Tag: NCAA Football

Ducks and Spartans to meet in the Redbox Bowl at Levi’s Stadium

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By Jeremy Kahn

With the College Football Season turning into bowl season, there will be a great matchup between teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences, respectively.

This is the first playing of what is now called the Redbox Bowl, but it is 17th overall bowl game in the Bay Area and it will feature the Michigan State Spartans of the Big 10 Conference versus the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference.

In the previous six meetings between the Spartans and Ducks, the series is tied at three wins apiece. This past August, the two perennial powerhouses of their respective conferences agreed to a home-and-home series that will take place in 2029 and 2030.

“The Redbox Bowl is thrilled to welcome two storied college football brands with shared history like Oregon and Michigan State to play in front of a primetime national audience at Levi’s Stadium,” said Ryan Oppelt, executive director of the Redbox Bowl. “The Ducks and Spartans have large alumni contingents in the Bay Area so we couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off an incredible week of post-season football in the Bay Area that will culminate with the CFP National Championship on January 7th.”

The Spartans won the last meeting between the teams, as they defeated the Ducks 31-28 at Spartan Stadium on September 12, 2015.

This will be the 28th bowl game appearance for the Spartans, and the 11th under current head coach Mark Dantonio, the most by any coach in school history. The Spartans set a school record by playing in nine consecutive bowl games from 2009-2017.

During the streak, the Spartans won a school record four consecutive bowl games, including a win over the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2011 Outback Bowl, the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl over the Texas Christian Horned Frogs, the 2014 Rose Bowl over the Stanford Cardinal and the 2015 Cotton Bowl over the Baylor Bears.

All-time, the Spartans are 12-15 entering the Redbox Bowl and 5-5 under Dantonio, including a win over the Washington State Cougars in the 2017 Holiday Bowl.

This is the first full season in Eugene for current Head Coach Mario Cristobal, but bowl games are nothing new for the Ducks, as this is the 13th bowl game for the Ducks in the past 14 seasons. Cristobal was the interim coach for the Ducks in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl after the firing of former Head Coach Mark Helfrich.

Overall, this is the 32nd appearance for the Ducks and 13-18 overall and this is the 12th appearance for the Ducks in bowl games played in the State of California.

Three takeaways from Stanford’s 23-13 win over Cal in the 121st Big Game

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By: Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal won their ninth straight Big Game at Memorial Stadium against the California Golden Bears on Saturday. With the win, Stanford (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) not only preserved bragging rights, but also kept the Axe away from Cal (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12). Congratulations to the 2018 Cardinal squad!

Now, let’s take a look at three takeaways from Stanford’s 23-13 win over Cal in the 121st Big Game.

Early bird gets the worm
Okay, the game wasn’t scheduled at 10:00 am or earlier than that, but its kickoff was set for noon, which was close enough.

Anyhow, Stanford jumped out to an early lead on their first two drives of the game to grab a 10-0 lead on running back Cameron Scarlett’s first score and held on against Cal to extend the longest winning streak in the Big Game, which was established in 1892.

The Cardinal took an early lead and never looked back. That’s the way the game should be played, especially against a rival or archrival.

The other PA 
No, we’re referring to the initials of Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo, who’s a redshirt freshman.

Adebo may not be a household name in the Cardinal’s world. Well, at least not yet. But please keep in mind that Adebo tied the school record with 22 passes defended on the season–in both pass break ups and interceptions.

Vaughn Bryant also held that record with 22 passes defended with 18 pass break ups and four interceptions.

Almost perfect
Stanford kicker and punter Jet Toner has made 14-of-15 field goals this season. Toner currently owns the highest field goal percentage in school history in a single season with .929 and in a career with 34-of-40 and .850.

Toner ain’t perfect, but he’s almost perfect and that’s nearly the same thing, right? When there’s a healthy Toner, there’s likely going to be a higher chance of a Cardinal win in the end.

Stanford beats Cal 23-13 for ninth straight Big Game win

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By: Ana Kieu 

BERKELEY, Calif. — After a disappointing postponement due to the poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County, the Stanford Cardinal paid a much-anticipated visit to Memorial Stadium to take on the California Golden Bears in the 121st Big Game on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinal entered the game with an eight-game win streak in hopes of making it nine in a row. Both Stanford and Cal fans in attendance were fired up, dancing to hit songs such as “Tell Me When To Go” by E-40. The in-stadium DJ picked the perfect rapper to blast as E-40 is a Vallejo, Calif. native and Bay Area sports fan.

The Cardinal also welcomed free agent tight end and Stanford alum Coby Fleener as their honorary captain for the game. Fleener most recently played for the New Orleans Saints from 2016-17 after spending three years with the Indianapolis Colts from 2012-15. Fleener was a second-round pick of the Colts in the 2012 NFL Draft. 

The Cardinal opened the scoring as Jet Toner kicked in a 26-yard field goal to give his team a 3-0 lead with 9:15 left in the first quarter. 

K.J. Costello threw a pass to Cameron Scarlett for a 46-yard passing touchdown and Toner kicked in the extra point. The Cardinal made it a 10-0 game with 4:37 left in the first. 

The Cardinal was up 10-0 at the end of the first. 

The Bears, however, avoided a shutout, thanks to Greg Thomas’ 40-yard field goal. Stanford’s lead was reduced to 10-3 at the 10:14 mark of the second quarter. 

Thomas kicked in a 24-yard field goal to bring the Bears within six, cutting Stanford’s lead to 10-6 with 4:58 left in the second. 

Toner kicked in a 19-yard field goal to expand Stanford’s lead to 13-6 with just one second left in the second. The Cardinal brought a 13-6 lead to the locker room to end the first half. 

The PA announcer announced an attendance of 57,858 in the third quarter. 
The Cal fans made it very loud and clear that Memorial Stadium was Bears territory, but the Cardinal held onto a 13-6 lead at the end of the third. That helped the Cardinal fans feel better about their team. 

And the Cardinal fans had another reason to not fret about the possibility of a Bears comeback in the fourth quarter. Toner kicked in a 21-yard field goal to extend Stanford’s lead to 16-6 with 3:43 left in the fourth. 

As if the confidence level wasn’t already high enough, Stanford added a touchdown just 1:16 later. Scarlett rushed for a 3-yard rushing touchdown and Toner kicked in the extra point to expand Stanford’s lead to 23-6.

Cal took its third and final timeout with 48 seconds left in the fourth. Guess what happened next? Cal scored to pull within 10, cutting Stanford’s lead to 23-13 with 10 seconds left. Chase Garbers threw a pass to Jordan Duncan for an 11-yard passing touchdown and Thomas kicked in the extra point.

The Bears’ down-to-the-wire effort didn’t work today. The Cardinal won 23-13 to extend their Big Game win streak to nine games. 

San Jose State, Spartan football receives $2 million gift from SJSU alumnus

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By: Ana Kieu 

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State Spartans football had nothing much to cheer about. Well, that all changed Wednesday, as San Jose State University is pleased to announce that it has received a $2 million gift commitment from alumnus John Hopkirk and his wife Anne Murphy. Their gift will support a critical resource for the Spartan football program–a new state-of-the-art football operations center on the east side of CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans.

“John and Anne have been long-time Spartan supporters and their gift to the football operations center demonstrates their love for San Jose State University,” said athletics director Marie Tuite. “They understand and support the priority of investing in football to provide Coach Brennan and his staff the tools they need to build a championship program.  In addition, John and Anne understand the value and impact their gift will have on changing the lives of the student-athletes we serve. We are so grateful for their generosity.”

The football operations center will include locker rooms, offices, a student-athlete lounge, an auditorium and premium seating options on the 50-yard line. The project will rebuild the stadium’s east side. The gift will add to improvements underway throughout South Campus, including the recently completed soccer, tennis, golf, and softball facilities.

Proud Spartans
John Hopkirk worked his way through school at SJSU while pursuing a degree in business accounting. Hopkirk’s love for Spartan athletics took off after he graduated and began his professional career as a certified public accountant. As an avid supporter of SJSU football and basketball, Hopkirk believes he may be the only fan who has seen every SJSU men’s post-season basketball game since he first enrolled at SJSU in the late 1960s.  

In 1987, John met his wife, Anne Murphy, a University of San Francisco graduate. Anne has embraced John’s passion for SJSU athletics and the couple has traveled all over the country to watch the Spartans play.

“I have been following Spartan football for over 50 years. It has brought me much joy, and we have made many great friends through our common love of Spartan football,” said Hopkirk. “I received a great education from San Jose State, and Anne and I thought we needed to give back to the university to show our appreciation. I hope our gift inspires others to do the same.

“San Jose State must have the facilities in place to attract the best and brightest student-athletes,” Hopkirk continued. “Hopefully our donation will enhance Spartan football’s chance to be a championship program andresult in many more talented student-athletes proudly earning their diplomas from San Jose State University.”

“This critical project will have a major impact on Spartan football and our entire athletics program, as well as the game-day experience for our students and all who attend our games,” stated Paul Lanning, vice president for university advancement and CEO of the Tower Foundation. “Building a modern football operations center that revitalizes CEFCU Stadium is our most urgent fundraising priorities, and we’re thrilled to see two of our greatest fans make such a generous commitment to this project.”

“I am so grateful for John and Anne’s tremendous commitment and generosity to support and build a championship football program at San Jose State,” added head football coach Brent Brennan. “Their gift provides us with a critical recruiting tool, enhances the student-athlete experience and helps SJSU compete in the Mountain West. I can’t thank John and Anne enough for their commitment to the program.”

To learn how you can support the football operations center, please visit www.sjsufootball.com or contact Joshua Thiel, deputy athletics director for Athletics Advancement, at (408) 924-1697 or via email at joshua.thiel@sjsu.edu.

About San Jose State University
The founding campus of the 23-campus California State University system, SJSU provides a comprehensive university education, granting bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in 250 areas of study–offered through its eight colleges.

With more than 35,000 students and nearly 4,370 employees, SJSU continues to be an essential partner in the economic, cultural and social development of Silicon Valley and the state, annually contributing 10,000 graduates to the workforce.

The university is immensely proud of the accomplishments of its more than 260,000 alumni, 60% of whom live and work in the Bay Area.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Bring out the Crying Jordans for the football and men’s basketball teams

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On the San Jose State podcast with Ana: 

1. Saturday was just not a good day for San Jose State Athletics as the football team let Fresno State win the Valley Trophy for the second straight year after a 31-13 loss and the men’s basketball team lost to Santa Clara 71-63 for their fifth straight loss. 

2. The Spartans men’s basketball team hosted the Indiana State Sycamores last night inside the Event Center. What are your three takeaways from the game?

3. What are your thoughts on the Mountain West football teams in the playoffs?

Ana does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cardinal aim to keep Big Game win streak going; Game resumes after postponement on Nov. 17th

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On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry:

#1 The long anticipated Big Game with Stanford (7-4) Cal (7-4) has finally arrived after the originally scheduled date Nov. 17th was canceled due to the Camp Fires smoke that impacted Berkeley’s air quality. This Saturday’s Big Game kicks off at 12 noon.

#2 Sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson is second in the nation with seven touchdowns amongst tight ends.

#3 The Cardinal have clinched for it’s tenth straight bowl appearance. The last time Stanford had a 10-bowl streak dating back to 1933-35 with three straight Rose Bowls and an 11-year run in 1968-78.

#4 The Cardinal have won eight consecutive Big Games as they go for their ninth Saturday.

#5 Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside tied a Stanford record that ranks third with 14 touchdown catches.

Jerry does the Cardinal podcasts every Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Seven San Jose State Spartans named to All-Mountain West football team

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By: Ana Kieu

Look, this San Jose State Spartans’ season was far from glamorous, but Spartan nation had something to rejoice about Wednesday, as 7 Spartans were named to the All-Mountain West football team in Colorado Springs, Colo.

SJSU tight end Josh Oliver and defensive back Dakari Monroe were named first-team All-Mountain West football players for this season in a vote by the conference’s 12 head coaches.

In addition, defensive lineman Bryson Bridges was a second-team pick. Linebacker Ethan Aguayo, return specialist Thai Cottrell, punter Bryce Crawford and defensive lineman Boogie Roberts were honorable mention selections.

The 7 Spartans named to the All-Mountain West teams were 3 more than the 4 players honored in 2017.

Oliver, a senior from Paso Robles, Calif., was one of the top pass-catching tight ends in the FBS. He was the first tight end to catch 50 passes this season and finished with personal bests of 56 receptions, a team-best, for 709 yards and four touchdowns. Oliver’s 709 yards and 4 receiving touchdowns were second best on the team.

3 times, Oliver was recognized nationally through the John Mackey Tight End of the Week awards program. He was an honorable mention choice after the UC Davis (Aug. 30) and UNLV (Oct. 27) games and the National Tight End of the Week for matching his career-best of 8 catches for a personal high of 158 yards and a touchdown, Monroe, a senior from San Jose, Calif., was the team leader in interceptions for the second consecutive year with 4. He returned 1 of his 2 interceptions in the UNLV win for a 50-yard return for a touchdown. Throughout the season, Monroe was ranked nationally in the top 20 and often in the top 10 either for interceptions or passes defended. At the end of the regular season, he was tied for sixth nationally with his 19 passes defended in 12 games.

The versatile Monroe also was one of the team’s most effective special teams players. He had a knack of downing team punts inside the 10-yard line. In the last two games versus Nevada and against Fresno State, he downed a punt at the 1-yard line in each game.

Bridges, a senior from Temecula, Calif., was credited with more tackles than any Mountain West defensive lineman. His 69 tackles were sixth best on the team and a personal best in his four seasons in a San Jose State uniform. Bridges was credited with a single-game high of 15 stops in the Oct. 13 Army West Point game at Levi’s Stadium.

Oliver, Monroe and Bridges were three of the team’s four captains. Roberts, the fourth co-captain, was in the group of honorable mention award winners. The senior from Los Angeles, was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and had 48 total tackles. He led the team with two forced fumbles and shared the team lead with four quarterback hurries.

Roberts was 1 of 4 Spartans to force a fumble and recover a fumble in the same game from his nose tackle position. At Hawaii, Roberts picked up a Rainbow Warriors’ fumble and returned it 9 yards. The following week versus Colorado State, he was credited with SJSU’s first safety in 5 years when he tackled Rams’ quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels in the end zone.

Since joining the Mountain West in 2013, the 2018 season marks the first time 2 SJSU defensive linemen were recognized as all-conference players in the same season. Overall, Bridges and Roberts are the second and third Spartan defensive linemen to be named an All-Conference Player in the program’s 6 seasons in the conference.

Aguayo, a junior from Mission Viejo, Calif., led the Spartans in total tackles with 106. He recorded his single-game personal best of 20 tackles in the Nov. 17 game versus Nevada. 5 more times during the season, he was credited with 10 or more stops.

Cottrell, a senior from Oceanside, Calif., presently ranks 19th in kickoff returns with his 25.8 yards per return average. He returned kickoffs for 96 yards at Oregon and 72 versus Hawaii early in the season.

Cottrell also was the Spartans’ primary punt returner. He returned 11 punts for a 9.4 yards per return average. Cottrell was ranked 12th nationally for combined return yardage at 670 yards.

Crawford, a senior from Frisco, Texas, handled all the kicking chores through the first 5 games of the season. He took over the punting duties when 2018 spring practice began and kept the job throughout the season. His 44.3 yards per punt average ranks 16th nationally for individual punting.

Based on available information, Crawford’s believed to be the first SJSU kicker to be named All-Conference in kicking and punting. Crawford was an Honorable Mention All-Mountain West pick as a placekicker in 2017.

Stanford heads to Cal for rescheduled Big Game on Saturday

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By: Ana Kieu

The Bay Area air quality levels had improved, so the smoke and haze shouldn’t be issues in rescheduled 121st Big Game between the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears inside Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s what you need to know about the Big Game.

By the Numbers
Stanford Cardinal (7-4, 5-3)
Cal Bears (7-4, 4-4)
Dec. 1, 2018 at Noon PT
Memorial Stadium (63,000) in Berkeley, Calif.

Television
Live national broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst) and Jill Savage (sideline).

Radio
Live coverage on Stanford’s flagship station–KNBR 1050 AM–with Scott Reiss ’93 (play-by-play), Todd Husak ’00 (analyst) and Troy Clardy ’97 (sideline). The broadcast begins one hour before kickoff with the Cardinal Tailgate Show and concludes with the postgame Cardinal Locker Room Report.

The game can be heard on Stanford student radio–KZSU 90.1 FM–and online at kzsulive.stanford.edu.

On the Web
GoStanford.com • CalBears.com • #GoStanford

Other Stats to Keep in Mind
1 • Stanford is 7-0 this season when forcing at least one turnover, and 0-4 when not forcing a turnover.

2 • Sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson is second in the nation among tight ends with seven touchdown receptions.

3 • Stanford football players have conducted interviews in three foreign languages this season–JJ Arcega-Whiteside (Spanish), Jesse Burkett (Japanese) and Osiris St. Brown (German). All other Stanford football interviews this year have been done in English.

3 • Junior Kaden Smith is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, joining T.J. Hockenson (Iowa), Albert Okwuegbunam (Missouri). The winner will be announced on Dec. 5.

3 • The Cardinal vie for a sweep of its in-state rivals UCLA, USC and Cal for the third time in four years. The Cardinal most recently swept all three in 2015 and 2016. Under Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw (2011-current), Stanford is 28-5 vs. in-state opponents, including 22-4 against USC, UCLA and Cal. This season, Stanford is 4-0 against Californian opposition.

4 • Stanford’s four losses this season have come against the AP’s curent No. 3, No. 10, No. 12 and No. 17th-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington, Washington State, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 40-8 (.833) this season.

5 • Costello’s five touchdown passes at UCLA on Nov. 24 were second-most in school history (Elway, 6 vs. OSU in 1980) and the most since Kevin Hogan had five in the 2013 Big Game.

8 • Stanford has won a series-record eight consecutive Big Games.

10 • Stanford has clinched its 10th straight bowl game appearance, extending the program record. The previous best streak was three–when the Cardinal went to three straight Rose Bowls from 1933-35. The 10 straight winning seasons is the longest streak since an 11-year run from 1968-78.

10 • Stanford clinched its 10th straight winning season in conference play, extending the school record. The previous best streak was seven straight years under Pop Warner in the Pacific Coast Conference from 1924-1930.

11 • Stanford has won a series-record 11 consecutive games over the Bruins, dating back to 2009 and including the 2012 Pac-12 Championship Game. It is the all-time longest winning streak by any opponent against the Bruins.

14 • Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside tied a school record and ranks third nationally (first among Pac-12 players) — with 14 receiving touchdowns. That ties Pro Football Hall of Famer James Lofton’s school record set in 1977. He is four away from matching Mario Bailey’s Pac-12 record set in 1991.

16 • In addition to his 55 receptions and 860 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 16 penalties this year—13 pass interference and three holding calls for 210 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.0 penalty yards/game).

17 • Sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo ranks second nationally with 17 pass breakups and fifth in the NCAA with 19 passes defended.

20 • Junior quarterback K.J. Costello ranks among the Top 20 nationally in completion percentage (16th), completions per game (14th), passing efficiency (13th), passing touchdowns (9th), passing yards (14th), passing yards per game (12th) and yards per attempt (14th). He leads the Pac-12 in efficiency (159.1) and is second in the conference in yards (3,198), touchdowns (28) and yards per attempt (8.71).

21 • Stanford’s seniors finished their careers 20-5 (.800) at Stanford Stadium. In the last four years, the Cardinal has won 37 games, three Big Games, two Pac-12 North titles, a conference championship, and has played in the Rose Bowl, Sun Bowl and Alamo Bowl.

28 • Only Andrew Luck has thrown more TD passes in a season at Stanford than Costello’s 28 in 2018. Luck set the record with 37 in 2011 and had 32 in 2010.

100 • Arcega-Whiteside is the first Stanford player with four 100-yard receiving games in a season since Luke Powell in 2001. His eight career 100-yard receiving games ranks third in school history.

121 • The 121st Big Game was rescheduled due to poor air quality caused by the devastating wildfires in Butte County (Dec. 1 is Stanford’s latest calendar kickoff for a regular season game since the 2007 Big Game was played on the same date). Cal is Stanford’s most common opponent (next is USC with 98 all-time meetings), while Stanford’s 63 wins over the Bears are also its most against any opponent.

300 • Costello is the third Cardinal with seven 300-yard passing games in a season, joining John Elway (1982) and Steve Stenstrom, who set the school record with nine in 1993. He is the first Cardinal with four consecutive 100-yard passing performances since Steve Stenstrom had five in a row in 1994.

1,000 • The last Cardinal to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season was Troy Walters in 1999. Arcega-Whiteside is just 140 yards away from that milestone.

3,201 • K.J. Costello’s 3,201 yards of total offense ranks fifth in school history. He needs 198 yards to move into third which would place him behind only Andrew Luck, who set the school record with 3,791 in 2010 and had 3,667 in 2011. In addition, Costello’s 3,198 passing yards this season are fifth-most in school history and is just 429 yards away from the school record set by Steve Stenstrom in 1993.

San Jose State had an awful season, but there’s always next year

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By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — You know what they always say: “There’s always next year.”

That’s what Spartan nation said last year after head coach Brent Brennan’s lowly 2-11 (1-7 MW) record in 2017. But this year wasn’t much better. In fact, it was numerically worse than 2017, as we saw a hapless 1-11 (1-7 MW) record in 2018.

So what’s next for the Spartans? Only time will tell if the coaches on the coaching staff will be on the hot seats and if any players on the roster will request trades to other colleges.

But for now, let’s shift our attention to Brennan’s final press conference of the season in Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon. Here’s my Q&A with Brennan.

1. Last week, you said that the Spartans had to win the turnover battle to have a chance to beat Fresno State. The Spartans did that in both halves, but they fell short in the end. What went wrong in the loss?
I think when you’re playing a team like Fresno State, who is playing at such a high level and so mature, your margin for error is very slim and I think we made just too many mistakes in both offensive and defensive situations.

We came out at halftime behind 3-0 and we got the ball, so I was feeling great about how our players responded in that first half–rivalry game on the road and all that. I was really feeling great about how we were playing on defense. I knew we had to get something going on offense, and you saw us insert Chance LaChappelle a little bit–trying to give us a little bit of a spark in his running.

But I think what we found was that the team we were playing was better than us and it was that simple. We got our work cut out for us coming into this offseason to get into a place where we can finish those games in the fourth quarter next year that we didn’t finish this year.

2. Michael Carrillo had his first 300-yard passing game at the major college level in his final game as a Spartan. That was an incredible feat that I’m sure he’ll remember for years to come, but now, the seniors will be replaced, so what are a couple of things that you’re going to look for in future quarterbacks on the NLI Signing Dates?
We’re going to recruit quarterbacks in this class.

I think the good news is that we have Josh Love coming back. He played really well at times this year and we all saw a lot of growth in him and I’m really encouraged by that. He was able to throw the ball effectively. I think he did a really nice job pushing the ball down the field with some of those big throws that he completed.

And then, Chance LaChappelle. We had him run around for a little bit, so Chance is learning; and with that new redshirt rule, he wasn’t able to get out there since he was still technically a redshirt even though he played in the game.

Then, obviously, Montel (Aaron). Montel was working through his family thing and getting locked back into school and the team and all that stuff.

We’re heavily recruiting five or six quarterbacks, so I think that’s going to be an important position as we get into the next three weeks.

3. There were many defining moments this season, but what were your top five most memorable moments?
My top five most memorable moments? That’s a big question!

I’d say my first favorite moment was the locker room after the UNLV game. It was just incredible in there and just that feeling of seeing how those players felt winning that game. I thought that was just really, really special.

I think that the blocked field goal at Oregon was a big moment. I think that game was kind of a big moment because of how we responded. We were on the road against one of the toughest environments in the country to play in and we had just gotten beaten badly by Washington State on the road, so how our team responded was exciting.

I thought it was special on Senior Day. I was disappointed we didn’t get the win, but just seeing those players and their families and letting them know how much they meant to us and how much we cared about them, that was really special.

I think after Army, we came in here and met at 6:00 AM as a team and that was a big moment for us. Everybody was here, everybody was locked in. We kind of talked about redefining what we want going forward because that game was really hard and it disintegrated so quickly. And then we came back and played the heck out of San Diego State the next week. We had another game where we were tied in the fourth quarter and just needed to make one more play or one more tackle or one more block to win against a really good opponent.

I can think of a million different things, but that’s four for you and that’s good enough, right?

Cardinal air attack sparks come-from-behind win over UCLA 49-42

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 24, 2018

One of the big keys to Stanford’s Pac-12 football win over UCLA Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., was its proficiency in the big play.

The Cardinal won 49-42, thanks to an attack that included nine pass plays of 15 or more yards — four of them resulting in touchdowns.

Quarterback K.J. Costello had a big day for the Cardinal, completing 23 of 37 passes for 344 yards and a career-high five TDs. In the process, Stanford extended its winning streak over UCLA to 11 games.

Stanford (7-4 overall, 5-3 Pac-12) needed those big plays, trailing 42-41 midway through the fourth quarter. A 52-yard scoring strike from Costello to Osiris St. Brown put the Cardinal in front, with Bryce Love’s 2-point conversion run.

Then, it was the Cardinal defense’s turn, as the Bruins (3-9, 3-6) drove to the Stanford 43 with under one minute to play. But UCLA’s drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs.

Stanford receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside caught seven passes for 106 yards – three of those catches for touchdowns. Arcega-Whiteside has 14 touchdown receptions on the season, tying a team record first set by James Lofton in 1978.

Trenton Irvin, who caught seven passes for 103 yards, also had a TD reception. Love, meanwhile, gained 85 rushing yards on 22 attempts with a touchdown.

Noteworthy was the attendance, or lack of it. An announced crowd of 38,391 watched the contest, the lowest crowd for the Bruins since 1997.

Next week, the Cardinal visits California at Berkeley after the Big Game was postponed on Nov. 17 due to the wildfires