Stanford (2-3) used a career day from quarterback Ben Gulbranson to pull off the improbable comeback victory over San Jose State (1-3).
San Jose State struck early in the fourth, extending their road lead to 26-14 and silencing the Stanford faithful. The Cardinal offense had scored on a pair of methodical touchdown drives, but a two-score deficit with 14 minutes on the clock seemed unlikely; they showed very little big play ability. Stanford was being counted out by the freshman fans, X commenters, several members of the press box, and even the ESPN algorithm. But being counted out is nothing new to Ben Gulbranson.
After two tough starts in a Stanford uniform, the fanbase was by and large calling for Gulbranson to be replaced. The sixth year quarterback led Oregon State to a 7-1 record as a starter in 2022, but never again parlayed that into significant playing time. Ben largely rode the bench for his final two years in Corvallis, starting 4 total games as an injury fill-in.
Ben arrived at Stanford in the summer. Freshman Bear Bachmeier transferred away, but returning quarterbacks Elijah Brown and Myles Jackson and Central Florida transfer Dylan Rizk had all gone through the spring. It was a surprise to some when Ben won the job, and even more of one when he held onto it after a lackluster start.
On third-and-three, down 12 points and in their own end of the field, Stanford was given a 4% chance to win. A connection between Gulbranson and fifth year wideout Bryce Farrell turned into a 50 yard catch-and-run that electrified the remaining crowd. Two plays later, Gulbranson’s pass led sophomore receiver Myles Libman into the end zone for his first career touchdown.
“I think we are just trusting the process,” Gulbranson said. “I don't think the process has changed. We just get better as the games go on, which is exciting for us, just to keep riding that momentum.”
The Stanford defense held San Jose State to three on their subsequent drive, and took over down 8 points. Another long catch and run, this time 54 yards to running back Micah Ford, led to a decision for Frank Reich and the Stanford coaching staff. They faced fourth and 5 from the San Jose State 13, down 8 and with 6 minutes to go. They opted to bring in kicker Emmet Kenney to cut the deficit to 5.
“I thought the defense was playing extremely well in the second half,” said Reich. “It was just fourth and too many yards. Talked to our analytics guys. Had a quick conversation with them about, go for it, kick the field goal, and felt like down by 8 that was the right move.”
The issue for Stanford is their defense was back on the field, needing a stop, and promptly. To that point, they had not forced a turnover, and had only made the Spartans punt a single time.
San Jose State was whistled for a critical holding penalty, and that was all the daylight the Cardinal defense needed. They got off the field in third-and-long, and gave the offense one final chance to score the go-ahead touchdown in a two minute drill.
The Cardinal drive threatened to stall before it could get started. They faced a fourth-and-10 from their own 41 with 1:18 on the clock, when they used their final timeout.
“We saw in preparation that [the Spartans] like to bring blitz zero in that situation,” said Reich. “We studied it hard. We worked on it hard. We talked about our answers all week. We practiced them. We practiced them over and over and over again.”
They found the answer when it mattered. They brought tight end into the backfield for max protection, keeping Gulbranson upright long enough for wide receiver Caden High to streak behind a pair of San Jose State defenders. Gulbranson put a lot of air under the ball - nearly too much - High laid out for a spectacular grab at the opposing 25 yard line
Two connections between Gulbranson and wide receiver CJ Williams moved the ball to the 1 yard line. The Cardinal, without timeouts, quickly got up to the line of scrimmage and handed the ball to running back Sedrick Irvin.
“That's the best one-yard carry of my life,” Irvin said. He finished with 1 carry for 1 yard and the go-ahead touchdown on the day.
There were only 19 seconds on the clock when the Spartans took over, but a pass deep down the field threatened to put them in field goal range. That is, until safety Jay Green made a phenomenal play to force an incompletion and preserve the win.
“What a massive play by Jay,” Reich said. “I mean, that could be the play of the game. Just all out effort. That was so satisfying for us as coaches, watching the players make the plays that are necessary to win the game.”
Ben Gulbranson pieced together the best performance of his six year collegiate career. He went 29-43 and 444 yards, good for third most in program history. The job is firmly his, to say the least.
CJ Williams and Caden High finished with 138 and 110 receiving yards, respectively. The pair of transfers have injected life into a wide receiver room that was decimated with departures in the offseason. When you add in Bryce Farrell and Myles Libman, it now seems to be a strength of this team.
“We all knew how important this game was and how important it was to get this W,” said Sedrick Irvin. “Not only that, just how important it was for the season. A game like this, just fighting back, does a lot for a team.”
This team is full of players who have been counted out. Tonight’s comeback was a microcosm of the culture being kindled in this program. Stanford fans should be excited for the future.