If you are a fan of undisciplined play and missed opportunities, then Stanford Football’s (2-4, 1-2 ACC) 34-10 loss to SMU (4-2, 2-0) was the game for you.
Allowing big plays and wasting chances were the running themes for the Cardinal on Saturday morning. The defense allowed touchdowns of 87 and 42 yards, and the offense one-upped them by throwing a 96-yard pick-six to clinch the game for the Mustangs. On top of this, the team had 10 penalties for 95 yards, including two back-to-back holding penalties to wipe out two big runs for sophomore running back Cole Tabb.
Despite the miscues, the Cardinal were competitive against SMU until the wheels fell off in the fourth quarter.
Stanford was only outgained by 16 yards on offense (353 yards to 369 yards), dominated time of possession, and the defense allowed just two touchdowns.
With 6:16 left in the fourth quarter and on the SMU 5-yard line, the Cardinal had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but quarterback Ben Gulbranson threw an errant pass in the face of pressure to SMU’s Justin Medlock for a 96-yard interception to make it 30-10 for SMU.
Gulbranson had an up-and-down game. He threw for 278 yards on 22-41 passing with one touchdown and the aforementioned interception. He was sacked six times for 52 yards, which led to some of the mistakes the offense made.
However, his drive to end the first half was a highlight of the game.
With 35 seconds left to start the possession, Gulbranson engineered a lightning quick drive, including a 31-yard strike to sixth-year senior wide receiver Bryce Farrell to get Stanford to the 14-yard line with five seconds left.
Then, a 14-yard touchdown throw to senior wide receiver CJ Williams put the Cardinal on the board to end the half 7-17 for Stanford.
Williams led all Cardinal in receiving with 109 yards on seven receptions and one touchdown. He now has 100+ receiving yards in his last three games after combining for 62 yards in his first three games.
Senior tight end Sam Roush had a great game with career highs in receiving yards (89) and receptions (eight).
Running backs Tabb and sophomore Micah Ford combined to rush for 115 yards, with Ford carrying most of the load with 16 of the 27 combined carries.
SMU running back Chris Johnson Jr. invoked his namesake with his 87-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and taking a pass for 42 yards and a touchdown in the third.
Stanford will look to rebound next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT when they host Florida State (3-3, 0-3 ACC) for Reunion Homecoming Night at Stanford Stadium.