Category: Stanford Cardinal

by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit: breitbart.com Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback CJ Beathard

PALO ALTO–As the Stanford Cardinal prepare for the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day they will face the Iowa Hawkeyes who are 12-1. Taking a look at some of Iowa’s top players quarterback CJ Beathard who threw for 2570 yards, running back Jordan Canzeri who rushed for 976 yards, and wide receiver Matt Veandeberg who had 639 yards in receptions this season.

In the 13 games for Iowa there was only one team that surpassed the 27 point watermark against the Hawkeyes Minnesota with 35 point but Iowa won that game 40-35. Iowa lost their last game of the regular season 16-13 in  a very fierce match with Michigan State which was a defensive battle.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal football podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

photo credit: USA Today Longhorns Isaiah Taylor hits the game winner vs. Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. —A native of nearby Hayward, Texas guard Isaiah Taylor is no stranger to the Bay Area. For a Texas Longhorns team (8-3) that hadn’t played a true road game all season long, Taylor looked right at home in Palo Alto while “settl[ing] the team down” in the words of his coach, Shaka Smart, carrying his team to a nail-biting 75-73 win over the Stanford Cardinal (5-4) with 26 points. 

Taylor was lights out all night long, making 11 of his 17 field goal attempts while driving into the paint for bucket after bucket, especially in the first half. He dropped 16 in the first half, including 12 in the first 11 minutes to help his team break out to an early 11-4 lead. As Smart put it, he was the “one guy on the team who played with a constant poise.” 

Stanford struggled in the early going, turning the ball over four times in the first five minutes. As Stanford guard Dorian Pickens put it, the team came out “lack[ing] energy.” Texas was employing a full-court press that forced Stanford’s turnovers, preventing a team suddenly without forward Reid Travis from working the ball down low. As forward Rosco Allen put it, “we let it affect our game. We had to swing the ball around the perimeter because of the pressure.” 

Travis, the team’s leading rebounder, who is sidelined indefinitely with a stress reaction in his left leg, was sorely missed on Saturday. Head coach Johnny Dawkins told the media that the injury will be a “tough lesson” for Travis, who was the hardest worker Dawkins has ever seen — too much extra work spelled doom for Travis.

Without Travis, no one could stop Taylor in the paint in the first half — Stanford was outscored 20-6 in the key in the first half. However, after the sluggish start, Pickens and Stanford started to turn it around. Pickens dropped 15 points in the first half, propelling the Cardinal to cut the Longhorns’ halftime lead to 41-35. The sophomore guard came off the bench and finished with a career-high 24 points on 6 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Dawkins expressed a lot of confidence in his guard, whether he comes off the bench or starts. For Dawkins, he’s “starting to find out how good he can be. As a young player, he can build off of that.” 

But Pickens’ career night ultimately wasn’t enough, mostly because of Taylor’s dominant play. After being down for about ten for most of the first and second half, Stanford came storming back. After Michael Humphrey forced a steal and had a breakaway thunderous dunk to light up Maples Pavillion, Stanford had cut the Longhorns’ lead to just two with 29 seconds remaining. The crowd was back in it, and it felt like Stanford was going to take it.

But after three made free throws from Taylor and Javan Felix, Stanford found itself down by three with 17 seconds left. Pickens nearly saved the day for the Cardinal, nailing a three, but it was to no avail. As he did all night long, Taylor sped down the court and knocked down a driving left-handed layup, giving Texas the win. Dawkins said he was the fastest guard he had seen in the past few years — hours upon hours of watching his film couldn’t get the Cardinal adjusted to it.

Notes: Travis had an MRI on Friday, and there is no timetable for his return….Stanford won the last meeting (2014) between these two squads in an overtime thriller, an upset victory on the road over the then-ninth-ranked Longhorns…The Cardinal will move on and play Sacramento State on Tuesday….

 

 

by Matt Harrington

AP photo of Stanford Cardinal Marcus Allen (15) on the drive last Tuesday night against DePaul

PALO ALTO–Top scorers from Tuesday night’s game against the DePaul Blue Demons (5-5) the Stanford Cardinal (5-3) Marcus Allen with 17 and Allen scored 13 of 17 in the first half. Dorian Pickens finished with 16 points and scored ten points in the second half.

The Blue Demons had a good second half in their own right scoring just ahead of Stanford 40-36 but it wasn’t enough. Another big contributor for Stanford was the Cardinal Roscoe Allen who hit 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Stanford pushes big to keep things going in the December all home game schedule as they play Texas on Sat Dec 19th at Maples Pavilion.

Matt Harrington does the Cardinal basketball podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Matt below

 

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: AP photo of Stanford’s Marcus Sheffield taking a shot against DePaul Tuesday night

STANFORD, Calif. –It was about as perfect as it could get for Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins and the Cardinal Tuesday night at Maples Pavilion. In beating the visiting DePaul Blue Demons 79-60, the Cardinal checked off a number of boxes on its holiday list.

First there was stout defense, then there was scoring from someone without the last name Allen. Mix in some steals and a couple three-pointers and Stanford (5-3) had its best victory of the year heading into a Saturday match-up with a Texas Longhorn team fresh off an upset over North Carolina.

“A big thing for us this year is ‘together’,” said sophomore Dorian Pickens on his team’s scoring depth Tuesday. “We have a really deep team. Everybody comes into the game ready to make contributions offensively and defensively.”

The Cardinal never trailed in the contest, scoring the game’s first basket 23 seconds into the contest and rode 7 made treys and 8 steals in the first half, both breaking single-game highs this year in just 20 mins. Stanford outscored DePaul 39-24 in first half after limiting the Blue Devils to just 36 percent shooting.

“I thought our first half defense was as good as it’s been all year,” said Dawkins. “Our guys did a really good job of making it difficult. We were playing as one out there on the floor.

Stanford stumbled a bit in the second half, allowing the visitors to hit 51.7 percent of their shots but still built as much as a 23-point lead. Senior guard Aaron Simpson scored a team-high 16 points DePaul (5-5).

“There’s always room for improvement,” said junior guard Marcus Allen. “We played well on defensive in the first half. We had a small let-off in the second half. It can always improve.”

Veterans Marcus Allen (17 points, season-high three three-pointers) and Rosco Allen (14 points) got revenge for last season’s 87-72 loss to DePaul in Rosemont on November 30^th by leading a Cardinal offense that hit 25-51 field goals. Fellow starter Reid Travis pitched in 12 points and 7 rebounds.

“I am happy that we played a lot better than we played last year,” said Dawkins. “Last year was one of our worst performances. Give them credit, they made us play that way. This year our guys were really focused. They remembered that game. They wanted to do better, and they did.”

Stanford received a boost from reserve Pickens who contributed 16 points off the bench, coming just 4 points shy of his career-high set against Charleston earlier this season. Pickens hit 3 of Stanford’s season-best 10 threes.

“Dorian came in and gave us a lift,” said Dawkins. “Not just because he was scoring, but defensively. He got a lot of deflections that we got steals off of.”

One face that wasn’t a part of last season’s loss was guard hybrid Marcus Sheffield. The freshman scored 9 points over his 12 minutes of play to add to Stanford’s 27 bench points.

“We recruited ‘Sheff’ to be a scorer for us,” said Dawkins. “I think you saw glimpses of what he can do tonight. He can score around the basket, he can step outside and knock down shots. He’s just like any other freshman, he has to get a little stronger. He’s a little bean right now. He needs to get stronger but as he does he’s going to be a terrific player for us.”

Another freshman, Cameron Walker played 11 minutes at point guard.

“The thing I learned about watching Cameron in high school and at practice,” said Dawkins. “He has a unique ability to find guys and get guys the ball. He finds guys very well. He enjoys it more than he enjoys scoring.”

The guard-forward hybrid will get his share of point guard minutes with Robert Cartwright out for the season.

“We looked at it during the summer, during the fall,” said Dawkins of playing Walker at the point. “With Robert going down we look at it as a must now. Putting him there is one of the options. He’s very versatile. He can give you a lot of different positions.”

While the scoring was crucial, so too was Stanford’s ability to force the turnover. The Cardinal managed their best steal total of the season with 13 swipes and 20 turnovers.

“It’s not what we’re known for,” said Dawkins of his team’s double-digit pilfer total. “We’re going to defend you hard but we don’t turn teams over as much. I’ve talked to my guys about being more active, getting hands in the lanes, getting deflections. Tonight it all came together.”

Stanford wasn’t only aggressive on the defensive end, they charged to the basket on offense as well. The Cardinal drew 21 personal fouls and went 19 for 24 from the free throw line.

“We’re a pretty aggressive team, a physical team,” said Dawkins. “I think that combination means there are going to be collisions, there are going to be fouls. Tonight we capitalized on it.”

About the only thing Stanford didn’t capitalize on was turning in a great performance in front of a packed house. While the listed attendance was 4,912, the actual count was much lower. That was due in large part to Stanford having wrapped up the quarter this past week.

“We’re playing a Big East team like DePaul, just like Texas is coming in here,” said Dawkins. “You want to have a great crowd for these games. Our kids work hard. They want people there. We always know Christmas break is tough. Once our students leave campus it becomes harder for us. Hopefully we’ll have a terrific crowd for Texas.”

by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit: ESPN Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan

PALO ALTO–It’s the granddaddy of them all the Rose Bowl it’s the third Rose Bowl for the Stanford Cardinal (11-2) who’ll face Iowa (12-1). Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan had a great year it’ll be interesting to see what Iowa will do on their pass rush to get at Hogan.

It’s been a Christian McCaffrey year with his great running back prowess he missed getting the Heisman but he’ s all set for the Rose Bowl. Hogan has plenty of confidence in giving the ball to him against an aggressive Iowa defense who can deflect the a rush. But they might have seen the likes of a running back like McCaffrey.

Also Stanford’s running back McCaffrey who missed the Heisman will move on after the much anticipated trophy was awarded over the weekend to Alabama’s Derrick Henry. McCaffrey lost by 293 votes. While their was disappointment the Cardinal move on and hope to establish their goal and win the war of the roses on New Years Day.

Jerry Feitleberg does the weekly podcast of Cardinal football at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

by Michelle Richardson

photo credit: AP photo 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Alabama running back Derrick Henry

Alabama’s half back Derrick Henry who won the Heisman over the weekend had a great year mowing over defenses and rushing for 1986 yards. Henry beat out Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey by more than 293 votes. We take a look at Henry and how he was voted winner of the award over McCaffrey and the year that he had.

Navy’s boat floats as they defeated Army on Saturday 21-17. This was a game the odds makers had Navy winning 31-22 and although Navy didn’t cover the spread they didn’t care they got in the win column for the important win. Army came back to take a brief lead 17-14 but not until Navy caught up.

The Texas Longhorns made themselves useful over the weekend when they picked up two offensive coordinators from Tulsa. Sterlin Gilbert has been hired as offensive coordinator with offensive line coach Matt Maddox. The Longhorns will retain their head coach Charlie Strong.

Michelle Richardson does the NCAA podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

photo credit: sfgate.com Stanford’s point guard Roscoe Allen

STANFORD, Calif.–When you come to Stanford, you know you’re committing to a standard of academic excellence. And that means you have to sacrifice playing games during finals week, or turning in a 14-page paper at noon on game day in point guard Christian Sanders’ case. 

After hitting the books for 15 days, the Cardinal pushed past the Dartmouth Big Green 64-50 in a battle of academic powerhouses. Rosco Allen led the way for the Cardinal, scoring 17 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, while Reid Travis also chipped in with 14 points. 

For their first game in over two weeks, the Cardinal didn’t have much rust to shake off — they jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead to start the game, and coasted from there, never trailing in the win. Even though the team didn’t play any games during that time, they had to go hard in practice, almost like it was “game week” as Reid Travis put it, and helped bring the team “back to the drawing board.”

Stanford thoroughly dominated the undersized Big Green on the offensive glass, pulling down 17 offensive boards to Dartmouth’s 11, and took it to Dartmouth in the paint, scoring 28 points in the key to Dartmouth’s 10. As Travis put it, “we start a huge lineup, all big guys that like to crash the boards. It’s always an emphasis to go after the offensive rebounds.”

The Cardinal used their height to take a commanding 37-24 halftime lead, in part fueled by the team’s 4 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc. Rosco Allen had three of those four and had another huge game after dropping 25 on Arkansas in his last game. Coach Johnny Dawkins said he was very proud of Allen, who has “started to come into his own. He’s been in an aggressive mindset. Coming in and attacking has helped to round out his game. 

But the Cardinal started to take the foot off the gas late in the second half, letting Dartmouth creep back into the game despite holding a 17 point lead with just ten minutes to play. The Big Green made it a game with five minutes to play, down just eight after Miles Wright hit a three.

Dawkins was quick to credit Dartmouth and not be disappointed in his team for the comeback — Dartmouth was “one of the grittiest teams [he’d] seen all season. They’ve been in all of their games, a testament to their ability to keep fighting. They give a heck of a 40-minute effort.

Dawkins had even shown his players an entire montage of Dartmouth players taking “charge after charge.” He was only a little disappointed that Dartmouth took two charges on his team.

After a fleeting comeback, Stanford pulled away behind some more sweet shots from Rosco Allen, including a trey that iced the game, helping Stanford take a 64-47 lead with just over a minute left.

Notes: Saturday’s game was a rematch of the 1942 NCAA championship game, when Stanford won its first and only national title…Stanford moved to 6-1 all-time against Dartmouth….The Big Green hasn’t beaten a Pac-12 team since 1971….

 

 

by Matt Harrington

photo credit: ruleoftree.com Stanford mascot the Tree

PALO ALTO–After Stanford (3-3) dropped three straight they picked up a crucial win at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks 69-66 Fri Nov 27th to snap their loss streak last week and with the Darmouth Big Green (3-3) in town to do battle. The Cardinal hope to maximize that momentum from the Arkansas Razbacker win goin

The Big Green have done well in their own right as they beat Maine (2-6) in their last game by ten points. This one on Saturday night could turn out to be a close contest. Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins looks out for those mistakes that he wants to avoid, those same mistakes that Stanford made during their three game losing streak.

The Cardinal will rely on their three top scorers to create some offense of Roscoe Allen, Marcus Allen, and Michael Humphrey. The trio were lights out in that last game versus the Razorbacks and they very well could lead all scorers in that top three spot against Dartmouth on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion.

Matt Harrington covers the Stanford Cardinal basketball club and does the Cardinal podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

by Jeremy Harness

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan brings us back to the days of quarterback John Elway and Jim Plunkett and Stanford has a knack for having quarterbacks who just are like the rest of the Stanford students who know what to do in every situation.

Quarterback Kevin Hogan is no different but he’s fast enough to where he could rush for a touchdown here and there which he did against USC in the Pac 12 Championship on Saturday. He can make things happen with his legs and arms and head coach David Shaw made his point after Saturday’s game when comparing the Stanford Mt.Rushmore  of quarterbacks like Elway, Plunkett, Matt Leinart, Andrew Luck, he was asked if he would put Hogan in that same circle? Shaw said “absolutely.”

Because everything that Hogan’s done is not with his arm but with his legs so he was going with the intangibles with his heart and his toughness Shaw said he would put Hogan in that conversation and Hogan has really come through for a Stanford team that’s needed him the most.

AP photo Stanford players celebrate after winning the Pac 12 Championship at Levis Stadium 12-5-15

Jeremy Harness is filling in this week for Jerry Feitelberg both who cover Stanford football at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below