Stanford Win a Close One Over Washington State
If Stanford advances to the College Football Playoff, David Shaw and the Cardinal will look back on a rainy Halloween night in Pullman, Washington with much delight. Erick Powell’s missed field goal at the gun preserved Stanford’s 30-28 win over Washington State. Nick Dempsey from RuleofTree.com joins MarkRogersTV to discuss the many twists and turns, big plays and big officiating calls that resulted in a thrilling and very narrow Cardinal win.
Kevin Hogan (14 rushes, 112 yards) endured a fierce Washington State pass rush and used his legs to make several big plays in the second half to get the Cardinal offense untracked after putting but a field goal on the board through two quarters. Christian McCaffrey (22 carries, 107 yards) was bottled up for much of the night, but got loose to set up the game-winning field goal with just over a minute to play.
It appeared as though Stanford’s inability to get the ball in the endzone would cost the Cardinal the game and, possibly, the division and more when Luke Falk led a courageous drive in the waning seconds. Falk completed two fourth down conversions including a perfectly placed dart to Don Williams to get the Cougars in field goal range. Erick Powell had hit five first half field goals to give WSU a 15-3 lead at the break. His 43-yard attempt, however, hooked wide right at the gun.
Falk and company ripped holes in the Stanford secondary in the second half to keep the Cougars in front most of the way after it was the Wazzu front seven that clamped down on McCaffrey and harassed Hogan throughout the first half to build a cushion that would last well into the fourth quarter before Stanford did just enough to escape Pullman with a seventh straight win.
