STANFORD, Calif. – For 41 years, James Lofton owned a record he never thought would last. As a senior in 1977, the speedy wide receiver caught 14 touchdown passes for Stanford, known for its prolific quarterbacks and high-scoring offenses.
The mark stood until Saturday, when senior JJ Arcega-Whiteside snagged three scoring tosses from junior quarterback K.J. Costello against UCLA at the Rose Bowl to catch Lofton. Arcega-Whiteside, whose 14 touchdowns rank third nationally, could pass him on Saturday in the 121st Big Game at Cal or in a postseason contest.
"I had been waiting for the last 20 years," said Lofton, a second team All-American in '77 who played 16 years in the NFL and was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. "When Andrew Luck was there and the run of great tight ends they had, I kept thinking, 'Somebody's going to get it.'"
Due to injuries and early deficits, David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, has altered his run-first approach this season and Costello and the offense have thrived. He's recorded seven 300-yard passing games, thanks to the efforts of Arcega-Whiteside, senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin, junior tight end Kaden Smith, sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson, and several young wideouts.
On Tuesday, Shaw said Costello is a year ahead of schedule in his understanding of the offense, play-calling and execution.
He leads the Pac-12 in quarterback rating (159.1) and ranks second in passing yards (3,198) and touchdown passes (28). Only pass-happy Washington State averages more yards, with the Cardinal producing 291.6 per game.
Arcega-Whiteside (860), Irwin (675), Smith (635) and Parkinson (455) rank sixth, 13th, 20th and 28th, respectively, in the conference in receiving yards, combining for 2,625. Arcega-Whiteside's impressive numbers have been recorded despite missing 1½ games due to injury.
"I watched JJ a little bit last year and I got to meet him this year when I was doing a Raiders game when they played the Colts," said Lofton. "I went over to Stanford on Saturday for The Walk, but I couldn't stay for the game because I had to go interview Andrew Luck."
He believes Arcega-Whiteside has all the skills to play on Sundays.
"It's almost funny to say because he's so good inside the 15-yard line, but I think he's a complete receiver," Lofton said. "Sometimes college announcers get caught up in how great they're going to be at the next level, but I really can see him fitting in.
"I coached receivers for seven years in the league with the Chargers and Raiders, and he has all the attributes that you're looking for. He has good short-area quickness, he has decent long speed, great strength, obviously he's a smart kid, understands the game and leverage, and makes plays."
Lofton, an NFL television analyst for CBS, was chosen in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and played for six teams. He caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards and 75 touchdowns and played in three Super Bowls with Buffalo. Lofton was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl seven times.
He also starred in track and field at Stanford and was the 1978 NCAA long jump champion with a leap of 26 11¾.
Lofton has stayed informed about Arcega-Whiteside from an inside source.
"It's funny. My oldest son, David, who played at Stanford, has kind of been following the countdown," said Lofton, whose son played quarterback and safety from 2004-06. "Normally, I'm on the East Coast doing a game for CBS and my son will send a text message. One week, it was like 8-9-10, and I was going, 'What is he talking about?' And then I went and looked at what Stanford was doing and he had scored three touchdowns. This past weekend it 12-13-14. It was kind of neat."
Lofton is eager to see what Arcega-Whiteside accomplishes the rest of the season.
"I'm excited to continue to follow him and looking forward to Dec. 1 against that other team," he said.
Big Game memories: Speaking of Cal, Lofton recalled beating the Bears at home his senior year but relishes a play he made the previous season on special teams that helped lift the Cardinal to a 22-20 win in Berkeley.
"We punted the ball and I caught it near the 1-yard line," said Lofton. "We had a big defensive play right after that and it turned the course of the game. People didn't think the guy covering the punt could catch it, but I kind of knew that rule. I scored touchdowns as a senior, but that was the play I remember."
Irwin has done it several times for Stanford and pinned UCLA on its 5-yard line last Saturday.
Injury update: Junior offensive guard Nate Herbig has returned to practice and should be available on Saturday. Smith is questionable and sophomore center Drew Dalman is doubtful, while senior defensive end Dylan Jackson, junior inside linebacker Andrew Pryts, senior safety Alameen Murphy, senior outside linebacker Casey Toohill and senior inside linebacker Mustafa Branch are out.
Fifth-year senior cornerback Alijah Holder must sit out the first half after drawing a targeting penalty against UCLA.
Key contributors: Stanford's 26-member freshmen class consists of 16 scholarship players and 10 walk-ons. Through 11 games, 14 have played, including two walk-ons:
Ethan Bonner, cornerback
Thomas Booker, defensive end
Simi Fehoko, wide receiver
Andres Fox, defensive end
Tangaloa Kaufusi, outside linebacker
Jacob Mangum-Farrar, inside linebacker
Cameron McFarlane, running back
Ricky Miezan, inside linebacker
Grant Pease, offensive tackle
Jay Symonds, fullback
Jack West, quarterback
Kendall Williamson, cornerback
Michael Wilson, wide receiver
Justus Woods, running back
Great opportunities: Due to injuries on the defensive side, several players could see increased playing time against Cal, including Bonner, Fox, Miezan, Williamson and senior inside linebacker Ryan Beecher.
Junior cornerback Obi Eboh made big contributions against UCLA, sharing the team lead in tackles with seven.
"He played extremely well," said Shaw. "Fox showed some great flashes the last couple of games. There are a lot of guys in the mix."
Double preparation: The Big Game was originally scheduled for November 17th but was postponed due to poor air quality resulting from the devastating Camp Fire in Butte County. Stanford found out around 12:30 p.m. the day before and Shaw sent his players home and gave them Saturday off.
"We just wanted to get them off their feet," he said.
Added fifth-year senior offensive tackle A.T. Hall, "We're trying to approach as if it's the first time," he said of the game plan. "We should be that much more prepared for the game on Saturday."
Both teams played last week and enter with 7-4 overall records, Stanford beating UCLA and Cal defeating Colorado.
"We prepared an entire week for Cal," Shaw said. "Now we've played another game and they've played another game. Now we need to look at ourselves health-wise: who do we have, what can we do? We're always monitoring. At the same time, take into account the Colorado game in all three phases for Cal. Go back and double-check what you had before. Take some things out, put some things in."
Shaw tweaked the game plan accordingly and continues to be impressed by the Cal defense.
"Every week, their defense plays better and better," he said. "Very aggressive, very physical. Very well coordinated and you don't see them out of position a lot. It's hard to make big plays down the field."
After watching film, Hall agreed.
"They play incredibly hard," he said. "Those guys are always flying to the football."
The Bears held UCLA and Oregon State to seven points, Washington to 10, Washington State to 13 and USC to 14.
Emotional game: "There's going to be a lot of emotion on both sides," said Hall. "Whichever team plays with the emotion for their teammates and not for the team will win the game. I watch all the rivalry games across the country and you never know which way they're going to go. Whoever plays for their teammates will execute better."
Helmet decals: Stanford and Cal will wear helmet decals depicting the state of California to recognize victims of the Camp Fire. A heart is placed near the town of Paradise.
Fun fact: Junior kicker Jet Toner's sister, Jensen, played soccer at USC, and his brother, Leon, played soccer at UC Irvine.
Extra points: Arcega-Whiteside's 28 career receiving scores rank second on the program's all-time list -- four behind Ken Margerum's school record of 32 from 1977-80 … Smith is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award. The winner will be announced on Dec. 5 … Parkinson is second in the nation among tight ends with seven touchdown receptions … Senior running back Bryce Love currently holds the Stanford career record with 6.9 yards per carry. Christian McCaffrey is second at 6.21… Love ranks fourth nationally among active players with 3,792 yards rushing. He ranks fourth on the school's career list … Irwin ranks 10th in the Stanford record book with 151 career receptions … In addition to his 55 catches and 860 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 16 penalties this year --13 pass interference and three holding calls for 210 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.0 penalty yards/game) … The Cardinal has used six different starting offensive line combinations in the first 11 games this season. Four players have missed at least one game, three have missed multiple games and one has missed the entire season (a combined 24 games missed) … Stanford clinched its 10th straight winning season in conference play, extending the school record. The previous best streak was seven straight years under Pop Warner in the Pacific Coast Conference from 1924-1930 … Stanford's four losses this season have come against the AP's current No. 3, No. 10, No. 12 and No. 17th-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington, Washington State, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 40-8 (.833) this season.
Quotable
"I love watching guys stare each other down at the end of the game." - A.T. Hall on the Axe Committee exchange.