By: Ben Leonard
Follow Ben on Twitter @Ben___Leonard
Stanford came into Tuesday’s Foster Farms Bowl as heavy favorites against the Maryland Terrapins. They left nothing to be desired after a dominant 45-21 win over the Terps, controlling both sides of the ball. The Cardinal held 35-7 lead early in the third quarter, and took their foot off the gas after that. They did so without Ty Montgomery, who was out with a shoulder injury. A senior, Montgomery did not have a chance to end his career on a high note. Although Montgomery did not have a chance to do so, the Cardinal did not squander their opportunity to bring momentum into 2015 after a disappointing 8-5 season.
Quarterback Kevin Hogan had a nearly flawless game, completing fourteen passes of twenty passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. The chilly conditions at Levi’s Stadium didn’t fluster Hogan, who had no trouble throwing the ball to all sides of the field. His continued stretch of efficiency could make him jump to the NFL after this season, opening the door for redshirt freshman Keller Chryst to take over. Chryst appeared to be picking Hogan’s mind in the waning stages of the game, looking for nuggets of wisdom from the senior signal-caller.
Hogan (8) mentors Chryst (10) on the sideline in Tuesday's bowl game. (Image: Own)
HOGAN (8) MENTORS CHRYST (10) ON THE SIDELINE IN TUESDAY’S BOWL GAME. (IMAGE: OWN)
Hogan appeared calm, cool, and collected in the pocket, with Maryland’s defensive front providing little resistance. He worked the intermediate passing game very well, completing seven passes of more than ten yards. He connected twice with receiver Devon Cajuste for scores, who took advantage of an undersized Terps’ secondary. Hogan spread the ball very well, with ten different receivers catching passes. He seemed to go through his progressions very slowly, a product of Montgomery’s absence. Hogan looked to his tight ends frequently, completing seven passes for 102 yards, including seventy-one to freshman phenom Austin Hooper. Hogan’s efforts earned him the Foster Farms Bowl offensive MVP award.
Hogan’s only miscue came on a fumbled handoff early in the third, when he inexplicably dropped the ball before handing it off to his back. It did not hurt the Cardinal in the end, as Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown immediately threw an interception to safety Kyle Olugbode. Brown overthrew his receiver by several feet, giving Olugbode an easy play on the ball. Stanford would respond with a quick touchdown drive, capped by Cajuste’s second touchdown catch. Cajuste finished with four catches for forty-seven yards, and will announce whether he will stay for another season at Stanford, or leave for the NFL on Wednesday.
David Shaw finally let Christian McCaffery do his thing, something Stanford fans have been calling for all season long. McCaffery’s speed and agility is well-suited for outside runs, and Maryland’s poor secondary allowed Stanford to utilize McCaffery to exploit this weakness. Stanford’s offense more closely resembled Oregon’s spread offense on Tuesday night to take advantage of this deficiency. They utilized intermediated passes and runs outside the tackles to avoid Maryland’s relatively stronger defensive front.
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THE CARDINAL SPACED OUT THEIR OFFENSE ON TUESDAY, AS SHOWN ABOVE.
He rushed for fifty-seven yards on just seven carries, and returned four punts for eighty-one yards. His electric play-making ability figures to play a larger role in 2015, although his style does not necessarily fit Stanford’s philosophy of physical running.
In spite of a poor second drive, the Cardinal defense was dominant, holding Maryland to just seventeen rushing yards. They controlled the line of scrimmage all game long, only letting up with the score well out of hand in the second half. Dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown was kept in check, throwing for just 205 yards on twenty seven attempts. A big twenty-six yard catch by receiver Stefon Diggs led Maryland to their only score in the first half, facilitating the drive. Outside of that drive, the Terps gathered just 178 total yards. Foster Farms Bowl Defensive MVP James Vaughters led the charge for the Cardinal, sacking Brown twice and forcing a fumble. Tuesday’s game was the last for Vaughters at Stanford, who will enter the NFL Draft after graduating.
Although Stanford won just eight games in 2014, they were one play away from beating both Notre Dame and USC. They did not have quite as awful of a year as it has been made out to be, and have a bright future with McCaffery leading the charge. Whether or not Hogan leaves, the Cardinal are poised for a more successful 2015 campaign. Their school bowl record forty-five point outburst gives the offense confidence for next year, with Montgomery and Peat being the only players likely to leave. That is not the case on defense, with A.J. Tarpley, Vaughters, and Henry Anderson all graduating, to name a few. The Cardinal may be disappointed with 2014, but the Foster Farms Bowl was something to “cluck” about.
Showing posts with label Foster Farms Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foster Farms Bowl. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
BASTA: A Way Too Early Look at the Foster Farms Bowl
((HT: BASTA/Ben Leonard))
Stanford was officially given a berth in the Foster Farms Bowl on Sunday, which has previously been dubbed the Emerald Bowl, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and the Fight Hunger Bowl. It was held at AT&T Park for all of its previous existence, and now is being moved to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The bowl will remain at the venue for at least the next six years, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences signed a pact for the aforementioned time. The game will pit the Cardinal and the Maryland Terrapins on December 30th, a foe that Stanford has never played.
Both teams come into the bowl game with identical 7-5 records, although they can not be treated as equal. Maryland, for some reason, is geographically “close enough” to fellow Big Ten schools to become affiliated with the inferior conference. Some of their marquee victories include Syracuse, Penn State, and Iowa, not exactly world-beaters. Stanford would be the clear favorite in this matchup, independent from the fact that the bowl amounts to a home game.
The Cardinal will come into the game with tremendous confidence, after blowing out Cal and #9 UCLA in consecutive weeks. They also are much more physically talented than their record indicates, as 2014 was a season of gross underachievement for a team with one of the best defenses in the country. Maryland is particularly weak running the ball, as they are 106th in the nation in rushing yards per game. They are comparatively not as terrible through the air, but are still a modest 74th in the country in passing yards per game. Stanford should be able to bottle up the Terp’s poor rushing, and key in on shifty quarterback C.J. Brown. Brown is somewhat of a dual-threat quarterback, who has been mediocre through the air, but excels at running the ball and improvising. He is a sixth-year senior, stemming from a medical redshirt that he obtained after tearing his ACL in 2012, and brings experience to the table for the Terps. Despite Brown’s experience, the Cardinal defense will likely be too much for an underwhelming Maryland offense.
Stanford’s offense also holds a major advantage over Maryland’s defense. Maryland has been dreadful against the run, allowing over two hundred yards on the ground per game. Their secondary has been similarly mediocre, 80th in the nation in allowing 236.5 yards per game through the air. Quarterback Kevin Hogan and Stanford’s offense finally found its stride last Saturday against UCLA, a lethal combination of accurate passing and establishing the running game. Stanford controlled the game so well that Hogan only had to throw three passes in the second half. UCLA’s defense was no joke, second in the Pac-12 in total defense heading into the game, yet Stanford had their best game of the season against the unit. Once a weakness, Stanford’s offense should now be considered a strength, if Hogan continues to play at a high level. Stanford fans should hope that he does, which would help both in the short and the long term. Hogan has one more year of eligibility remaining, but could elect to spurn Palo Alto for the NFL with a quality performance in the Foster Farms Bowl. Stanford fans would certainly welcome his departure, as highly-touted recruits Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns would get to duke it out for the starting job.
Stanford was officially given a berth in the Foster Farms Bowl on Sunday, which has previously been dubbed the Emerald Bowl, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and the Fight Hunger Bowl. It was held at AT&T Park for all of its previous existence, and now is being moved to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The bowl will remain at the venue for at least the next six years, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences signed a pact for the aforementioned time. The game will pit the Cardinal and the Maryland Terrapins on December 30th, a foe that Stanford has never played.
Both teams come into the bowl game with identical 7-5 records, although they can not be treated as equal. Maryland, for some reason, is geographically “close enough” to fellow Big Ten schools to become affiliated with the inferior conference. Some of their marquee victories include Syracuse, Penn State, and Iowa, not exactly world-beaters. Stanford would be the clear favorite in this matchup, independent from the fact that the bowl amounts to a home game.
The Cardinal will come into the game with tremendous confidence, after blowing out Cal and #9 UCLA in consecutive weeks. They also are much more physically talented than their record indicates, as 2014 was a season of gross underachievement for a team with one of the best defenses in the country. Maryland is particularly weak running the ball, as they are 106th in the nation in rushing yards per game. They are comparatively not as terrible through the air, but are still a modest 74th in the country in passing yards per game. Stanford should be able to bottle up the Terp’s poor rushing, and key in on shifty quarterback C.J. Brown. Brown is somewhat of a dual-threat quarterback, who has been mediocre through the air, but excels at running the ball and improvising. He is a sixth-year senior, stemming from a medical redshirt that he obtained after tearing his ACL in 2012, and brings experience to the table for the Terps. Despite Brown’s experience, the Cardinal defense will likely be too much for an underwhelming Maryland offense.
Stanford’s offense also holds a major advantage over Maryland’s defense. Maryland has been dreadful against the run, allowing over two hundred yards on the ground per game. Their secondary has been similarly mediocre, 80th in the nation in allowing 236.5 yards per game through the air. Quarterback Kevin Hogan and Stanford’s offense finally found its stride last Saturday against UCLA, a lethal combination of accurate passing and establishing the running game. Stanford controlled the game so well that Hogan only had to throw three passes in the second half. UCLA’s defense was no joke, second in the Pac-12 in total defense heading into the game, yet Stanford had their best game of the season against the unit. Once a weakness, Stanford’s offense should now be considered a strength, if Hogan continues to play at a high level. Stanford fans should hope that he does, which would help both in the short and the long term. Hogan has one more year of eligibility remaining, but could elect to spurn Palo Alto for the NFL with a quality performance in the Foster Farms Bowl. Stanford fans would certainly welcome his departure, as highly-touted recruits Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns would get to duke it out for the starting job.
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