by Jerry Feitelberg

The game between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins was supposed to be a barn burner. Stanford came into the game ranked fifteenth in the nation while the UCLA was ranked eighteenth. Both teams had identical 4-1 records. Stanford had won four in a row, and UCLA was looking to rebound from a loss to Arizona State. It was no contest. Stanford dominated in all phases of the game. The offense line led by Kyle Murphy, Josh Garnett, and Johnny Caspers pounded the UCLA defense into submission all night. The Cardinal running game was led by a record-setting performance by Christian McCaffrey. UCLA could not crack the Cardinal defense. Blake Martinez and company kept UCLA under control. The Bruins tried, but Stanford stopped them several times at critical times during the game. The defense also picked off two Josh Rosen passes. Final score 56-35 in favor of Stanford.

The Cardinal scored the first touchdown of the night when cornerback Alijah Holder intercepted a Josh Rosen pass and took it back thirty-one yard for the score. UCLA started the drive on the seven-yard line. They made a first down, but an offensive penalty put them in a third and fifteen situation. Rosen didn’t see Holder as he stepped in front of the wide receiver for the pick. The Bruins took the kickoff and marched down to the Cardinal ten-yard line. The key play was a forty-eight yard by their star running back, Paul Perkins. On the next play, Perkins took the ball into the end zone but a penalty negated the score. The drive stalled and UCLA had to settle for a field goal. Stanford leads 7-3 with 7:22 left to play in the first period.

Christian McCaffrey electrified the crowd taking the kickoff from two yards deep in the end zone. The Bruins made a last-ditch effort and stopped him at the four-yard line. Ninety-six yards on the play.  On the next play, Kevin Hogan found tight end Austin Hooper all alone in the end zone for the touchdown. The drive took exactly eighteen seconds off the clock. Stanford leads 14-3. UCLA scores eighteen seconds later. Starting on their twenty-nine-yard line, the Bruins’ Josh Rosen connected with wide receiver Darren Andrews wide open down the middle and Andrews took it in for the score. The extra point was good and the Bruins trail by just four points 14-10. There was no more scoring in the period, but Stanford is on a drive and has the ball just inside the Bruin 20-yard line to start the second quarter.

On the first play, McCaffrey went ten yards to give the Cardinal first and goal at the eight-yard line. Hogan connected with Devon Cajuste in the end zone for the score. 21-10 with 14:17 left in the half. Stanford scored again with eight minutes left. The Cardinal pinned the Bruins deep in their zone when the Cardinal downed the ball at the two-yard line. The Bruins could not make a first down and were forced to kick. The punt landed at their forty-two-yard line of the Bruins giving Stanford excellent field position. Hogan pass to tight end Greg Taboada went for twenty-eight yards down to the Bruin fourteen yard line. McCaffrey ran the ball into the end zone for the touchdown. The refs said that McCaffrey went down at the one, but the play was ruled a touchdown after a review. 28-10 in favor of Stanford. Stanford has been relentless on offense. They scored again with 2:13 left to play. They went on a 71-one yard to drive for the score. Christian McCaffrey continued to shine, and he scored his second touchdown of the night to put Stanford up by a score of 35-10. The Bruins refused to quit. They went on an eleven play, eighty-yard drive to score to close the gap to 35-17 with eleven seconds left to play. McCaffrey rushed fourteen times for 118 yards and averaged 8.8 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. Kevin Hogan was seven-for-ten passing and threw for two scores. UCLA’s Paul Perkins had nine carries fo 90 yards and a 9.9 yards per carry average. Quarterback Josh Rosen completed 12 of 19 passes good for 172 yards and one TD.

Stanford scored on a fantastic play to give them a 42-17 lead early in the third quarter. The Cardinal lined up in the Wildcat formation. The snap went to McCaffrey, who pitched the ball to running back Bryce Love. Love then gave the ball to quarterback Kevin Hogan, who spotted wide receiver Francis Owusu on his way to the end zone. Owusu made a fantastic catch with a UCLA defender draped all over him. Owusu somehow held onto the ball for the score. UCLA was called for a pass interference penalty, but the penalty was declined. The play, without question, was the most exciting play of the season for Stanford. UCLA had a chance to narrow the gap after a Kevin Hogan pass was intercepted, but the drive stalled and a false start penalty forced the Bruins to kick a field goal. The Cardinal lined up in the Wildcat formation again. This time, the snap went directly to McCaffrey, and he took it to the house for his third touchdown of the game. McCaffrey has 209 yards rushing so far in the game with more than 20 minutes left. Career high for McCaffrey. Stanford leads 49-20. The Cardinal continued to run the ball. Christian McCaffrey continued to shine. He scored his fourth TD of the night. He set a Stanford single-game rushing record with 243 yards breaking Toby Gerhart’s record of 223. The score is now 56-20. The Bruins scored on a 77-yard drive. The key play was a 38-yard TD pass from Rosen to Thomas Duarte. The Bruins made a two-point conversion. 56-28 with eleven minutes left. The Bruins scored again on a pass from Rosen to Rios. The score is 56-35 with 2:01 left in the game.

Game Notes- With the win, the Cardinal improves to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Pac-12. UCLA falls to 4-2 and 1-2 in the Pac-12. Stanford continues the season on October 24th at Stanford Stadium at 7:30 pm against the Washington Huskies.