STANFORD -– It may have taken a little time, but Stanford finally got rolling in all three phases in Saturday’s 41-7 win over Cal Poly, giving it some much-needed momentum heading into its first-ever ACC conference game Sept. 20 at Syracuse.
The Cardinal’s passing game was highly efficient, as junior starter Ashton Daniels and highly touted freshman Elijah Brown completed 26 of 30 passes (86.7 percent) for 318 yards and three TDs, the best completion percentage for the Cardinal since 2015 against Arizona (21 of 23, 91.3 percent).
The defense was dominant outside of a trick play that resulted in Cal Poly’s only score. And the special teams contributed with a punt return TD, a blocked field goal and a successful fake punt.
The result was Stanford’s largest win since beating No. 23 Oregon 49-7 in 2017, and the end of a 10-game home losing streak.
“Excited for our guys,” coach Troy Taylor said. “Complete win here for us. Special teams I thought was phenomenal, offensively we finally got it going, and the defense I think was exceptional the entire game. Disruptive on first and second down. Great third-down defense. Our guys really controlled the game the entire evening.”
Here’s a deeper look at all three units, including areas that still need improvement, as Stanford heads into an early off week:
OFFENSE
Stanford shuffled its offensive line after Week 1’s 34-27 loss to TCU. Freshman Kahlil House made his first collegiate start at left tackle, while three-year starting center Levi Rogers began the game on the sidelines.
It didn’t work immediately. On the first drive, an assignment error led to pressure that caused a fumbled exchange between Daniels and freshman running back Micah Ford, which Cal Poly recovered at the Stanford 38. The second drive was stalled when Daniels got sacked.
But the offense got moving after that, with six scoring drives in its last seven possessions – and the only exception ended at the Cal Poly 4.
Daniels showed off his two-way ability, completing 19 of 23 passes for 221 yards and running a game-high nine times for 31 yards.
It was also a stellar collegiate debut for Brown, who played the fourth quarter and completed all seven of his passes for 97 yards. He was 5-for-5 on his first drive, including a 51-yard pass to running back Sedrick Irvin and a 12-yard TD to Ismael Cisse.
“It’s what we’ve seen since he’s been here this spring (as an early enrollee)” Taylor said of Brown. “Exceptional anticipation, exceptional accuracy, composure. There is a reason why the guy was 44-2 (as a starter at Mater Dei). He’s a very composed, really talented player. He’s going to be a good one.”
But even against an FCS opponent, Stanford still couldn’t get its running game going through its running backs, as Irvin and Ford ran eight times for six yards. Daniels did his best to keep the offense balanced through designed runs, but that might not be sustainable through an entire season.
“There is a limit to how many hits you can take,” Taylor said. “The thing about Ashton, he’s one of the biggest, strongest, fastest guys on our team, and he’s tough. It’s a part of his game if he’s playing is to run the football. We got to play to his strengths. The other side of that is, yes, we got to give him more balance with runs to the running back, and we’ll hopefully get that from our young offensive line. Definitely need to improve and improve quickly in order to balance just the quarterback runs.”
DEFENSE
Even though Stanford came in as a 35-point favorite against its overmatched FCS opponent, junior cornerback Collin Wright said the team had the same preparation during the week, especially considering last year’s 30-23 loss to Sacramento State.
“Everybody knows what happened last year when we played an FCS school, so definitely none of us take any opponent for granted,” said Wright, who had an interception in the third quarter. “We game plan the same, do all the daily operations the same.”
While the offense took some time to break through, the defense was ready from the start. Outside of one TD drive, Cal Poly didn’t get more than 32 yards on any of its 10 other possessions.
“Obviously we’re going to go against some great teams in the next couple weeks and the whole entire season,” Wright said. “So we’ll just keep preparing, getting better at the little things, and if we do those things we’ll have no issues.”
The only breakdown happened when Cal Poly executed a wide receiver pass that caught Stanford completely off guard and left a player wide open in the end zone.
“Just bad communication,” Wright said. “We have to be better, I have to be better, just as an entire defense we have to be better. Coach put us in a good position. We just have to stay focused, locked in, and eliminate those plays so it doesn’t happen.’
SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore receiver Tiger Bachmeier had never returned punts in college, but he was called on Saturday due to an injury to Bryce Farrell.
Bachmeier took advantage of the opportunity with a 90-yard return early in the third quarter, the first punt return for a touchdown by a Stanford returner since Christian McCaffrey in 2016 Rose Bowl Game vs. Iowa.
“I thought he was going to fair catch the ball and luckily he didn’t,” Taylor said. “Made somebody miss and picked up an unbelievable amount of great blocks, and then he showed off his speed a little bit.”
The punt return is tied for the second-longest in Stanford history, behind only Thomas Henley’s 92-yarder against Oregon in 1986.
That was one of many highlights for the special teams. Linebacker Tristan Sinclair took a direct snap and ran six yards for a first down on a fake punt inside Stanford territory, and 6-foot-7 defensive tackle Aristotle Taylor blocked a 41-yard field goal that would have given Cal Poly an early lead.
“Special teams was a definite win for us this evening,” Taylor said.
Stanford is going to need that kind of an edge as it begins its first run through the ACC.
