Cardinal look to snap out of losing skid, but more importantly, get set for Senior Day

Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

As you may already know, the Stanford Cardinal lost its last two games on the road to No. 8 Washington State and No. 25 Washington, respectively. So the Cardinal are looking to snap out of a losing skid, but more importantly, get set for Senior Day. The soon-to-be Stanford alumni have a lot to celebrate in the coming weeks, including this football game. Congratulations to the Class of 2018!

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game vs. Oregon State:

By the numbers
Stanford Cardinal (5-4, 3-3)
Oregon State Beavers (2-7, 1-5)

Nov. 10, 2018 at 6:00 pm PT
Stanford Stadium (50,424) in Stanford, Calif.

Television
Live national broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Chad Brown (analyst) and Camryn Irwin (sideline).

Radio
Live coverage on Stanford’s flagship station–KNBR 1050 AM–with Scott Reiss ’93 (play-by-play), Todd Husak ’00 (analyst) and John Platz ’84 (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.

Internet
GoStanford.com • OSUBeavers.com • #GoStanford

Tidbits

• 1 • Stanford is 5-0 this season when forcing at least one turnover, and 0-3 when not forcing a turnover.
• 1 • Junior Kaden Smith ranks first in the nation among tight ends in receiving yards (601) and receiving yards per game (66.8). He is second in the country—first among Power 5 tight ends—with 44 receptions (only San Jose State’s Josh Oliver has more receptions with 49).
• 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.
• 4 • Stanford’s four losses this season have come against the AP’s current No. 3, No. 10, No. 20 and No. 26th-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington State, Washington, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 30-7 (.811) this season.
• 5 • One of the most disciplined teams in the nation, Stanford has the fifth-fewest penalty yards in the nation this year with just 37.00 per game–also the fewest in the Pac-12.
• 7 • Don’t expect many points immediately after halftime. Stanford has allowed just one touchdown and never more than seven points in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal has only allowed 25 third-quarter points in its first nine games (2.78). The only touchdown allowed was vs. Washington State.
• 8 • Stanford has won eight in a row against Oregon State.
• 8 • Smith has produced three games with 8+ receptions and 100+ yards this season (Utah, Washington State and Washington). The rest of the tight ends in the country have combined for five such games. He is the only tight end to do it more than once and has done it in back-to-back games. Smith is the first tight end to accomplish that feat three times in a season since Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro in 2013 (Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb were the Red Raiders’ quarterbacks).
• 11 • Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside ranks second nationally–and first among Pac-12 players–with 11 receiving touchdowns. That’s the second-most in a season in Stanford history and the most receiving touchdowns for a Cardinal in 38 years–Ken Margerum had 11 in 1980, while James Lofton set the school record with 14 in 1978.
• 13 • In addition to his 49 receptions and 754 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 14 penalties this year–12 pass interference and two holding calls for 190 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.1 penalty yards/game).
• 15 • Sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo ranks second nationally with 15 pass breakups and fourth in the NCAA with 16 passes defended. He ranks atop the Pac-12 in both categories.
• 20 • Junior quarterback K.J. Costello ranks among the Top 25 nationally in completion percentage (18th), completions per game (19th), passing efficiency (22nd), passing touchdowns (17th), passing yards (13th), passing yards per game (17th) and yards per attempt (21st). He leads the Pac-12 in efficiency (153.1) and is second in the conference in passing yards (2,512) and yards per attempt (8.46).
• 37 • Sure-handed senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin has at least one reception in 37 consecutive games, a streak that ranks seventh nationally.
• 100 • Smith is the first Stanford tight end with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Alex Smith did it in three straight games in 2004. Smith had 112 against Washington State and 107 against Washington. Smith is also the first Cardinal tight end since Zach Ertz with three 100-yard receiving games in a season. Smith’s career-high 120 yards receiving against Utah (Oct. 6) were the most by a Stanford tight end since Zach Ertz’s 134 vs. Cal in 2012.
• 249 • Stanford made a school record 249 consecutive extra-point attempts between Oct. 26, 2013 to Nov. 3, 2018. During the streak: Colin Riccitelli–2-2, Jet Toner–79-79, Conrad Ukropina–108-108, Jordan Williamson– 60-60.
• 1000 • Smith is the fourth Cardinal tight end with 1,000 career receiving yards (1,015). He joins Coby Fleener (1,543), Zach Ertz (1,434) and Alex Smith (1,291).

Utes down the Cardinal 40-21 at Stanford Stadium

Photo credit: @Utah_Football

By: London Donson

STANFORD, Calif. — Going into Saturday, the Stanford Cardinal had to be feeling pretty good. Ranked at #14, despite coming off a 38-17 loss to Notre Dame last week, they held a 4-1 record. Looking for a chance to make some serious noise this season against the unranked Utah Utes under the lights in primetime.

The Utes had other plans and came out swinging. After trading scoreless possessions in the first, the Utes made into the red zone where running back Zach Moss would take pitch from inside the Cardinal 10-yard line and score one of his two touchdowns of the night. Giving them the early 7-0 lead, putting Stanford on their heels in the final minute of the first quarter.

KJ Costello, who was in at quarterback for the Cardinal, would orchestrate a drive down the field, getting his team into the red zone. A poor throwing decision later and he was picked off in the end zone by Jaylon Johnson, who dashed it backed down the field for a 100-yard pick six, doubling the Utes’ advantage. Utah continued to dominate the game on both side of the ball, giving the offense fits as the sacked Costello four times and picked him off twice. They would go into the half with a two-touchdown advantage, 21-7.

The second half saw the Cardinal find their moxie. After giving up a score early in the third, running back Cameron Scarlett would leap his way into the end zone virtually untouched. The Cardinal continued to rally four minutes later as Costello would find Michael Wilson in the corner of the end zone from just beyond the Utah 30-yard line. This would narrow the gap, 27-21, in front of a raucous crowd.

But Utah remained resilient. Having pushed the lead to 30-21, Utah had the ball with seven minutes left in the game on their own 42. After escaping a sack, quarterback Tyler Huntley tossed up a prayer off his back foot. His prayer was answered as wideout Samuel Nacua was able locate the ball and get in for six. It was Huntley’s only touchdown off the game, and it dashed the Cardinal’s hope for a comeback.

The Utes held onto the ball to eventually beat the Cardinal 40-21.

The Cardinal have a much-needed bye week and then head to the desert to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday, October 18 at 6:00 pm PT.

Cali Clasico: Earthquakes and Galaxy take 3-3 draw at Stanford Stadium

By Alexandra Evans and Marko Ukalovic

PALO ALTO—The San Jose Earthquakes faced the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium on Saturday with an attendance of 50,743 fans. The Quakes were searching to close out the month of June by coming back from seven consecutive winless games (including four straight losses and back-to-back draws), but ended up taking another draw 3-3.

Numbers first went up on the board for the Galaxy in the second minute. Zlatan Ibrahimovic kicked the ball from nearly 10 yards out to the left of the net, passing both forward Danny Hoesen and Quakes goaltender Andrew Tarbell before either could make any defensive plays.

The Quakes almost responded when Vako danced into the Galaxy’s defensive zone, but was immediately robbed of the ball. David Bingham made an excellent save off in the 11th minute, when the ball was nearly sent over his head into the net from the right side.

LA tried to double their lead in the 12th minute. Romain Alessandrini made what looked like a promising shot toward Tarbell, but went wide of net to the right.

Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski was given a free scoring chance after LA’s Bradford Jamieson was issued a yellow card for tripping Quakes midfielder Magnus Eriksson. Wondolowski’s first shot was saved by Bingham, then rebounded, after which he struck the ball into the dead center of the net, tying the game 1-1.

Tarbell made a save off of a shot from Alessandrini in the 19th minute, who shot from the righthand side of the net. Alessandrini would reattempt from the left side a minute later, succeeding, and giving the Galaxy their lead back.

Wondolowski glided his way toward the net in the 23rd minute, nearly stripping LA’s lead with what was only to be halted by Bingham.

Ibrahimovic took a penalty kick in the 25th minute after Quakes’ Francois Affolter was fouled. This opportunity resulted in Ibrahimovic’s second goal of the night, giving LA a two point lead (1-3).

In the 36th minute, Hoesen carried the ball from center field to the left end of LA’s defensive zone, from which he made his shot, though the ball lost momentum and was picked up by Bingham.

Vako added a point for the Quakes in the 39th minute when he struck the ball from 20 yards out of the center of the net between the legs of Jamieson and directly past Bingham. The Quakes trailed 3-2.

In the 42nd minute, Florian Jungwirth almost tied the game when he took a pass from 10 yards out and dribbled the ball into LA’s penalty zone before the ball was deflected out of bounds. Wondolowski, in the 45th minute, stood approximately 10 yards away from the net and attempted a shot, which was also deflected.

The second half commenced with Tarbell making a save off of Ibrahimovic in the 46th minute, stopping what would have been a hat trick for the 6’5″, 209-pound native of Malmo, Sweden.

“Unfortunately, two [of the six goals] were scored by the big super star,” Jungwirth said, jokingly, of Ibrahimovic, sparking laughter amongst the media.

“It is going to be hard if you concede after one minute,” Hoesen said of Ibrahimovic’s goal in the second minute. “But we know Zlatan is a quality player, and he can punish you in those situations.”

“There was a minute in the game, in the second half, where I kind of looked him up and down, and I thought, ‘This is a big dude!'” Nick Lima laughed with the media. “But it is good to play against players like that, you can see the way he is thinking.”

Although they picked things up in the second half, the Quakes struggled to score much-needed goals, despite being given multiple chances. Vako danced around the defensive zone for some time in the 57th minute before giving up the ball, which then went to Jungwirth. He passed the ball to Eriksson effortlessly, who then gave it to Lima whose shot was deflected. In the 59th minute, Eriksson struck the ball directly toward the corner of the net, which was caught beautifully Bingham. Hoesen kicked the ball wide of net (to the left) in the 65th minute.

A penalty on Michael Ciani gave the Quakes a penalty kick opportunity. Wondolowski did the honor, giving the Quakes a long-awaited point and tying the score 3-3.

Shea Salinas stepped in for Lima in the 80th minute, during which Tarbell also made a solid save off of Jamieson, who made a breakaway in the 86th minute. It looked promising that LA would take the lead again. At the last second, though, the ball was shot left, wide of net.

Clearly in a panic, the Quakes hustled into LA’s defensive zone, where Wondolowski’s shot with 15 seconds left in regulation bounced off the post.

The game ended in a 3-3 draw, the Quakes’ third consecutive.

“I was quite direct in my instructions at halftime, if I am frank,” said Quakes head coach Mikael Stahre, who then explained that he was satisfied with the way the team played in the second half (they did not allow the Galaxy any additional goals after the three they tallied in 25 minutes).

The Quakes will head north for their next match against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. The game will stream live at 8:00 p.m. PST.

Game Notes:

• Defender Harold Cummings and midfielder Anibal Godoy are absent due to international duty
• Danny Hoesen has recorded six goals and assists throughout June (10 goals in the last eight matches), trailing first-place Victor Vasquez (who has seven) of Toronto FC
• This was the first MLS match the Galaxy had competed in since June 9.

Cardinal takes down Fighting Irish 38-20

November 25, 2017: Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love (20) tries to blow by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, during a NCAA Football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinal at the Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

by Jerry Feitelberg

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal played host to the University of Notre Dame  Fighting Irish Saturday night at Stanford Stadium. The Irish, ranked ninth in the nation before the start of the game, gave the Cardinal all they could handle for the first three-quarters of the game.

The Irish and the Cardinal went at it tooth-and-nail. The lead changed hands several times, and the outcome was in doubt until the fourth quarter. In the final stanza of the game, everything went wrong for Notre Dame. They committed two turnovers that led to 14 points for Stanford.

The Irish used a no-huddle offense to keep Stanford from substituting players on defense. That strategy did not work as the Stanford defense rose to the occasion and made three huge plays on defense that led the Cardinal to a 38-20 win over Notre Dame.

Also, the Washington Huskies beat the Washington State Cougars gave the Pac-12 North championship to Stanford. Stanford will now play the University of Southern California Trojans next Friday at Levi Stadium. If the Cardinal avenge the 42-24 loss to the Trojans in the second game of the season, the Cardinal will win the Pac-12 title and may not be playing in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s day as the Rose Bowl is part of the FBS playoff series. The winner will probably go to the Fiesta Bowl.

The first quarter so far has been a battle of defenses. Neither team could do anything for the first 11 minutes of the game. However, with third and seven, Irish quarterback Brandon Winbush hit a wide-open Kevin Stepherson for an 83-yard scoring strike. The extra point was good. It was the longest pass play for Notre Dame since the 2010 season. It was a three-play 86-yard scoring drive that took just 39 seconds. The Irish led 7-0.

The Cardinal tied the game at 7 when they went on a five-play, 72-yard drive to score with 43 seconds left in the quarter. The key plays were a 21-yard strike to J J Arcega Whiteside to the Irish 48. The referees called pass interference on the Irish, and that moved the ball to the Irish 29. Costello found Trent Irwin in the end zone for the score. The extra point was good to tie the score.

The Cardinal forced the Irish to punt early in the second quarter. It was a 35-yard punt with no return, but the Cardinal had good field position as they started their drive from their 45-yard line. K.J. Costello led them on a six-play, 55-yard drive for the Cardinal’s second score of the game. The key plays were a 20-yard and a 26-yard pass to tight end Kaden Smith. The scoring play was a four-yard pass to Arcega-Whiteside for the score. The Cardinal led 14-7 with 11:35 left to play in the first half. The Irish went on a 15-play 69-yard drive that stalled at the Cardinal 21-yard line. Justin Yoon kicked a field goal for Notre Dame, and the Cardinal led 14-10 with 2:36 left in the half.

The Irish started the second half with a bang. On the first play from scrimmage, Winbrush hit Equanimeaous St.Brown with a 75-yard pass play for the score. The point after was good. The drive took all of 12 seconds, and the Irish went ahead 17-14. It was the first time in Notre Dame’s long history that they have had two passing scores of more than 75 yards in a game. The Cardinal took the ensuing kickoff from their 29-yard line and went on a nine-play, 64-yard drive that stalled at the Notre Dame seven-yard line. Jet Toner kicked a field goal to the score at seventeen The drive took four minutes and 19 seconds off the clock. The Irish pinned the Cardinal down at the one-yard. The Cardinal couldn’t move the ball and had to punt from their seven-yard line. Bailey’s kick went 53 yards, but the Irish ran it back 41 to the Cardinal 19. The Irish picked up two five-yard penalties and their drive stalled at the Cardinal 21. Justin Yoon kicked a 39-yard field goal for the Irish as they reclaimed the lead 20-17.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinal went on a seven-play, 70-yard drive, lasting two minutes and 37 seconds. The Cardinal appeared to stall at the Irish 19.

With third and nine, coach David Shaw called a timeout. On the next play, Costello hit Kaden Smith in the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Cardinal had the lead with 13:46 left in the game.

On the first play for the Irish after the touchdown, Wimbush’s pass was intercepted by Curtis Robinson. Robinson grabbed the ball at the 35-yard line and took it back to the Irish 29.

It took Costello and company to put the ball into the end zone for another Cardinal touchdown. Costello found tight end Dalton Schultz in the end zone for the score. Toner made the extra point, and Stanford now led 31-20 with 12:21 left.

The Irish woes continued to mount as C.J. Sanders fumbled the kickoff at the Irish 18-yard line that was recovered by Stanford. Bryce Love made two great runs to get the ball down to the Irish three-yard line. Cameron Scarlett pushed the pigskin over the goal line for the touchdown. Toner’s extra point was good, and the Cardinal has a three-score advantage 38-20 with 10:11 left in the game.

With time running out, the Irish mounted a drive that would have narrowed the gap to 10 points. With the ball at the Cardinal 24, Winbush’s pass into the end zone was picked off by safety Frank Buncom for a touchback. It was the third turnover of the game for the Irish. The Irish could do no more, and the Cardinal wins by a final score of 38-20

Game notes and stats — K.J.Costello completed 14 of 22 passes good for four touchdowns, and he did not throw an interception. The Cardinal did not commit a turnover in the win. Bryce Love had 20 carries for 125 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Love became the third Cardinal back to exceed 1800 yards in a season. The other two backs were Toby Gearhart and Christian McCaffrey. Notre Dame’s quarterback, Brandon Winbush, was 11 for 28 in the passing department. He threw for two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.

Stanford will play USC for the Pac-12 crown next Friday at Levi Stadium. 47,352 people watched the Cardinal improve to 9-3 for the year.

Notre Dame also ended the season at 9-3.

Stanford holds off Cal to keep Pac-12 title hopes alive 17-14

November 18, 2017: Stanford Cardinal running back Cameron Scarlett (22) tries to escape Cal’s defense, during a NCAA Football game between the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal at the Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Harness

PALO ALTO – The Big Game has almost become an afterthought, with the Stanford Cardinal establishing itself as the clear dominant force in this annual rivalry game against the California Golden Bears, but it sure didn’t play out like it on Saturday.

Although it remained close for much of the game, Stanford avoided becoming a victim of the notorious “Pac-12 After Dark” trend, which has consistently featured big upsets and high drama during conference games after the sun had gone down, and held on for a 17-14 win over Cal at Stanford Stadium.

With the win, the Cardinal kept themselves in the running for the Pac-12 North title and the right to face USC, which has already claimed the Pac-12 South, in the conference’s title game on December 1.

Stanford has done all it can do at this point, and now they have to play the waiting game. The Cardinal will need Washington State–which, like Stanford, has two conference losses and owns the tiebreaker over the Cardinal by virtue of its head-to-head victory–to lose to Washington in the annual Apple Cup next Saturday to earn that berth.

In the process, Stanford got a real scare from Cal. The Golden Bears kept it close in the first half by limiting Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love to 17 rushing yards in the first half. Stanford, however, held a 10-6 halftime lead, thanks to K.J Costello’s 17-yard touchdown hookup with tight end Kaden Smith midway through the second quarter.

Love has been bothered by an ankle injury, which he re-injured in the fourth quarter and eventually gave way to Cameron Scarlett, who had several key runs to keep drives alive and allow the Cardinal to bleed out the clock down the stretch, as well as Trevor Speights.

However, there was a strong feeling that it was just a matter of time before he broke at least one long run to leave his imprint on the game, which he did midway through the third quarter. With some solid blocking from the offensive line that sealed the left edge for him, Love broke off left tackle and sprinted down the sideline untouched for a 57-yard touchdown that extended Stanford’s lead to 17-6.

Love finished the game with 101 rushing yards on 14 carries.

As it appeared that Stanford was starting to pull away, Cal used the legs of junior running back Patrick Laird to march right back down the field. Laird put the Golden Bears on the doorstep with a 39-yard run, and one play later, he punched it in from a yard out.

Laird had a big hand in giving Cal a realistic chance to win on Saturday, carrying the ball 20 times for 153 yards.

After quarterback Ross Bowers found the end zone on the ensuing two-point attempt, the Cardinal’s lead was trimmed to three.

As the Cardinal ventured into the red zone, they took a huge step back when guard Nick Wilson drew a 15-yard unsportmanlike penalty. That proved to be crucial, as Jet Toner missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt.

Cal then drove the ball in to Stanford territory when Bowers decided to take a shot at the end zone. His deep ball was underthrown and had a lot of air under it, allowing safety Ben Edwards to close the gap and pick the ball off, thwarting the Cal drive and set the stage for Stanford to play keep-away for the rest of the game.

The Cardinal host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, November 25 at 5 pm on ABC.

Third Time Not a Charm for Quakes to Capture Clasico Magic

By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – There would be no customary rally for the San Jose eleven Saturday night at Stanford Stadium, snapping a streak of thrilling come-from-behind wins in the clash of California sides. Earthquakes supporters expecting the customary late California Clasico offensive burst instead had to settle for the explosions the of post-game fireworks with the Quakes long since retired to their locker room to dwell on the 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

For the first time in three years, the Earthquakes (4-6-4) had no answer for the Los Angeles Galaxy. San Jose didn’t need three second-half goals like in 2012, nor did they need stoppage time goals from Shea Salinas and Alan Gordon as they did last season. No, the Quakes needed a lone strike to salvage a point. Unfortunately for the men in blue, time ran out on this year’s comeback bid despite a valiant second half.

“We knew that our performance where it needed to be in the first half,” said Watson. “We had a few moments, we had a few chances. I thought LA dictated the play. We knew we’d have to come out with more energy and use the ball better.”

The two teams battled to a standstill after 45 minutes of play, matching each other move for move. Los Angeles attempted eight shots on goal to the Quakes’ seven, but neither side converted. The two sides appeared even in possession, though LA controlled the play for 55% of the opening half. It was San Jose striker Steven Lenhart however, that had the best chances of the half. Lenhart narrowly missed putting the ball into the back of the net on a pair of headers that beat LA keeper Jaime Penedo but trickled wide of the goalpost.

Gyasi Zardes erased the clean sheet in the 62nd minute, firing a point-blank rocket from dead center past a defenseless Jon Busch to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead. The Galaxy forward was set up on his third goal of the season by Marcelo Sarvas who, with his back to the keeper, found Zardes squared up on goal for the strike. In total, Los Angeles had 17 attempts on net to 13 for the home squad. Five went on goal for Los Angeles, one for the Quakes.

“Our guys competed all night,” said Earthquakes coach Mark Watson. “I thought they just had a little bit more quality on the night. I think it was a game where there wasn’t that many chances. I think we had an equal number of scoring chances, we just couldn’t finish them.”

LA nearly double its advantage in the 72nd minute after midfielder Stefan Ishizaki lofted a shot on net from just outside the penalty box corner to the right of Busch. The ball beat Busch’s cross-body dive and rang off the back post. A Quakes defender swooped in to clear the ball from a hungry Zardes and allow the San Jose netminder to regain position.

Naturally, the man who coined the “Goonies” nickname for San Jose nearly gave the home side new life with a late equalizer. In the 88th minute, Lenhart once again used his head to advance on the Galaxy net. Penedo narrowly managed to get his left fingertips on the bid to preserve his shutout, while Los Angeles (5-3-5) weathered the final surge to nab the three points and hold San Jose off from the seventh spot in the Western Conference. The Galaxy entered play one point (17 total) ahead of the Quakes entering play Saturday. LA continued a five-game unbeaten streak.
San Jose received some bad news before even taking the pitch, as centerback Clarence Goodson was a late scratch after aggravating an injury in warm-ups.

“(Clarence) pulled his groin in the warm-up,” said Watson. “We had to make a late substitution, which was disappointing. We worked with Clarence, he’s a big part of our team. I thought Jason Hernandez came in and did a fantastic job. He had 10 or 15 minutes to get himself mentally prepared and he did what he always does. He battled hard and gave everything he had.”

The Quakes were also short Shea Salinas with an injury while Chris Wondolowski and Victor Bernardez performed World Cup duties. While Bernardez and Honduras were ousted from the preeminent tournament of soccer after group play, he wasn’t quite on a time table to return to MLS play just yet.

“It was going to be close,” said Watson on the status of Bernardez Saturday. “We knew that. He played Wednesday in Brazil. It’s a long flight. He just didn’t feel he could give one hundred percent. He’ll be ready for Wednesday.”

The Quakes may also have Salinas back in the line-up Wednesday at Buck Shaw Stadium when they welcome Chivas USA to the Bay Area. The Quakes previously snapped a season-opening five-game winless streak by topping Chivas 1-0 at Buck Shaw on April 26th.

Stanford Vs.Notre Dame Preview

Very interesting game will take place Saturday and Stanford Stadium. The Stanford Cardinal will be hosting the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Irish beat Stanford last year when the game was played at South Bend. The Irish finished the season by playing for the BCS National Championship in Miami

against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide rolled to a 42-14 victory over Notre Dane.

The Cardinal, on the other hans, won the Pac-12 Championship and won a trip to the Rose Bowl where the beat the University of Wisconsin.

Notre Dame and football go together like Ham and Eggs. The have had legendary coaches such as Knute Rockne, Elmer Layden, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian,Dan Devine and Lou Holtlz. Notre Dame has won many National Championships under the leadership of these men. Notre Dame used to have a

national following all over the country as the games were broadcast on radio. Since the advent of television and the ability to watch many,many more games in the past, the bloom has gone off the rose, so to speak. Also, Notre Dame has not won a National Championship since 1988.

The Irish, under Head Coach Brian Kelly, full expected to return to the BCS Championship game,

However, His star quarterback, Everett Golson, was expelled from school; for cheating. The Irish decided to use senior QB Tommy Rees. Rees started 11 of 12 games in the 2011 season.

Expectations have dropped but the Irish still have a record of 8-3 so far this season. The Irish feel that they still will go to a bowl but their defense has dropped off from last year and that has the coaches worried.The Irish rank 68^th nationally in rushing defense and rank 80^th in turnover margin. The Irish have 3 more giveaways than takeaways.

The Stanford Cardinal has a record of 9-2 and are coming off a big win over California in the Big Game last week. The Cardinal lost to an 8-3 team two weeks ago when they were upset by USC.

Stanford’s Ty Montgomery was spectacular last week against Cal and Tyler Gaffney has proved to a hard running tailback. If Stanford can get the running game going, Kevin Hogan should be able to

do well controlling the ball. The Stanford defense will be strong. Shayne Skov, Trent Murphy, Ed Reynolds and A.J.Tarley and company have performed well all season.

Hard to say who will will but Stanford probably will be the favorite but it’s college football and the Cardinal cannot afford to take Notre Dame lightly. Coach Shaw will have his troops ready.

Big Game aftermath: Cal, Dykes have a lot of work to do

By Morris Phillips

The 116^th Big Game needed to be Cal’s last stand, their final opportunity—win or lose–to show that their football program was headed in the right direction with major improvement coming in 2014.

Instead, the Bears suffered the worst loss in Big Game history, allowing a Stanford-record 42 points in the first half alone.  Combined with Oregon’s loss to Arizona, Cal found itself trapped in the Cardinal’s big moment with nowhere to go until the final horn sounded.

Talk about a violent manner in which to swing an Axe.  According to Coach Sonny Dykes, his program is currently under reconstruction, in large part due to what transpired on Saturday at Stanford Stadium.

“Actually, we’re going to learn how to pick up our locker room.  We’re… going to learn how to go class. We’re going to fix our graduation rates, graduate.  We are going to appreciate being a Cal student, be supportive of other Cal students.  We’re going to get faster, stronger in the weight room.  We’re going to get bigger and improve our diet.  We’re going to be more committed to getting sleep, rest, recovery.  We’re going to learn how to play on offense and defense,” Dykes said.

Less than a year after accepting the job at Berkeley, Dykes admitted that he’s starting over.  And typically, that means there’s nowhere to go but up.  But when you hit rock bottom this hard, typical doesn’t apply.  When asked who among his staff would return next season, Dykes was brutally honest.

“I’ll take a look at it all,” Dykes said.  “I can’t guarantee I’ll be back next season.”

Given the millions of dollars invested in Dykes, former coach Jeff Tedford and the rebuilt Memorial Stadium, don’t expect Dykes to go anywhere but back to work.  Cal can’t afford to start over like they did in 2001 when Tom Holmoe was shown the door after a one-win season. In fact, Dykes said that process would begin soon after the bus ride back to Berkeley, saying that it couldn’t wait until Sunday afternoon or Monday to commence.

The Bears came into Saturday’s game knowing that Stanford’s physical attack could embarrass them as it had other opponents.  So Dykes and the Cal defense loaded up to stop to run only to see Stanford take to the air and take advantage of the Bears’ young secondary.  The transition for the Cardinal was seamless as star receiver Ty Montgomery racked up five touchdowns and the Stanford offense over 600 yards.

The highlights—seen by far more than the 50,000 in the stadium and those that sat through the broadcast buried deep in the recesses of expanded cable—were noticeable for the lengthy plays produced by Stanford with Cal players trailing in their wake.  Not only has Cal sunk this low, but at the same time, hated rival Stanford has reached its zenith, possibly on its way to back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances, and all of that was neatly summed up in a brief video package of Cal quarterback Jared Goff taking hits and Montgomery running into the end zone.

When you take into account that 17 and 18-year olds have short attention spans, watch television and are impressionable, you start to get a sense of what a win-win the whole afternoon was for Stanford, and just the opposite for Cal.

First, Dykes and the Bears have to learn from their mistakes and improve.  The Cal depth chart this season was littered with inexperienced first-and-second year players even before numerous injuries robbed the team of its veteran players.  In a Pac-12 conference that’s bigger than it’s ever been and likely more talent-heavy than it’s ever been, the combination proved to be pure disaster for Cal.

In addition, Dykes’ Bear Raid system is a high-risk operation with its spread sets and frequent passing. But it’s not anything new to opposing coaches and defenses.  Repeatedly, those defenses bent but didn’t break against Cal, by dialing up pressure that Cal’s offensive line, labeled as lacking physicality by even its’ own coaches, couldn’t withstand.  On Saturday, the Bears were awful on third-down, failing to convert on 11 of 13 opportunities.  If the Bear Raid can’t gain rhythm, can’t stay on the field and wear on opposing defenses, little if anything is realized.

In summary, Cal’s got a long way to go.  Dykes appears forthright and committed, but he needs help from his players and coaching staff.  Even with all the pluses afforded Cal through the university and athletic department, it won’t be easy, and it won’t be any less lengthy a process given that the competition in the Pac-12 is as steep as it’s ever been.

Stanford vs Oregon Preview: Game Of The Year

by Jerry Feitelberg

Well fans, this is the game of the year in not only the Pac-12 north division but the entire Pac-12 and , perhaps, the nation.

Stanford will be playing the the high-flying Oregon Ducks on Thursday November 7th at Stanford Stadium at 6pm The Ducks are ranked #2 nationally with a 8-0 record. Stanford has a record is 7-1 i and is ranked at # 5. The game is sold out but there may be some single seats available

Oregon will be looking to avenge the 17-14 loss they suffered to the Cardinal last year at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The Ducks never lose at home but they did last year and Stanford, not Oregon, went to the Rose Bowl. The Ducks are loaded again. They are led by first year head coach Mark Helrich. Chip Kelly,who built Oregon into a national powerhouse, fled to the NFL and is in the process of rebuilding the Philadelphia Eagle franchise. Helrich has the Ducks playing at an extremely high level again this year. Oregon has scored 34 points or more in 34 consecutive games. The lone exception was the loss to Stanford last year. Handling the chores at quarterback is Marcus Mariota, who is a sophomore. Mariota has been named a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Club’s Award for Collegiate Player of the year. Mariota runs an offense that is second nationally in scoring and in total offense averaging 632 yards per game. That, folks, is absolutely off the charts. Mariota also has completed sixty-four percent of his passes.

The Stanford defense will be sorely tested. Defensive end Ben Gardner has been sidelined for the rest of the season with an arm injury. Stanford’s strength on defense has been the pass rush. Stanford ranks third nationally with 27 sacks and Gardner was second on the team with 4.5 sacks behind Trent Murphy’s 9.5. Murphy, by the way, was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. In the game against Oregon State, Murphy recorded 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks. Logged 8 tackles, 2 quarterback hurries and blocked an extra point. It was the second times this season that Murphy has won the award.

It should be interesting to see how Stanford’s great defense, albeit riddled with injury, can stand up to the offensive onslaught that will be coming there way on November 7th. The Cardinal shut down Oregon State’s Shawn Mannion last week and limited OSU to just 12 points. The Cardinal offense is going to have to get their game going in order to beat the Ducks.

While Gardner is lost for the year, the Cardinal has Senior Henry Anderson returning from injury and Anderson will be at defensive end for the Cardinal.

There is no doubt about it. This should be one of the great games of the year. The winner may be in the BCS championship game. The eyes of the nation will be watching for sure.

Stanford vs Arizona State Preview

Stanford vs Arizona State Preview

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Stanford Cardinal hosts the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday September 21st at Stanford Stadium at 4pm.

The game should be a barnburner and Stanford will have its hands full with the dynamic ASU offense.

The Sun Devils are coached by Todd Graham. Graham is in his second year as head coach and had a winning season last as the Sun Devils went 8-5.

The Sun Devil offense is led by quarterback Taylor Kelly. Kelly has thrown for 13 touchdowns and has completed 105-of- 153 passes in his last five games going back to last season and has a quarterback rating of 169.86 during that period. One team will see its winning streak snapped this weekend.

ASU has won its last five and Stanford has a ten game winning streak going back to last year.

Stanford is ranked number 5 nationally while ASU is ranked 23rd. Stanford beat San Jose State and Army to open the season at 2-0 while ASU beat Sacramento State and Wisconsin. Saturday’s game will open the Pac-12 season for both teams.

ASU has a high powered passing game and has averaged 358 yards per game so far this season but they will be going up Stanford’s passing defense which is ranked 7th nationally and has allowed just 132 yards per game in the two games played.

Stanford’s offense ,led by quarterback Kevin Hogan and running back Ty Gaffney , will have to be at the top of their game. The Cardinal defense is hurting. Defensive end Henry Anderson will not be available as well as cornerback Barry Browning and linebacker Blake Martinez.

The pressure will be on Stanford to win. The Cardinal cannot afford to lose if it wants to be a national title contender. A Stanford loss might make the game with Oregon on November 7th a do-or-die situation for the North Division title.

ASU leads the series 16-11. Stanford won the last meeting between the two team in 2010 and the Cardinal has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams at Stanford Stadium dating back to 2000.