Category: Stanford Cardinal

by Jeremy Harness

LOS ANGELES–On the podcast we talk about the experience of working the Rose Bowl and talking with the players and coaches. Also we get a feel from both the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Stanford Cardinal and what advantages and disadvantages in playing other will be about.

Interviews with the players and coaches on some of the key players on Iowa and Stanford and discussions with Iowa quarterback CJ Beathard and Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan. Also a look with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Stanford head coach David Shaw.

It’s all on the podcast below with Jeremy Harness from the Rose Bowl in LA and heard on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: espn.go.com Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey interviewed after Pac 12 Championship on ESPN

LOS ANGELES – In a game that pits two football teams that share the same approach to the game, experience usually goes a long way in deciding the winner, as does a favorable matchup or two.

That appears to be the case for Stanford, who will take on Iowa Friday afternoon in the 102^nd edition of the Rose Bowl. While the Cardinal will be playing in their third Rose Bowl in four years, the Hawkeyes will be in this game for the first time in 25 years.

In addition, the only familiarity that these two teams have ever had with each other is what they’ve seen on video. Although both programs have been playing football for more than 130 years, Friday afternoon will mark the first time these two schools have ever met on the football field.

Both schools have balanced offenses but put more emphasis on the running attack, and they both are good at stopping the run, and that makes breaking down this particular game interesting.

Let’s get to it:

WHEN STANFORD HAS THE BALL:

There is no question that Heisman Trophy candidate Christian McCaffrey is the one that makes the Stanford offense go because of the wide range of abilities that he possesses, and for that reason, the Cardinal have found different ways to get the football in his hands. It is imperative that the Hawkeyes make sure they know where is at all times, whether he is getting the handoff or receiving the ball out of the backfield.

On defense, Iowa excels in stopping the run. The Hawkeyes have surrendered only 10 rushing touchdowns this season and only 114.9 yards per game on the ground, which is the 10^th-lowest total in the nation, so look for Iowa to put a spy on McCaffrey, likely safety Jordan Lomax, to shadow the sophomore back.

The challenge for the Hawkeyes will be their ability to match up with Stanford’s big tight ends, Austin Hooper and Devon Cajuste, both of whom have proven to be matchup nightmares. Iowa’s defensive backs are not particularly big, which will make things very tough for Iowa.

In addition, quarterback Kevin Hogan, although not particularly fast, does just enough with his legs to get away from pressure and extend plays, which forces the secondary to cover for a longer period of time and create more of an edge for the offense.

If there is a clear strategic advantage, this is it for Stanford.

At the same time, it is very important for Hogan to be careful with the football. For instance, it will be extremely wise for Hogan to keep the ball away from Iowa cornerback Desmond King, whose eight interceptions in 2015 is the second-highest total in the nation. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, have picked off 18 passes as a team, ninth in the country in that category.

WHEN IOWA HAS THE BALL:

Like Stanford, Iowa’s primary focus is to establish the run. The Hawkeyes averaged 192 yards per game during the season, which is good for 40^th in the nation. Jordan Canzeri spearheads the Iowa rushing attack, as he amassed 976 yards on the ground in 2015 to go along with 12 touchdowns.

As was shown in the third quarter of the Pac-12 title game against USC, Stanford has had problems with smaller, quick running backs, and Canzeri fits that bill. The Cardinal, meanwhile, rank 38^th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game at 146.9, which the Hawkeyes could use to their advantage come Friday afternoon.

Although they don’t throw as much as Stanford, the Hawkeyes do have a big-play, deep-threat receiver in senior Tevaun Smith. His ability to stretch the field was quite evident in the Big 12 championship, as he torched Michigan State on an 85-yard touchdown from quarterback C.J Beathard to put the Hawkeyes ahead on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Expect the Cardinal to match cornerback Ronnie Harris, who had very good success against USC star wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster in the first half of the Pac-12 championship game before his ongoing ankle injury forced him to sit out the second half.

Meanwhile, Harris has had almost an entire month to recover from that injury, so he should be much closer to 100 percent come New Year’s Day.

However, Iowa has struggled to get any momentum going their way in the first quarter of games this year, so it will be particularly important for the Cardinal, which has been adept at striking first, to do just that.

On the other hand, the Hawkeyes have shown a penchant for turning it on late in the game, particularly in the fourth quarter. Beathard has completed 35 of his 52 throws for 554 yards and four touchdowns in the final quarter alone this year. If Stanford does not get off to the fast start that it may need, allowing Iowa to keep the game close, the game could very well turn in the Hawkeyes’ direction.

 

By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: Bay Area News Group Stanford’s Blake Martinez celebrates sack against the Maryland Terrapins Dec 30 2014

LOS ANGELES – In a matchup between two very physically-tough football teams that don’t surrender very much, the big factor between them is experience in competing – and tasting victory – in bowl games.

The seniors on this year’s Stanford team, including quarterback Kevin Hogan and linebacker Blake Martinez, will play in their third Rose Bowl when they face the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday afternoon.

This group has two bowl victories to its credit, including its win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl three years ago as well as the blowout victory over Maryland in last year’s Foster Farms Bowl.

Friday afternoon will serve as a culmination for a senior class that has gone to a level that no other class in school history has reached.

“I think this one is just that much more special for me just because it is my senior season, and this is my last game at Stanford,” Martinez said. “So it’s going to be a great moment just to go out there with my teammates.

“And it kind of helps just from the standpoint of having that experience to be able to talk to the young guys, because we have nine starters this year on defense.”

While Stanford’s seniors have their two bowl wins to their credit, the Iowa senior class does not have that. The Hawkeyes came up short in the two bowl games this class has played in, including Iowa’s loss at the hands of LSU in the Outback Bowl two years ago, while they were downed by Tennessee in last year’s Taxslayer Bowl.

However, this is a completely new year, and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz acknowledged that the games that his team has played have not been as prestigious as the Rose Bowl, but that they have been in extremely-important games.

For instance, even though they suffered their only loss of the season, their experience in going up against Michigan State – who beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl two years ago – in the Big 12 title game in Indianapolis for a spot in the College Football Playoff served the Hawkeyes well nonetheless.

“As coaches and as a program, I think you learn through the years, you learn through your experiences, and it’s just part of the deal,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve played in a lot of big games, and for us, every game this year has been extremely big.

“As the season went on, the stakes went up a little bit, certainly our last couple games had a lot on the line, and then to play in Indianapolis (for the Big 12 title game), it was a great environment. I think our guys will be ready to go. They’re used to competing. They’re used to being in really live, active environments.”

 

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

photo credit: oregonlive.com Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan in action

LOS ANGELES–Stanford’s Rose Bowl hopes could have ended on a bright Saturday morning in Evanston. The heavily favored Cardinal had all the confidence in the world heading into a game against unranked Northwestern — until they stepped on the field. 

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong — the offense sputtered to score just six points, accrued needless penalties, and turned the ball over twice. Even Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey was bottled up, rushing for just 66 yards.

 Not exempt from the team’s struggles was fifth-year senior quarterback and team captain, Kevin Hogan, who posted the second lowest yards per attempt mark in his career. Back then, nobody would have guessed that the Cardinal would be playing the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Rose Bowl on Friday.

Hogan expressed disappointment after the loss, one that had made many believe the Cardinal were in for a long season: “It was very disappointing, just because we knew we were such a better team than that. And we were playing a great Northwestern team, and there’s a lot of things going against us that day, but we still feel like we could have executed better and worked our game plan better.”

The team’s leader could have given up — but Hogan doesn’t know how to quit. The week after the crushing loss, the captain rallied his troops, gathering the team with his fellow captains.  Hogan and his captains that told the Cardinal not to lay down. To get back to work. Not to quit.

Hogan knows a fair amount about dealing with adversity. For all of last season, Hogan knew that his father was dying of cancer, but none of his teammates or coaches knew until the very end, when he passed away after the end of the regular season.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Hogan explained how the loss changed him: “It changes your mind-set on a lot of things; it changes your perspective. At the end of the day, it’s just a game we’re playing. You have to treat it that way. Have fun with it, relax. You can’t tense up. That’s what I’ve been trying to do all year, and I feel comfortable out there. I’m never nervous.”

So when Hogan and the other captains told the team not to quit, they listened. As Hogan put it, “the guys bought in. It was total buy-in. Great leadership all around. [We] got back to work and put on a nice little streak there.”

A nice little streak it was — led by Hogan, Stanford won 11 of its last 12 games. Over that stretch, no signal-caller had a better quarterback rating than Hogan. Not Heisman finalist and Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson, and not even Cal’s star quarterback Jared Goff.

However, that one loss stands out because the normally steady, poised Hogan fumbled twice down the stretch. Two muffed snaps gave Oregon a 38-36 victory, ending Stanford’s chance to control their own destiny to make the College Football Playoff. But even then, he almost singlehandedly brought Stanford into overtime against the Ducks, engineering a brilliant 49-yard two-minute drill to get Stanford within two. His throw on the two-point conversion was just too low, and the Ducks ended up upsetting the Cardinal.

Even after that heart-crushing game, Hogan got right back up and won the Big Game, and then led his team to an emotional victory on Senior Night over Notre Dame, setting up a last-second game-winning field goal with another brilliant drive.

Some might say perseverance is his middle name. After the win over the Irish, head coach David Shaw gushed about his quarterback: “After all he’s been through, he’s come out so mature and so confident. He’s a great leader, and such a great football player.”

Even after knocking off undefeated Notre Dame and ending the Irish’s playoff hopes, the unflappable Hogan didn’t let the moment get to him. All business even when Shaw spoke with him after the instant classic, Hogan smiled and said “we got to play USC next week.”

Shaw always had known Hogan had it in him. “We had very, very high hopes for Kevin because, number one, ultimately, he is extremely competitive,” Shaw said Tuesday. “He’s very competitive. He’s very athletic. We knew he had a high ceiling when he came as a starter, though we tried to nurse him along a little bit. Last year was rough on all of us, on everybody at every position and Kevin both on and off the field. Then this year to watch him start the season with such maturity and such toughness and be the kind of leader that you want a fifth-year senior to be, it’s been great. It’s been truly special because we’ve leaned on him a lot, both on and off the field.”

Lesson learned: don’t try to knock down Kevin Hogan — he’ll get right back up off the mat and knock you out.

 

by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit: USA Today Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan

PALO ALTO–The Rose Bowl should be an excellent game the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-1) have an excellent defense they limited opponents to less than 20 points per game and when it was all said and done it was 18 points per game. There was no doubt about the strength of the Hawkeyes schedule they played Nebraska which ended up (5-7).

The Cornhuskers ended up taking care of UCLA in the Foster Farms bowl with a win 37-29 on Saturday and they had a pretty good offense maybe the Big Ten was tougher than we thought they were. The two quarterbacks that will be matching up for the Rose Bowl for Iowa CJ Beathard with 2570 yards passing and for Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan 2644 yards passing on New Years Day.

Hogan is a terrific game manager and he has a sensational running game behind with running backs Christian McCaffrey, Barry Sanders, Bryce Love, and David Bright. The Cardinal are loaded on the running game and Hogan uses the passing game to keep the defenses off balance.

Jerry talks more Rose Bowl download the podcast below here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

by Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: gostanford.com

STANFORD, Calif.– If Stanford was using Sunday’s contest as a barometer for where they stand heading into the important stretch of the season, Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins has to be pleased with where his team is at.

The Cardinal (7-4) trounced the NAIA’s Carroll College 83-38 Sunday at Maples Pavilion in its non-conference play finale. Dorian Pickens came a pair of points shy of his third-straight 20 point game, freshman Marcus Sheffield hit double-digits for the first time in his collegiate career and Rosco and Marcus Allen both netted 15 points apiece in Stanford’s tune-up for the Pac-12 opener against Utah Friday night.

“We didn’t want to look past this one,” said Pickens. “All the credit to Carroll College, they’re a great school, they fought hard all night. We didn’t want to take them lightly.”

Despite playing without Reid Travis for the second-straight game, the Cardinal outrebounded Carroll College 49-27 led by center Michael Humphrey’s 12 boards. As a team, Stanford shot 30 for 61 while holding the Fighting Saints to just 14 field goals on 57 shots. Carroll College managed only 18 points in the first half, and a mere 5 over the first ten minutes of the game.

“It affords us an opportunity to look at some different line-ups,” said Dawkins. “Some chemistry issues, making connecting plays, sharing the ball. Those are things you can work on no matter the competition. We knew Carroll College was going to compete. We got off to such a good start I think it changed the game right away.”

Pickens went 6-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the 3 point line. He hit 3 of 4 free throws for his 18 points over 26 minutes.

“We have a lot of belief in Dorian,” said Dawkins. “We have a lot of belief in what he’s capable of. I still think he’s not where he’s going to be as a player. I think he’s going to be a heck of a scorer. He’s not just a shooter. If you’ve watched him play enough you can see he’s driving to the basket, he’s got a midrange game.”

Sheffield went 4 of 8 from the field with a pair of treys to give the blue-chip recruit 10 points.

“I’m feeling good about it,” said Sheffield. “I played pretty well thanks to my coaches and teammates putting me in the right position to score.”

Marcus Allen scored his 15 on 7 field goals out of 13 attempts while Rosco Allen scored his on just 5 field goals. The Hungarian hit 4 of Stanford’s 15 free throws in 22 trips to the charity stripe.

“You can never have too many guys doing that,” said Dawkins when asked about his four players cracking double-digits despite not having Travis. “What we talk about is what you do through adversity. Most teams are going to face it, you’re going to go through it. We’ve faced quite a bit of it this year. I‘ve been asked who is going to step up, who is next. We’re fortunate that we’ve had guys fill the void there.”

With early season injuries to Robert Cartwright, Reid Travis and Marcus Allen sidelining the team out the gate, Dawkins is still pleased with how his team has handled the early adversity.

“We’ve had a heck of a preseason,” said Dawkins. “We’ve played a lot of tough teams throughout the preseason. That was good for us. We didn’t finish with the record we wanted but we’re moving in the right direction.”

The right direction would mean wins over Utah and Colorado at home to wrap up the current 7-game homestand with a 6-1 record and two conference wins. That will be no small task for the Cardinal in a tough Pac-12.

“The conference had a great preseason,” said Dawkins of the Pac-12’s non-conference slate. “I’ve been here 8 years and I think this is the best start our conference has had in the preseason. We’ve always been a good conference. We’ve had parity, I think you’ll see that again this season. We’ve had some teams with some marquee wins out of conference, Utah being one of them. We expect a team to come in with a lot of confidence.”

Matt also does Stanford podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

by Matt Mattington

photo credit: dailyaxe.com Stanford Men’s head coach Johnny Dawkins

PALO ALTO–The Cardinal who lost their last home game last week to Virginia show they’re a feisty competitive team. They were the same way against DePaul. There have been a lot of positives and a lot to look forward to. It’s that head coach Johnny Dawkins team that needs to step up.

You see Dawkins top player Roscoe Allen who really pitched in and took over the ranks and made this team. The downside is the injury to Ried Travis. The win against Sacramento State was amazing, then earlier they came within a victory

The Cardinal’s next opponent will be Carroll (8-3)d at Maples Pavilion on Sunday they play Carroll whose an NAIA team and has played twice in the west this season and they play this game on Sunday just before Pac 12 play starts on January 1. The Fighting Saints skills are pretty good when you look at this home game at Stanford.

Matt Harrington covers Stanford basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below