Oct. 11, 2008
Complete Game Book in PDF Format
Notes Stanford Live: In-Game Blog Stanford Quotes- Players Stanford Quotes- HarbaughSTANFORD, Calif. - Stanford thrust itself into the Pac-10 football race and closer to a possible bowl berth with a dramatic 24-23 victory over Arizona on Saturday at Stanford Stadium.
Toby Gerhart crashed into the end zone with 25 seconds left and Aaron Zagory added the winning extra-point to complete a Cardinal comeback that boosted its conference record to 3-1 and overall mark to 4-3.
The winning drive was unpredictably ignited by third-string quarterback Alex Loukas, who gained 32 yards rushing and accounted for 53 yards on the decisive 60-yard, 11-play drive that took 5:16 off the clock.
"All my teammates and coaches, before I went in, came up to me and said, `I trust you and believe in you,'" Loukas said.
Said center Alex Fletcher to Loukas: "Lead us to victory.'"
He did and now Stanford stands three victories from being automatically eligible for a bowl berth, and within two of a likely one. The Cardinal's three conference victories are tied for the most in the Pac-10.
The task facing Stanford seemed daunting after falling behind 23-17 with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter on Jason Bondzio's third field goal of the game, a 23-yarder.
Stanford had lost starting quarterback Tavita Pritchard to a first-half injury and Jason Forcier was replaced after being somewhat ineffective despite driving the Cardinal to 10 points in four second-half possessions.
Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh inserted third-stringer Alex Loukas on a third-down play early in the fourth quarter. Though Loukas failed to deliver a first down on that play, he got another opportunity. And made the most of it.
Given 5 minutes, 41 seconds to work with, Loukas picked up a series of big gains on option keepers from the shotgun formation, and hit receiver Ryan Whalen down a seam for 21 yards.
Loukas' biggest run came on third-and-six from the nine, when he faked a handoff to Gerhart and then cut left to reach the 2-yard line.
On second-and-goal from the one and the final minute ticking away, Gerhart took a handoff from the I-formation and carried over left tackle for the winner.
"Coming down in the last drive, I knew we had to do something to win," Loukas said. "I tried not to get too high or low and tried to stay poised. I didn't really think too much, I just played and reacted. And we came out with the victory.
Arizona's final plays ended in Erik Lorig's pass deflection, a sack by Lorig and Pannel Egboh, and a lateral-filled last-gasp pass that gained little.
Stanford got a pair of 100-yard rushing performances, from Gerhart (116 yards on 24 carries) and Anthony Kimble (110 yards on 10 carries), for the first time since Brian Allen and Kenneth Tolon accomplished the feat in 2001 against Arizona. It was all part of a 286-yard ground attack that marked a season high and the most yards since the 2007 season opener against San Jose State.
"We knew after the first series what we were going up against," Fletcher said. "We knew that we could have our way with them up front."
Stanford had immediately handled the Arizona spread offense, taking a 7-3 lead when Pritchard rolled right and found Doug Baldwin for a three-yard scoring play late in the first quarter.
But Stanford encountered trouble at its own hand in the second quarter, with two turnovers that led to Arizona touchdowns and a 17-7 Wildcat lead.
The first came on a trick play, in which the ball was snapped directly to Michael Thomas, normally a cornerback. Thomas fumbled when hit by strong safety Cam Nelson and Nate Ness recovered.
On Stanford's next series, Pritchard tried to find Whalen in the left flat, but free safety Ness jumped the pattern for the interception and found room down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown play.
Stanford climbed back on a Zagory 22-yard field goal with Forcier at the helm, and a one-yard Kimble touchdown run to tie the game, 17-17. Kimble set up his own score with a 70-yard run to the 2-yard line.
Though Arizona was able to take a 23-17 lead, the Cardinal did well to prevent the deficit from being worse. Arizona had a first-and-goal at the 5 on its final scoring drive, but failed to get more than three. A third-down pass from Willie Tuitama (22 of 34 for 259 yards) into the end zone was broken up by Thomas.
That allowed the sophomore Loukas, who had played only in spot duty this season, to lead Stanford to victory.
"We've been saying it a lot: We've got good quarterbacks," Harbaugh said. "Alex got in there and ran the hurry-up offense. He called a few formations wrong, but he's a really gifted athlete and a determined runner."
Stanford already has matched its victory total of last year and is within one of equaling the total of the past two years combined. It appears the Harbaugh Era, now in its second season, is beginning to pay dividends.
"I'm really proud of our guys," the coach said. "They found a way to win."