Stanford Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee (18) throws a pass against the BYU Cougars defense at Stanford Stadium on Sat Nov 26, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Michael Roberson
STANFORD, Calf. — The Stanford Cardinal (3-9/1-8 P12) were the prey to the prolific pouncing of the Brigham Young University Cougars (7-5), on a late night in the final game of the 2022 season. 35-26.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard (7-0) just over three minutes into the contest with a 19-yard scramble by junior quarterback Jaren Hall. That wasn’t the end of their scoring barrage, as they proceeded to score a touchdown on all of their four possessions (28) in the first half.
Hall also tossed two TD’s to sophomore tight end Isaac Rex, and junior running back Hinckley Ropati rushed for a 43 yard scoring burst.
The Cardinal tallied their points on a 1-yard TD rush by sophomore running back Mitch Leigber and two field goals (34 & 54 yards) by junior kicker Joshua Karty. Joshua hit the longer field goal with one second to go in the half, but unfortunately missed the extra point on the aforementioned touchdown. At the half, 28-12 BYU.
The second half started off very blazay, as both teams failed to change the digits on the scoreboard in the third quarter.
However, the final stanza had plenty of excitement, as Stanford tried to close the gap.
BYU added to their total (35) with a 25-yard touchdown run by junior receiver Puka Nacua, putting them up by 23.
Stanford fought back with two consecutive TD’s to get the deficit down by nine points, 35-26, but the time on the clock was not on their side.
Freshman QB Ashton Daniels sneaked in for a 1-yard TD, and junior quarterback Tanner McKee rifled a 7-yard TD to senior receiver Brycen Tremayne, but it wasn’t enough after 60 minutes of action.
The cold Thanksgiving Weekend evening ended with a 9-point loss by the home team. Final score from the Farm, BYU 35, Stanford 26.
The Cardinal ended the season with three wins of their twelve games (.250), while the Cougars won 7 of their 12 contests, which all but guarantees they will have postseason play in the not too distant future.
Stanford’s Tanner Mckee threw for 310 yards and a TD. Brycen Tremayne had 130 receiving yards and a touchdown.
BYU’s Jaren Hall threw two touchdown passes and ran for one. Chris Brooks rushed for 164 yards and Isaac Rex caught two TD passes.
The Cardinal will have to forget this season and WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR for a better result in 2023.