For the past several years, fans have been waiting for Stanford to fall from grace.
In 2010, people wondered how the offense would perform without Toby Gerhart in the backfield. The next year, people questioned how the team would fare without Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines. And this season, with Andrew Luck out of the picture, people figured Stanford would finally take that step back.
That didn’t happen.
The Cardinal may not be contending for a national title this year, but the coaching job of David Shaw has been nothing short of spectacular, leading Stanford to the brink of playing for the Pac-12 title.
After quarterback Josh Nunes struggled early in the season, Shaw wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger and put in backup Kevin Hogan. The freshman has completed more than 74 percent of his throws, and in the biggest game of his life, he completed 25 of 36 passes in a 17-14 win over top-ranked Oregon.
Shaw’s faith in Hogan has paid off in a big way, but the most obvious sign of his coaching abilities is the team’s 6-2 record in games decided by seven points or less. Stanford could easily have been hovering near .500 if it hadn’t played so well in the clutch, displaying the same calmness as its coach.
The team nearly lost its season opener against San Jose State, but the defense shut out the Spartans in the final quarter as kicker Jordan Williamson booted the game-winning field goal. Two weeks later, the defense once again pitched a fourth-quarter shutout, this time against USC, as Zach Ertz caught a 37-yard touchdown pass for the 21-14 victory. The clutch play continued two weeks later, as the Cardinal rallied from a 48-34 deficit in the fourth quarter against Arizona. Stanford emerged from that game with a 54-48 overtime win.
Against Washington State, the defense came up with three sacks on the game’s final five plays to preserve a 24-17 victory. Two weeks ago, against Oregon State, the defense came up big yet again. Stanford held the Beavers scoreless in the fourth quarter, and Hogan threw a touchdown with 5:07 to play for the decisive score.
But given the level of competition, the atmosphere, and what was at stake, the win at Oregon was Stanford’s best performance yet.
Even after Oregon scored two consecutive touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead, the Cardinal maintained its composure and delivered one clutch play after another on the game’s most important drive. On a third-and-10 from the Oregon 21, Hogan faced pressure from two defensive linemen but scrambled to avoid the sack and deliver a 9-yard strike to Ertz. Then, with the game on the line, fullback Ryan Hewitt leaped over the Oregon line for the first down. One play later, Ertz caught a pass in the back of the end zone for the game’s tying score.
It came as little surprise that the defense delivered once again in overtime, holding Oregon to a 41-yard field goal attempt, which Alejandro Maldonado clanked against the left upright. Then came Williamson, the Stanford kicker who missed three field goals in a 41-38 Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State last year. The sophomore didn’t miss his shot at redemption, nailing a 37-yarder to throw the BCS rankings into chaos.
If the Cardinal can beat UCLA on Saturday, in what would then be the first of two consecutive meetings, Stanford will clinch the Pac-12 North to claim its spot in the conference championship game. And if Shaw’s team can defeat UCLA in the title game, it will appear in its third consecutive BCS bowl game.
Had the referees counted Stepfan Taylor’s touchdown in overtime against Notre Dame, Stanford might be playing for a national championship right now. But given the way Shaw has led the team over the past two seasons, maybe a national title isn’t that far away.