Halftime recap of Stanford's Week 9 game at #12 UCLA
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Stanford is seeking their third straight win in a row, and their fourth win of the season.
However, they may be facing their toughest opponent since their Week 2 matchup against USC. The Cardinal are tasked with going head to head with No. 12 UCLA, and similar to many of their offensive possessions this season were able to get into the red zone but were unable to find pay-dirt. Instead, Stanford was forced to settle for a field goal to go up 3-0.
The ensuing UCLA position featured a heavy dose of Zach Charbonnet, as his first three rushes went for over 10-yards. The Bruins worked their way down the field, and capped off the drive with a Dorian Thompson-Robinson touchdown run. Stanford found themselves trailing, which is nothing new by any means, but their first play after the UCLA touchdown saw Tanner McKee have his pass picked off at Stanford's 23.
UCLA took the field, handed the ball to Charbonnet, and all of a sudden Stanford found themselves trailing 14-3. The offense was not able to answer, as they would go on to punt after a holding call and Tanner McKee was sacked put the Cardinal in an unreachable first down.
UCLA would again drive down the field, but were held to a field goal on their next drive to put them up 17-3. The Cardinal offense had a chance to answer, but Elijah Higgins dropped a pass on third down that would have been a huge first down. In a surprising decision, David Shaw decided to go for it on fourth down, but an offensive lineman moved prematurely for a false start, which then forced them to punt.
On UCLA's next drive the results were the same, as the Bruins would be able to drive down the field and score. Charbonnet ran through the front seven to get his second touchdown of the day.
Down 24-6, the Cardinal offense continued to struggle and were forced to punt again. However, in a very rare swing of momentum that actually favored Stanford, Brycen Tremayne clobbered the punt returner forcing a fumble. Stanford recovered in the red zone, giving them a chance to finally put up six. Unfortunately this offensive line is absolutely getting man handled by the Bruins' front, and the Cardinal were unable to move the ball. Karty did however hit a field goal to cut the lead to 24-6.
With a chance to score what likely would have been the dagger before halftime, UCLA was unable to get in the end zone thanks to a huge drop by the Bruins, a couple pass break-ups, and a huge sack by Stephen Herron. UCLA would go on to miss the field goal, which may be the momentum Stanford needs going into the locker room. Something to look out for is Thompson-Robinson is visibly limping and has gone into the injury tent multiple times.
Stats Comparison:
Total Yards: Stanford 98, UCLA 313
Passing Yards: Stanford 49 , UCLA 151
Rushing Yards: Stanford 49, UCLA 162
Penalties: Stanford 3-25 , UCLA 5-35
Turnovers: Stanford 1 , UCLA 0
Time of possession: Stanford 14:11, UCLA 15:44
