Utah leaves field, Stanford storms back in controversial 4th quarter upset
Stanford, CA (AP) Tanner McKee connected on three TD passes, Austin Jones scored on a 1-yard plunge, and Josh Karty kicked a 67-yard field goal as time ran out to cap a remarkable 31-point 4th quarter comeback for the Stanford Cardinal, beating the Utah Utes before 51 delirious members of the Stanford Band and 4 rabid fans at Stanford Stadium last night.
The 45-44 win was marked by controversy when Utah left the field and immediately boarded their team buses at the end of the 3rd quarter with a 44-14 lead, with team officials citing the need to catch a late flight home and avoid a costly hotel bill. Officials deliberated for nearly ten minutes before whistling the start of 4th quarter play as the Utah busses left the stadium grounds, and McKee promptly connected on 4 straight passes to bring the Cardinal to the 1-yard line. Stanford called a quick timeout and, after two failed Wildcat plays, Jones powered through the middle on third down.
The Cardinal then recovered the first of an NCAA record four straight onside kicks and the Stanford running game, dormant for the first 3 quarters, promptly embarked on a grueling 15 play, 55-yard drive to the Ute 8-yard line. “Usually our coaches get mad us for not finding anyone to block,” said one of the Stanford linemen, who asked not to be identified. “But this time I guess they were content to let things happen.” McKee then lofted a back-shoulder pass to walk-on Jay Gatsby in the end zone to cut the deficit to 16 points. Gatsby, who only that afternoon was recruited from the intramural fields to help fill the injury-depleted WR ranks, was visibly elated, running completely out of the stadium and across the street with the ball to the nearby Sundance Mining Company bar.
Stanford was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when Gatsby ran away with the ball, but with the subsequent recovery of another onside kick, the Cardinal onslaught continued, with McKee completing 9 straight short passes on a 67-yard drive to bring Stanford within 9 points. “Sometimes you just have to take what the defense gives you,” noted Offensive Coordinator Tavita Pritchard. “We saw that in the film. It’s like they (the defenders) weren’t even there.”
Stanford then miraculously recovered its third straight onside kick. “We were on a roll,” said Special Teams Coach Pete Alamar, “our guys were hungry.” Seconds later McKee connected over the middle with tight end Benjamin Yurosek and the sophomore rumbled 50 yards untouched to the end zone to bring the Cardinal within 2 points with just 2 minutes remaining.
The record-breaking 4th straight onside kick recovery was not without suspense. “We wondered if we were going to the well too often,” Coach David Shaw admitted. “But we also thought that any second they might have run back onto the field and run out the clock on us. We couldn’t take that chance. Fortunately we got a good bounce.”
That good bounce came into the hands of walk-on linebacker Al Bundy, a 42-year-old grad student transfer from MIT who found himself on center stage in his first organized football game. “The ball’s not a sphere, but I was able to calculate its angle of descent properly,” Bundy said as he led his teammates in the “C-House” chant in the locker room after the game.
McKee then carefully guided the Cardinal to the middle of the field as time ran down. “Coach told me we have to trust Josh,” he said, as three running plays netted 9 yards. However, a potentially costly delay-of-game penalty pushed Stanford back to midfield and Karty’s task became harder. Despite a slightly bobbled snap, the ball sailed cleanly through the uprights as time expired. “Actually,” Coach Shaw said, “the penalty stopped the clock, which was fortunate because we were out of timeouts.”
Shaw downplayed the win. “We just executed,” he said. “I’ve been saying all year to our team that sometimes you just have to put your heads down and get to work. Sometimes you just have to forget the other team is even there.”
“It’s no secret we’re pretty banged up on defense right now,” said Stanford Defensive Coordinator Lance Anderson. It’s just as well our D got some rest in the 4th quarter. Utah’s pretty hard to stop once they get rolling.”
For the four loyal fans who stayed for the entire game, the victory was bittersweet. “I’m glad we stayed,” said longtime Stanford season ticket holder Hugh Betcha, who attended with his wife and 7-year-old twin daughters. “To be honest, we were going to leave when we saw Utah leave the field, but then I lost my car keys and we had to wait almost an hour for an Uber to come and get us.”
Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham was unapologetic. “I fully stand by our decision to leave,” he said, when contacted at Salt Lake City Airport. “The guys need their rest and their studies are important. Give credit to Stanford. They fought back, overcame a lot of obstacles.”
“This is exactly why we scheduled this game on a Friday night,” commented former Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who was visiting his former penthouse office in San Francisco. “Fans want parity and we brought it to them in this hotly-contested game, this wonderful family entertainment on a Friday night. And you didn’t even have to leave your living room to watch it.”
Stanford, CA (AP) Tanner McKee connected on three TD passes, Austin Jones scored on a 1-yard plunge, and Josh Karty kicked a 67-yard field goal as time ran out to cap a remarkable 31-point 4th quarter comeback for the Stanford Cardinal, beating the Utah Utes before 51 delirious members of the Stanford Band and 4 rabid fans at Stanford Stadium last night.
The 45-44 win was marked by controversy when Utah left the field and immediately boarded their team buses at the end of the 3rd quarter with a 44-14 lead, with team officials citing the need to catch a late flight home and avoid a costly hotel bill. Officials deliberated for nearly ten minutes before whistling the start of 4th quarter play as the Utah busses left the stadium grounds, and McKee promptly connected on 4 straight passes to bring the Cardinal to the 1-yard line. Stanford called a quick timeout and, after two failed Wildcat plays, Jones powered through the middle on third down.
The Cardinal then recovered the first of an NCAA record four straight onside kicks and the Stanford running game, dormant for the first 3 quarters, promptly embarked on a grueling 15 play, 55-yard drive to the Ute 8-yard line. “Usually our coaches get mad us for not finding anyone to block,” said one of the Stanford linemen, who asked not to be identified. “But this time I guess they were content to let things happen.” McKee then lofted a back-shoulder pass to walk-on Jay Gatsby in the end zone to cut the deficit to 16 points. Gatsby, who only that afternoon was recruited from the intramural fields to help fill the injury-depleted WR ranks, was visibly elated, running completely out of the stadium and across the street with the ball to the nearby Sundance Mining Company bar.
Stanford was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when Gatsby ran away with the ball, but with the subsequent recovery of another onside kick, the Cardinal onslaught continued, with McKee completing 9 straight short passes on a 67-yard drive to bring Stanford within 9 points. “Sometimes you just have to take what the defense gives you,” noted Offensive Coordinator Tavita Pritchard. “We saw that in the film. It’s like they (the defenders) weren’t even there.”
Stanford then miraculously recovered its third straight onside kick. “We were on a roll,” said Special Teams Coach Pete Alamar, “our guys were hungry.” Seconds later McKee connected over the middle with tight end Benjamin Yurosek and the sophomore rumbled 50 yards untouched to the end zone to bring the Cardinal within 2 points with just 2 minutes remaining.
The record-breaking 4th straight onside kick recovery was not without suspense. “We wondered if we were going to the well too often,” Coach David Shaw admitted. “But we also thought that any second they might have run back onto the field and run out the clock on us. We couldn’t take that chance. Fortunately we got a good bounce.”
That good bounce came into the hands of walk-on linebacker Al Bundy, a 42-year-old grad student transfer from MIT who found himself on center stage in his first organized football game. “The ball’s not a sphere, but I was able to calculate its angle of descent properly,” Bundy said as he led his teammates in the “C-House” chant in the locker room after the game.
McKee then carefully guided the Cardinal to the middle of the field as time ran down. “Coach told me we have to trust Josh,” he said, as three running plays netted 9 yards. However, a potentially costly delay-of-game penalty pushed Stanford back to midfield and Karty’s task became harder. Despite a slightly bobbled snap, the ball sailed cleanly through the uprights as time expired. “Actually,” Coach Shaw said, “the penalty stopped the clock, which was fortunate because we were out of timeouts.”
Shaw downplayed the win. “We just executed,” he said. “I’ve been saying all year to our team that sometimes you just have to put your heads down and get to work. Sometimes you just have to forget the other team is even there.”
“It’s no secret we’re pretty banged up on defense right now,” said Stanford Defensive Coordinator Lance Anderson. It’s just as well our D got some rest in the 4th quarter. Utah’s pretty hard to stop once they get rolling.”
For the four loyal fans who stayed for the entire game, the victory was bittersweet. “I’m glad we stayed,” said longtime Stanford season ticket holder Hugh Betcha, who attended with his wife and 7-year-old twin daughters. “To be honest, we were going to leave when we saw Utah leave the field, but then I lost my car keys and we had to wait almost an hour for an Uber to come and get us.”
Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham was unapologetic. “I fully stand by our decision to leave,” he said, when contacted at Salt Lake City Airport. “The guys need their rest and their studies are important. Give credit to Stanford. They fought back, overcame a lot of obstacles.”
“This is exactly why we scheduled this game on a Friday night,” commented former Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who was visiting his former penthouse office in San Francisco. “Fans want parity and we brought it to them in this hotly-contested game, this wonderful family entertainment on a Friday night. And you didn’t even have to leave your living room to watch it.”
