Author: jeremy2878

Michigan St., Stanford fans different but come together in the end

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By Chance McBride and Jeremy Harness

PASADENA – Anytime a big game is played, particularly at a neutral site, there are bound to be differences – some more subtle than others – between the teams. Since these teams most often come from different parts of the country, the fans will tend to be a little different from each other as well.

As was the case with the 100th Rose Bowl Game, which took place Wednesday afternoon and was won by No. 4 Michigan State over No. 5 Stanford, 24-20. A total of 95,173 fans crammed Rose Bowl Stadium, and the fan base appeared to be split right down the middle.

However, the way that the fans were spread out couldn’t have been any different, nor was the manner in which those fans tailgated before walking in through the gates.

Michigan State’s fans traveled in congregations, resembling huge seas of green. Stanford’s supporters, on the other hand, were considerably more spread apart and pretty much fit in with whoever happened to be around them.

The seating arrangement inside the stadium as game time arrived also mirrored this.

These two teams have an incredibly large amount of on-the-field attributes in common. Off the field, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. Both teams were equally represented Wednesday, as the stadium was littered with Cardinal red to go along with MSU’s trademark forest green colors.

The West Coast attitude and influence on the culture of Stanford is plain to see. From the happy-go-lucky nature of the band all the way to the demeanor of the fans. Stanford is by no means lazy nor a pushover, but they simply have a particular way and speed of doing things.

Cardinal fans across the stadium were easily equal to the Spartans in sheer numbers, but they carried a slightly more quiet confidence about them. One aspect that is incredibly endearing about both sides. but specifically Stanford, was how friendly they were while still remaining stoic and strong at the same time.

Meanwhile, Spartan fans are very strong and boisterous in their presence. Their unmistakable aura renders the actual number of fans – whether it be 10 Spartans or even 300 – pointless. With a plethora of various chants and war calls at their disposal, Spartan fans are an undeniable presence wherever they go.

In addition, one would be hard-pressed to find a school that could get nearly 45,000 people to fly to California on such short notice. When the fans did arrive, they traveled in huge packs where the classic “Go Green! Go White!” echoed throughout the stadium and areas surrounding the game.

In a way, this was a microcosm of the cultural differences of the different parts of the country that these two schools represent. People from the Midwest tend to stick together much more and show an interdependent trait. Californians, on the other hand, are much more likely to march to the beat of their own drummer while adopting the “I’ll see ya when I see ya” mentality.

Which makes everything come full circle is the fact that – at least for this Rose Bowl – the two sides of fans come together at the end of the game, just as the Stanford and Michigan State players did. The Stanford band played in one corner of the Cardinal end zone, which cheered up a good deal of its dejected fans. Among those moving to the upbeat music that the band produced were a handful of fans wearing green and white.

That tells us one thing: No matter how hard, or how long, we fight each other, we’re all on the same team in the end.

Chance McBride is reporter for ESPN 100.9 FM based in Michigan while Jeremy Harness is a regular contributor to SportsRadioService.com.

Longshot LB stops Stanford cold in Rose Bowl

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By Jeremy Harness

PASADENA – Kyler Elsworth entered college weighing 180 pounds, looking nothing like a linebacker. He immediately faced long odds as a walk-on of being a contributor for Michigan State’s football team.

Fast forward five years – and 45 pounds of solid muscle – and Elsworth was still fighting an uphill battle going into the 100th Rose Bowl Game. The fifth-year senior was thrust into a huge role in replacing All-American linebacker Max Bullough, and he came up with the decisive stop by stuffing fullback Ryan Hewitt on 4th-and-1 with 1:43 remaining to give his No. 4 Spartans a 24-20 win over No. 5 Stanford in front of 95,173 fans.

“Opportunities come for other players, and they have an opportunity to make good on it,” Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Kyler Elsworth got a chance to make a play, (and he) makes the play of the game.”

Stanford held a distinct advantage in the first quarter and held a 17-14 halftime lead, but Michigan State seized momentum in the second half, particularly on defense.

Gaffney finished with 91 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, but gained only 22 yards for the final three quarters. Particularly in the second half, the Spartans plugged up every single lane that Gaffney was able to run through in the first quarter, which significantly slowed down Stanford’s offense and resulted in increased three-and-outs and allowed the Michigan State offense to stay in rhythm.

“I told the guys (that) we had a heck of a year and got beat today,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said. “They played better. They made more plays. That’s the bottom line.”

Stanford, however, also didn’t help itself in certain areas. Although they only turned the ball over once – as did Michigan State – the Cardinal dropped two sure interceptions and committed eight penalties, one of which negated a Jordan Richards interception while several others kept drives alive for Michigan State.

Early on, however, Stanford looked like the fundamentally-sound team that took the Pac-12 title. The advantage that it appeared to have following Bullough’s suspension showed up on the very first drive, as the Cardinal sliced through Michigan State’s defense for 77 yards, a drive that was aided by Michael Rector’s 43-yard pass from Kevin Hogan.

Stanford picked up several first downs until Tyler Gaffney broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and rumbled 16 yards to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead.

Both teams got away with a turnover in the first quarter. Hogan coughed up the ball after being uprooted on a bootleg play in Michigan State territory, with two Spartan defenders having clear shots at the recovery.

However, neither came up with the ball, and Stanford recovered and continued the drive, which was capped off by Jordan Williamson’s 34-yard field goal.

On the ensuing possession, Stanford linebacker Kevin Anderson had an interception bounce off his chest and end up into the hands of flanker Macgarrett Kings, Jr. for a first down to keep that drive going. The Spartans parlayed that, along with a pass-interference penalty in the end zone, into a touchdown that cut Stanford’s lead to 10-7.

Anderson got another chance to redeem himself when quarterback Connor Cook committed the cardinal sin by backpedaling and throwing a desperation pass into the middle of the field. Anderson converted the gift into an easy 40-yard pick-six.

Cook, however, responded by taking his offense down the field and hit Trevon Pendleton on a 2-yard touchdown pass to again cut Stanford’s lead to three at halftime.

Besides a Michigan State turnover deep in Stanford territory, the Spartans controlled the third quarter and tied the game with a 31-yard field goal by Michael Geiger.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal picked up only two first downs in the third quarter and did absolutely nothing to even change the field position immediately following it. Michigan State got the ball back on the Stanford 27 to early in the fourth quarter and exclaimed the drive when Cook found Tony Lippett, who beat cornerback Wayne Lyons for a 25-yard scoring strike to give MSU a 24-17 lead.

Meanwhile, Lyons, who had two interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal Stanford’s win over Notre Dame in November, had a nightmare of a game. He was beaten several times on long pass plays and, like Anderson earlier, had a sure interception bounce off his chest in the third quarter.

It was a bitter end to the last game of the college careers of Stanford’s seniors, a class that includes Gaffney, linebackers  A.J. Tarpley and Shayne Skov – who made several big tackles and had an overall great game – as well as kicker Jordan Williamson.

“Our group of seniors (is) the most accomplished group of football players to ever go through Stanford University,” Shaw said. “Regardless of (Wednesday’s) outcome, that’s just the truth. When you talk about the best teams of the BCS era, you have to mention Stanford University.”

Keys to victory: No. 5 Stanford vs. No. 4 Michigan State

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By Jeremy Harness

 

PASADENA – During Monday morning’s press conference, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said that he and his team were tired of talking about the game and were ready to just play it. Well, after a week of hype and preparation, it is, in fact, time for Dantonio’s No. 4 Spartans to face No. 5 Stanford in the 100th Rose Bowl.

 

These two teams are just about a mirror image of each other, as while both have playmakers at the receiver position, they center their offensive attacks on the success of their running game and their ability to win the game in the trenches.

 

Also key for these teams is their ability to stick with what makes them what they as a team, and they have suffered defeats when they deviate from that in any way. For instance, Stanford got away from their running game against Utah and ended up dropping their first game of the season. Meanwhile, Michigan State committed four pass interference penalties and had a trick play backfire in its only loss of the season, at the hands of Notre Dame.

 

With that said, here are the keys to victory for each team:

 

STANFORD

The Cardinal must control the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense, a method that has carried them into their second straight Rose Bowl. That task appears to have gotten a bit easier with the suspension of Michigan State All-American linebacker Max Bullough.

 

The key to their rushing attack is the extra offensive lineman that are employed in their “jumbo” package, which they continue to have great success, particularly in big games.

 

Stanford has got to take care of the football. The Cardinal enter the game with a turnover ratio of minus-0.08 compared to Michigan State’s plus-1.08, and turnovers played a big role in both losses this year. In its loss at Utah in October, they lost two fumbles while the Utes had only one turnover while USC intercepted quarterback Kevin Hogan twice while forcing another fumble while the Trojans turned the ball over only once in its upset win in November.

 

MICHIGAN STATE

Stanford is equipped with perhaps the most dynamic playmaker in college football in Ty Montgomery, who has broken several big plays at wide receiver as well as a kick returner. On offense, expect Michigan State to assign corner Darqueze Dennard, who won this year’s Jim Thorpe Award (awarded to the nation’s best defensive back) to Montgomery for at least the majority of the game, if not all of it.

 

Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said earlier in the week that they’re not going to shy away from Montgomery in any way on special teams, so don’t expect to see any corner kicks. However, it will be extremely wise for Michigan State to get quite a bit of hang time on their punts, in order to allow the gunners to get down there by the time he fields the punt.

 

In Bullough’s absence, the X-factor on defense may not be Dennard but rather firth-year senior linebacker Kyler Elsworth – who originally came to Michigan State as a 180-pound wrestler – as well as Darien Harris, both of which Dantonio has said will see significant time at that position against Stanford’s vaunted running game. The better those guys play, the better chance the Spartans have of taking the Rose Bowl trophy with them back to East Lansing.

Day 3: Ringing in the new year in style – and with a lady, mother and child in tow

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By Jeremy Harness

 

LOS ANGELES – First of all, for those who are reading this, let me wish you a very happy, a prosperous, new year. Hopefully, all of you were able to spend the final day of 2013 with friends and/or loved ones.

 

For myself, that happening for me was up in the air. However, after battling with scheduling issues at her job, my girlfriend, Montsy, was able to join me down here from Napa along with her mother, Bertha, and her 12-year-old daughter, Angelita, in ringing in 2014 in wonderful fashion.

 

Being in LA, an area which Montsy is a native, we were obviously out and about, but I was able to ease into the day itself.

 

After a long night of checking out what LA had to offer – as well as having my phone battery run out – I was thankful that there weren’t any scheduled events in the morning. This allowed me to take in some breakfast without a real time limit, which I found to be extremely refreshing in what has proven to be an all-go, no-stop string of events that I call a life.

 

Not a whole lot wrong with that, but just sayin’.

 

The first stop was the Kickoff Luncheon, which was held in the parking lot outside Rose Bowl Stadium. There was one thing wrong, however, as we got ready to leave the hotel at around 11:30: I had neglected to give myself a chance to go back to my room to grab the pair of gold-and-brown sunglasses and the gray fedora hat that I had purchased the day before (in my infinite wisdom, knowing that I was headed to sunny Southern California and not somewhere like Seattle, I had also failed to bring a hat nor shades for this trip, thus the need to buy those items down here) since I figured the shuttle was leaving later than it actually did.

 

Thankfully, I just so happened to be in the media hospitality room at the time. After polishing off a solid round of the vintage golf video game Golden Tee, I checked with one of the friendly staff members, who informed me that the shuttle was leaving in a few minutes.

 

Needless to say, there was no time to grab any accessories that I might need, but I digress…

 

As the shuttle took us down Orange Grove Blvd. on the way to the stadium, I noticed a long line of people with folding chairs and sweatshirts, with the sole purpose of saving a precious viewing position for Wednesday morning’s Rose Parade. This was something that I was accustomed to seeing with fans camping outside of the stadium/arena in an attempt to snag game tickets.

 

Not only that, but I also noticed a good 30 rows of bleachers on the other side of the street, which made me realize that planning for this parade takes a great deal of advance preparation.

 

As we got to the luncheon site, the social media session began. Since I’m not one to waste memories and to allow my friends and family to share the experiences as much as possible, I spent most of my time there utilizing both Facebook and Instagram to record the various pictures and happenings.

 

One of those happenings was the performance of the marching bands, mascots and cheerleading squads of both Michigan State and Stanford. Since the luncheon crowd was split down the middle with fans of both schools, this had the feel of a pep rally. This was also pretty refreshing, since I had not been to a pep rally since my high school graduation 17 years ago.

 

Before getting back on the shuttle to leave following the luncheon, a buddy of mine by the name of Chance McBride and myself decided to get a sneak peek at the stadium and asked if we could go inside the confines to perhaps snap some photos. However, since neither of us had brought our game-day credential with us, access was effectively denied.

 

Darn! Well, guess we’ll just have to get to the stadium early enough to take said pictures before the game starts. This, however, may or may not allow us time to do the Rose Parade in the morning, a decision on which I am still battling with as this is being written.

 

From there, I walked around and took in downtown LA awaiting the arrival of the rest of my little gang, which arrived at around 9:30 p.m. We took a shuttle back into downtown, and after striking out on a couple of places to take Angelita to eat, we settled in front of the Staples Center, where she spotted a young man cooking and selling hot dogs wrapped in bacon on the side of the street.

 

Cool! Now that that issue was resolved, we caught the shuttle back to the hotel and decided to ring in the new year, safe and sound. As it should be.

Day 2: Getting my feet wet, and glad I’ve never had a rifle pointed at me

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By Jeremy Harness

 

LOS ANGELES – On my first full night in Southern California, I got a much more of an understanding of the history of the Rose Bowl, as far as how much it means to so many people and how much each game stands up in the history of not only college football, but in the history of sports.

 

To achieve this, after getting such a late start to the day before, I made sure to get an early jump on matters on my second day on the job.

 

After getting my credentials for the game as well as the events leading up to the “Granddaddy of them all,” the day officially started off with press conferences with the head coach with each of the participating teams in the Rose Bowl. The meat of the conferences centered around the suspension of star Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough for the Rose Bowl, with Stanford head coach David Shaw reminding us of the fact that tough decisions like this, as unpopular as it seems, that maintain the overall health and morale of the team, which is much more important than just one individual.

 

Even though he didn’t talk about it very much at all, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio also said that this was about the team – and not one single player.

 

Besides that, Dantonio also offered a few key nuggets of wisdom, and it wasn’t necessarily confined to the game of football.

 

“I don’t care what level of a player you are, you’d better overachieve because that’s the only way you’re going to be successful.”

 

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Dantonio’s words don’t just apply to football players, and they don’t apply to just athletes. Whatever you do, in every single walk of life, you have to give that little extra effort if you’re really going to be successful at whatever it is that you do.

 

After grabbing some breakfast at the hotel, it was off to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame induction ceremony, during which three individuals – former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, former Ohio State offensive tackle Orlando Pace and legendary USC wide receiver Lynn Swann – were welcomed into the Rose Bowl’s eternal fraternity.

 

When you go to a function that features older people trading war stories, you’re going to get more than a handful of funny stories that had never been shared before. This year’s Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was no different.

 

Most people know that Swann attended USC before going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They probably didn’t know that he almost lost his life before he started his college career.

 

See, he and running back Sam Cunningham – who acted as Swann’s presenter and himself went on to have a nice NFL career while being inducted into this very same Rose Bowl Hall of Fame – went to visit Cunningham’s aunt and uncle in Louisville, Ky during a long road trip.

 

According to Cunningham, the city had been ravaged by burglaries during that particular time, so when Swann went up to the front door while Cunningham stayed behind in the car, the aunt, not one to take any chances, greeted him by pointing a rifle at him. Only when Cunningham jumped out of the car did she put the gun down.

 

“I’m the reason why he’s here today,” Cunningham said.

 

After the ceremony, I had a chance to stand side-by-side with Pace, who went on to an outstanding 12-year career in the NFL, which includes a Super Bowl ring with the St. Louis Rams. Now, me being 5-foot-9 and approximately 170 pounds, I had an idea. But standing next to Pace, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs over 300, I knew that this was exactly the reason why I quit playing football after Pop Warner.

 

Carr also had a funny story of his own. He had a hotel that he was quite fond of, the Huntington Sheraton, in which he and his team stayed when Michigan competed in the big game.

 

“I loved that place,” he said. “Even when the fire alarm went off at 3 a.m.”

 

This is what makes the Rose Bowl the special game that it is. It’s not just the legendary games that it creates, but also the backstories that can be passed from generation to generation.

Shaw: Bullough suspension sets good example

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By Jeremy Harness

 

LOS ANGELES – Suspending a key player at the most crucial time of a season – the Rose Bowl, in this case – is the most heart-wrenching, nerve-racking decision that coach can possibly have after certain rules are broken.

 

On the other hand, as Stanford head coach David Shaw said Monday morning, taking that action is very necessary for the overall health of the team.

 

The topic was brought up in the aftermath of Michigan State suspending star senior middle linebacker Max Bullough for the Rose Bowl for breaking team rules. At press time, however, no other information has been released pertaining to any details of the violation that Bullough committed to warrant the suspension.

 

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio did not discuss this matter much further Monday morning, but he said that either Darien Harris or Kyler Elsworth will start in Bullough’s place while both figure to see significant time at the position.

 

When asked if their responsibilities will be the same, he said that nothing would change.

 

“It’s our system,” Dantonio said. “It’s not one individual; it’s our system.”

 

Shaw shed more light on the importance, as tough as it certainly is, to make that kind of decision when it is most necessary in order to set an example for the entire team as far as what is acceptable and what is not.

 

He recalled the beginning of last season, when he had to suspend a star linebacker and leader of his own, Shayne Skov, for the opening game of the regular season. Skov was arrested in the offseason prior for driving under the influence, and Shaw responded by suspending him for the entire offseason as well as that first game.

 

Since the incident, Skov has been, by all accounts, an unquestioned team leader and a positive example for the rest of his Cardinal teammates.

 

“Those are not really tough decisions because you set the rules before,” he said. “You set the rules early, and the guys know what they are. (When) the rules are broken, those are easy decisions.

 

“We’re in this to help young men grow, to set an example for my two young boys as they grow up. They come to every single game, and they come to practices. There are rules for these men, just like there are rules for them. You’re helping them further in life.”

 

For this reason, Shaw said that he applauds Dantonio’s move to remove Bullough – the heartbeat of the Spartans’ defense – for the Rose Bowl, the first such game in which Michigan State has played in 25 years.

 

“It doesn’t happen everywhere, and there are a lot of places where you get a slap on the wrist and they bench you for a practice, and then you play in the game,” Shaw said. “But it’s a sign of who Coach Dantonio is, and there are still some really, really good disciplinary coaches in this country that believe in setting discipline for these college athletes, which is vital to your success as a team but even more vital to their success after football.

 

“I’ll tell you this: Shayne Skov appreciated it. I think it set him on the path to where he is now as a person and as a player.”

Day 1: Arrival in LA for Rose Bowl Week

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By Jeremy Harness

 

LOS ANGELES – First of all, for those of you who have had the pleasure of reading my columns/stories on this Web site for the past 10 years, thank you so very much. I greatly appreciate your support, and I consider it an honor and a privilege to contribute to Sports Radio Service on a regular basis.

 

With that said, for the next four days, I will take you on a journey through Rose Bowl Week, as No. 5 Stanford prepares to take on No. 4 Michigan State in the 100th-annual Rose Bowl Game. And, of course, it will be through my eyes.

 

My flight down here to Southern California was greatly anticipated, as this was the first time I have flown in an airplane in more than five years. With the exception of a tad bit of turbulence as the plane was starting its descent into Bob Hope Airport in Burbank as well as the fact that I had to surrender a can of shaving cream in Oakland in order to carry on my luggage bag, the flight came and went without a hitch.

 

The most entertaining part of the flight was when the aircraft touched down in Burbank, the flight attendant announced to the passengers, “We have fulfilled our obligation to get you into Burbank. Our contractual agreement is now over,” to which the majority of the passengers (myself included) responded with wholehearted laughter.

 

From there, the trip was a lesson in discovery about the LA area, where I had not been in many years. During a conversation about the notoriously-gut-wrenching traffic in this metropolitan area, the driver of the shuttle which took me from the airport to my hotel educated me to the fact that most of the people that clog the freeways on a daily basis are actually inexperienced drivers. This was certainly news to me, since unlike my native San Francisco Bay Area, you almost have to have your own vehicle if you have any hopes of getting around Los Angeles and its surrounding cities.

 

Once I got to the hotel and got checked in at around 9:20 pm, it was determined that media registration had come and gone for the night, and that it would have to wait until tomorrow morning to become “official.” No worries, however, as a few hours were left to grab a bite to eat and, of course, check out the LA Hotel Downtown.

 

Boy, is it a beautiful hotel! The people here are quite friendly, and the hotel itself is very spacious, definitely a deserving venue to host the media during the week leading up to the Rose Bowl. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to be right about now.

 

That is all for the first night, but I promise you, I will have much, much more for you as we get closer to the big game, which is expected to be a knock-down, drag-out brawl between two hard-nosed teams until the final whistle.

Michigan State star LB suspended for Rose Bowl

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By Jeremy Harness

 

If Michigan State has any hopes of going toe-to-toe with Stanford in the trenches when the Cardinal have the ball, those hopes took a major hit late Wednesday night.

 

That’s because the Spartans’ starting middle linebacker and team captain, Max Bullough, was found to have violated team rules and has been suspended for the Rose Bowl, according to a school press release.

 

“It is extremely disappointing for all parties involved,” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said through a statement that was released Wednesday night. “We will stay focused and close ranks as we prepare for Stanford on January 1 in the Rose Bowl.

 

“Max will forever remain a Spartan and valued member in this team’s achievements.”

 

The loss is especially big for Michigan State, since while he is the team’s leading tackler and has started at middle linebacker for the past three seasons, Bullough, a senior, is considered the unquestioned leader of the team, known for his passionate team speeches before games.

 

He is also responsible for making sure the rest of the defense, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the country heading into this Rose Bowl, is in proper alignment before every snap.

 

Bullough’s backup is listed as fellow senior Kyler Elsworth. However, Elsworth has not played very many snaps on defense this year, and he obviously has big shoes to fill as the Spartans prepare to face a vaunted Stanford attack that relies heavily on the running game and controlling the line of scrimmage, something that Bullough figured to have a big hand in Wednesday afternoon.

Stanford hangs tough but comes up short

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 By Jeremy Harness

 

The Stanford basketball team was in the same position a couple of nights before, so based on the prior result, the Cardinal certainly had reason to believe.

 

Coming off a signature victory on the road against No. 10 Connecticut, during which they found themselves down by eight early in the second half, Stanford was again behind against Michigan Saturday night and rallied yet again.

 

This time, however, the Cardinal could not close the deal, cutting Michigan’s lead to one point against the runner-up in last season’s NCAA Tournament but could not push through in a 68-65 loss at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

 

Stanford did not shoot particularly well but still hung around against a more athletic Wolverines team, which didn’t have a great shooting night, either. Michigan, which thrives on shooting the 3-pointer, was 8-for-27 from behind the arc Saturday night.

 

Chasson Randle, who made several key shots down the stretch in the second half but had his final-seconds 3-pointer to tie the game fall short, scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal while Stefan Nastic, who had somewhat of a breakout game, had 14 to equal his season high.

 

The Cardinal will now enjoy the upcoming Christmas break and will not play again until Dec. 29 against Cal Poly at home before beginning the Pac-12 season against Cal the following Thursday, Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion.

Stanford eases into finals break

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By Jeremy Harness

 

STANFORD – Stanford athletics had quite a bit to be thankful for on this holiday weekend. But now it’s time for the hard stuff.

 

A day after the football team edged out a win over a very good Notre Dame team in preparation for next Saturday’s Pac-12 championship game, the basketball team shook off a disheartening loss to blow out an overmatched South Dakota State squad, 92-60, in a regional round game of the seventh-annual Progressive Legends Classic at Maples Pavilion Sunday night.

 

The win ran Stanford’s record to 6-2 and was much needed after suffering a 88-67 loss to Pittsburgh in the Progressive Legends Classic’s championship game in Brooklyn, during which the Cardinal shot 50 percent from the field but nonetheless had its four-game winning streak snapped.

 

Simply put, Stanford had it pretty easy all night and were never really challenged. The Cardinal were frequently able to get whatever shot they wanted while as South Dakota State really struggled from the field against what figures to be one of the better defensive teams in the Pac-12.

 

The Jackrabbits, on the other hand, did not present a similar defense. The Cardinal went to the basket early and often with minimal resistance and racked up plenty of foul calls and continuation plays.

 

Stanford scored the first 13 points of the game and jumped out to a 58-24 halftime lead, and in the second half, the Cardinal led by as many as 39 and had all of its starters resting peacefully by the midway point of the second half.

 

The fact that the game was such a blowout from the outset allowed Stanford to get more guys into the action. In addition, Dwight Powell, one of the main cogs of the Stanford machine, wasn’t one of the top scorers on Sunday with only nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.

 

Chasson Randle, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat, scoring 21 points while making seven of his 10 shots, including three of his five 3-point shots. Anthony Brown, who has had his role on offense expand a lot this year, was 7-of-11 from the floor and had 19 points to go along with eight rebounds.

 

For South Dakota State, the leading scorer was Jordan Dykstra, who had 20 points while making seven of his 14 field-goal attempts, including two of his three 3-point attempts, while Brayden Carlson scored 16.

 

It’s a good thing that the Cardinal didn’t have much stress on Sunday, because they figure to have plenty of that for the next two weeks. See, up next for the student-athletes (more emphasis on the student part here) are the dreaded final exams, for which they will be off the court for 12 days and are not scheduled to play again until Dec. 14 at home against UC Davis.