon Alston and T.J. Rushing would take out the lead gunners in the punt coverage,
which opened up space for Powell in the middle of the field. He
turned on the afterburners and made an angle to the left sideline
and exploded through the coverage team. Only punter Chris Kluwe
stood between Powell and the promised land. The blazing Stanford
senior first made a move like he was going to cut straight into
the Bruin punter, and then he cut back away. That was enough to
wrong-foot the kicking specialist and give Powell a straight shot
to the endzone.
It was a 90-yard punt return for the go-ahead score, and it
was the second-longest punt return in the school's history. The
only one longer came in 1986 when Thomas Henley took one 92 yards
against Oregon.
UCLA had aspirations of one last score in the half, as they
moved into their hurry-up offense. They managed to pickup a pair
of first downs and approached midfield with 30 yards on three
plays, but Stanford's defense went into attack mode. Redshirt
sophomore linebacker Michael Craven, who was making his first
start of the season, leveled Moore for a six-yard sack on first
down. Oshinowo leveled the Bruin sophomore QB on the next play
for a five-yard loss, setting up 3rd and 21. One incompletion
later, UCLA punted away and effectively closed out the half.
Stanford led 14-7, their first halftime advantage since the
San Jose State opener.
Stanford received the ball to start the second half and again
went to a ton of Tolon. He picked up a first down on his first
two carries and then eight on his next two runs. That set up 3rd
and 2, when Stanford put Luke Powell and Chris Lewis stacked
right on top of each other under center. Lewis then split out to
the far side of the field for the option run. Powell, who was an
option quarterback in high school and ran the option a few times
last week in Eugene, kept the ball and darted up the field by
came up a yard short.
UCLA then answered with their own momentum-reversing punt
return. Eric Johnson blasted a 54-yard punt that outdistanced his
coverage, and Craig Bragg made them pay. He took it up the middle
and then darted to his right sideline for a total return of 64
yards. He was finally hit out of bounds by Johnson, but UCLA was
deep into Stanford territory at the 36. Maurice Drew picked up 11
yards on his first carry, and was gaining momentum on every rush.
The Bruins handed it off again to Drew, but this time the young
freshman coughed it up when savvy veteran linebacker Jared Newberry popped the ball out of his grasp. The oblong pigskin
launched up into the air and was snagged by Stanford free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe.
Stanford would go three and out and punt after an errant pass
on 3rd and 1 by Lewis behind Tolon, but the Card at least
succeeded in moving the ball back down the field and undoing
UCLA's imminent scoring threat. Johnson booted another rocket,
this time 51 yards and reasonably covered by the Stanford special
teams.
UCLA moved the ball close to midfield, but then redshirt
freshman Trevor Hooper picked an errant pass out of the air and
ran it back for a 33-yard return that gave back Stanford all the
momentum. They also had the ball on the UCLA 27-yardline and were
beautifully positioned to score.
On the first play Lewis again went to play-action and sat
comfortably back in the pocket with time. He set his feet as he
saw Brett Pierce slanting right-to-left down around the
five-yardline. But the pass was too low and was deflected just
past the line of scrimmage. The next two plays netted no yardage,
and Stanford was faced with 4th and 10 on the UCLA 28-yardline.
It was deemed too far to attempt a Sgroi field goal, so Lewis
lined up in the shotgun for a 4th down attempt. He had protection
and found Alex Smith just inside the nine-yardline for a huge
first down, but the play was called back for an illegal hands to
the face personal foul penalty on left guard Ismail Simpson. That
penalty turned a sure scoring position into a punt. The Card
would wish later they had those points for some cushion.
Stanford punted and Eric Johnson again placed the ball inside
the 20 at the 16-yardline. UCLA had its most feeble offensive
series of the game as Stanford recorded two sacks: Jared Newberry
on first down and Michael Craven on third down. The Bruins punted
and gave the Cardinal the ball at the UCLA 46-yardline. But now
it was Stanford's turn to move backward as Chris Lewis was twice
hit for sacks.
Eric Johnson nudged a low placement punt that took a Stanford
roll inside the 10-yardline and bounced off a Bruin's leg. The
Cardinal gunner on the play, redshirt freshman Marcus McCutcheon
dove on the ball to give the Cardinal the ball at the
eight-yardline.
J.R. Lemon had entered the game for Stanford to give fresh
legs to the running game, and he took the ball twice upfield for
gains of five and two yards. Then on 3rd and goal at the
one-yardline, Stanford went into its triple-I formation, with
Alex Smith and Cooper Blackhurst as the lead blockers. And for
the second time in the game, Lewis went to the play-action fake
as his backs made the straight-ahead dive at the endzone. Though
this time the fifth-year senior quarterback kept it himself and
headed for the far (right) pylon. A Bruin defender met him just
short of the goalline, but Lewis stretched out his right arm and
pushed the pigskin across. Stanford now led 21-7, with one second
left in the third quarter.
UCLA looked like they would again get a gift to help move the
ball downfield when a bogus pass interference penalty was called
on a near-interception. The closest player to the ball was Trevor Hooper, but some contact between Kevin Schimmelmann and the
intended receiver received a late flag tossed by the back judge.
Schimmelmann quickly rectified the injustice on the next play by
hitting Matt Moore for a sack and forced fumble, which was
recovered by UCLA for a 10-yard loss.
The teams traded punts and both offenses took hits behind the
line of scrimmage until the battered Moore came out of the game
for UCLA. In his place came classmate Drew Olson, who had to call
a timeout on his first snap. That boded poorly for the sputtering
Bruin offense, but Olson affirmed his value quickly with a
45-yard bomb to Bragg. That chunk yardage was the spark UCLA had
been missing all game, though it was the officials that pushed
the drive to completion.
On a 3rd and long situation, UCLA receiver Garret Lepisto ran
down the right (Stanford) sideline and was barely brushed by
Rushing in coverage. Lepisto went out of bounds and continued to
race down the field outside the field of play. As a pass from
Olson dropped toward him, he stepped in bounds at the last moment
for the "completion." The play was an illegal one, but
an official delayed several seconds before throwing the flag.
After some deliberation with his zebra brethren, the flag was
waved off to a stunned Stanford crowd. As the play stood, it
picked up 25 yards and put the ball on the Stanford 10-yardline.
If correctly ruled as illegal touching by a player who reentered
the field of play, the Bruins would have faced 4th and long
outside field goal range.
To make matters worse, Stanley Wilson was flagged for his
second pass interference of the game on the next play. That moved
the ball to the two-yardline, which soon yielded a UCLA rushing
touchdown by Maurice Drew.
Stanford had held an increasingly comfortable two-touchdown
lead for nine and a half minutes, and until that very unusual
"drive," the outcome looked safe. But now fans became
conscious of Stanford's conservative playcalling in the second
half. The Card would pass the ball just five times all half,
while running 26 attempts.
Sure enough, Kenneth Tolon ran the ball on first and second
down for a total of six yards. The Chris Lewis found Alex Smith
in the middle of the field for a huge 17-yard pickup on 3rd and
4. Though Stanford would soon punt the ball, the extra set of
downs helped to run clock and limit UCLA's final drive prospects.
The Bruins were given the ball on their own 10-yardline after
yet another monster punt from Eric Johnson. They would take three
plays to pickup even one first down, and then they were faced
with a 4th down and less than a yard to go. Olson took the ball
under center for the quarterback keeper but picked up inches at
best against the surging Stanford defensive front.
Jared Newberry was the first player to emerge from the pile
signaling that the Bruins had been stopped. He raced straight to
the Stanford sideline and leapt into the air at a jubilant Tom Williams, the fiery linebacker coach and co-defensive coordinator
for the Cardinal. The officials signalled that the possession had
switched over to Stanford on downs, and the game effectively
ended. Lewis kneeled out the remainder and the celebration was
on.
Stanford picked up its first conference win of the season, but
more importantly reversed a four-game losing skid. Now 3-4 on the
year, Stanford has to win three of its remaining four games to
earn a winning record and get elligible for a bowl game. Those
four opponents own a collective 17-19 record. By contrast, the
four opponents Stanford played during its losing streak own a
25-11 record.
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