After a night to reflect on Stanford’s 41-38 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, the attitude has not changed. Stanford played very well, but a few missed opportunities along the way cost them the game before Jordan Williamson took the field with three seconds remaining.
This is not meant as a hit piece by any means. The reality is that one very good football team got beat by another very good football team. In the end, one of the best four teams in college football was going to lose. It just did not go the Cardinal way this time around. Here are a few thoughts from the game:
**The controversy du jour is clearly the coaching decision to play conservatively in the final 52 seconds and put the game in the hands of a redshirt freshman rather then all-everything quarterback Andrew Luck and a dominant run game. I questioned the decision myself when it happened, but that said, it was a makeable kick for Williamson and he had shown through the year he was capable of making that kick. What if Stepfan Taylor fumbled or Luck threw an interception against a team that created more turnovers then any other team in college football? The question would then be why did the coaches not play it conservatively? Personally I would have played it a bit more aggressively, but in this case I do not think it was bad calls, just a bad result. .
**For those that watched football all day, we saw Georgia play conservatively against Michigan State by playing for a field goal in overtime and they lost the game as well.
**I think the whole world feels so bad for Jordan Williamson. As a sports fan it is so easy to call names and point fingers, but this is just a 19-year old kid with all the pressure in the world on him that just happened to hook a kick left. Here is hoping for a great bounce back next year! Adversity builds character.
**The fact is that Stanford had several opportunities to put the game out of reach so a field goal would not have come into play. The single biggest play of the game was the fumbled handoff between Luck and Geoff Meinken. Stanford was up seven, had just stopped the Cowboys, and had a long field in front of them. So often we have seen this Stanford team take that opportunity to dominate a game. The way Stanford was playing there, if the Cardinal goes 97 yards for a touchdown, it might just be game over. Instead, it was first play fumble. OSU scores and the one possession game continues.
**There were other drives where Stanford could have extended leads but did not. Luck had an interception on one drive. Stanford had 13 3-and-outs all season yet had two last night. Much like the Stanford defense, OSU’s defense did not always play well but they did make some key plays and some huge stops.
**What more can be said about Andrew Luck other then goodbye? In his last game, it may have been his best. He was on fire for the majority of the game. After a sluggish start you could really see him come alive and really want to just own the game. His stats were great: 27-31, 347 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. It is just a shame to not see him go out without a win.
**What a night for Stepfan Taylor. Even before he racked up such huge rushing numbers, Taylor was just running the ball better then ever. He was fast, elusive and powerful at the same time. The way he kept his legs pumping all the time, the way he would lower his shoulders and gain the extra few yards, and the way he used the leverage to overpower some tacklers, it was quite a site to see. He ended the game with 35 carries, 177 yards and two touchdowns. It could well be a sign for what is ahead in 2012.
**The wildcat formation found some success early in the season, but teams have figured that one out. After the way OSU stopped the first attempt, Stanford should not have made a second attempt without a change to it. Defenses were keying just on Gaffney. Early in the season Stanford would run Anthony Wilkerson in motion and at least fake a handoff. Last night it was just Gaffney running and OSU knew it and blew up both plays.
**Getting Zach Ertz back was big. He is clutch on third downs. I was surprised there was not more three tight end sets however with Coby Fleener, Ertz and Levine Toilolo. I did not notice the three in on the same play.
**Defensively it was really a pretty solid performance. Nobody expected Stanford to stop OSU, but the Cardinal did limit the abuse. Justin Blackmon is a monster and tough to tackle. The biggest issues seemed to be a missed tackle, a missed assignment, and a safety slipping. Those three things resulted in three Blackmon touchdowns. You have to be precise against a receiver like that.
**The approach was to double Blackmon over the top. With Michael Thomas playing nickel corner and Delano Howell in center field, it was a rotating third safety in charge of the double coverage. That is something to look at next year.
**Stanford did make some nice blitz adjustments at halftime. The initial blitz was to bring a linebacker (usually Chase Thomas or Jarek Lancaster) on a delayed blitz with a running start from five yards off the line. The blitz was always late against a quick strike Cowboys offense. In the second half the coaches got the blitzer closer to the line of scrimmage so they could get to the quarterback faster. It helped add pressure, especially in those few second half stops the defense did have.
**Stanford did do a great job stopping the run without having to commit safeties and in some cases even linebackers to the run.
**OSU really tried to turn the tempo up against Stanford. The one thing the Cowboys did not expect is that Stanford plays Oregon every year. Nobody runs at the tempo of Oregon (just ask Wisconsin). I thought Stanford handled the pace very well and I would not have blamed that pace for the defeat.
**That said, on the game tying touchdown it was obvious the defense was tired and a bit confused. The coaches should have burned a defensive timeout there to get everybody a breather and back on the same page.
Overall, it was a game that Stanford could have won, and that they probably should have won. But they were playing against a very good football team who managed to make just one more play then the Cardinal could make. There is no shame in this loss. There certainly will be some disappointment based on what could have been, but there is no shame. Stanford players and fans should hold their heads high.
And finally, one final thank you to the Stanford football senior class. As the memories of the Fiesta Bowl fade away, take a moment to think back to the last four years. It has been an incredible ride. Despite a last game loss, the seniors should be commended and appreciated for all the hard work and dedication they put forth starting day one. It has been an incredible journey.
To the seniors I say thank you very much and best of luck in your future whether that is in the NFL or in business. (Which is kind of the same thing)
To those returning players, see you next year.
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