Record
9-4 overall
6-3 Pac-12 (T-3rd North Division)
Postseason
Sun Bowl champions (vs. Pitt – W, 14-13)
Statistics
Team
Pac-12
NCAA
Team Captains
JJ Arcega-Whiteside
K.J. Costello
Bryce Love
Alameen Murphy
Bobby Okereke
Brandon Simmons
All-America
Paulson Adebo
FWAA (second team)
Freshman All-America
Paulson Adebo
FWAA
All-Pac-12 (13)
Paulson Adebo (first team)
Walker Little (first team)
K.J. Costello (second team)
JJ Arcega-Whiteside (second team)
Kaden Smith (second team)
Nate Herbig (second team)
Jake Bailey (second team)
Jet Toner (second team)
Alijah Holder (honorable mention)
Bryce Love (honorable mention)
Bobby Okereke (honorable mention)
Colby Parkinson (honorable mention)
Jovan Swann (honorable mention)
CoSIDA Academic All-District (2)
Jesse Burkett
Jet Toner
Pac-12 All-Academic (41)
Brian Chaffin (first team)
Drew Dalman (first team)
Nick Wilson (first team)
Dylan Jackson (first team)
Casey Toohill (first team)
Noah Williams (first team)
Richard McNitzky (first team)
Jesse Burkett (second team)
Devery Hamilton (second team)
Dylan Powell (second team)
Sean Barton (second team)
Frank Buncom (second team)
Jet Toner (second team)
Joey Alfieri (honorable mention)
Malik Antoine (honorable mention)
Jake Bailey (honorable mention)
Treyjohn Butler (honorable mention)
K.J. Costello (honorable mention)
Obi Eboh (honorable mention)
Tucker Fisk (honorable mention)
Jordan Fox (honorable mention)
Scooter Harrington (honorable mention)
Henry Hattis (honorable mention)
Nate Herbig (honorable mention)
Stuart Head (honorable mention)
Houston Heimuli (honorable mention)
Alijah Holder (honorable mention)
Trenton Irwin (honorable mention)
Thunder Keck (honorable mention)
Walker Little (honorable mention)
Bryce Love (honorable mention)
Alameen Murphy (honorable mention)
Colby Parkinson (honorable mention)
Andrew Pryts (honorable mention)
Gabe Reid (honorable mention)
Cameron Scarlett (honorable mention)
Kaden Smith (honorable mention)
Trevor Speights (honorable mention)
Jovan Swann (honorable mention)
Dalyn Wade-Perry (honorable mention)
Reagan Williams (honorable mention)
NCAA Top-50 Team Statistical Rankings
Completion Percentage (29th – .639)
Fewest Penalties (48th – 72)
Fewest Penalties (45th – 5.54)
Fewest Penalty Yards (21st – 548)
Fewest Penalty Yards (17th – 42.15)
Fourth Down Conversion Percentage (13th – 66.7)
Blocked Kicks Allowed (1st – 0)
Fumbles Lost (5th – 4)
Kickoff Return Average (43 – 21.72)
Net Punting (20th – 40.00)
Passing Offense (25th – 273.1)
Passing Yards Per Completion (36th – 13.10)
Punt Return Defense (27th – 5.43)
Punt Return Average (48th – 10.21)
Red Zone Defense (35th – 79.6)
Red Zone Offense (22nd – 89.1)
Rushing Defense (45th – 146.1)
Sacks Allowed (43rd – 1.85)
Scoring Defense (37th – 22.9)
Team Passing Efficiency (17th – 151.63)
Team Sacks (24th – 2.77)
Turnover Margin (46th – 0.23)
Turnovers Lost (23rd – 15)
Winning Percentage (26th – 69.2)
NCAA Top-50 Individual Statistical Rankings
Kick Return Yards – Cameron Scarlett (38th – 566)
Completion Percentage – K.J. Costello (22nd – 65.1)
Completions Per Game – K.J. Costello (24th – 20.69)
Field Goal Percentage – Jet Toner (2nd – 93.3)
Field Goals Per Game – Jet Toner (35th – 1.27)
Fumbles Recovered – Sean Barton (24th – 2)
Interceptions Per Game – Paulson Adebo (27th – 0.3)
Kickoff Return Average – Cameron Scarlett (36th – 23.6)
Passes Defended – Paulson Adebo (1st – 1.8)
Passing Efficiency – K.J. Costello (16th – 155.0)
Passing Touchdowns – K.J. Costello (13th – 29)
Passing Yards – K.J. Costello (16th – 3.54)
Passing Yards Per Game – K.J. Costello (15th – 272.3)
Passing Yards Per Completion – K.J. Costello (26th – 13.16)
Points Responsible For – K.J. Costello (30th – 176)
Points Responsible For Per Game – K.J. Costello (35th – 13.5)
Punting – Jake Bailey (20th – 44.1)
Receiving Touchdowns – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (3rd – 14)
Receiving Yards – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (27 – 1.06)
Receiving Yards Per Game – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (21st – 88.3)
Receptions Per Game – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (49th – 5.3)
Total Interceptions – Paulson Adebo (16th – 4)
Total Offense – K.J. Costello (27th – 270.8)
Total Touchdowns – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (27th – 14)
Yards Per Pass Attempts – K.J. Costello (12th – 8.57)
Individual Career Records
Yards Per Carry – Bryce Love (6.79)
Punting Average – Jake Bailey (43.81)
Individual Season School Records
Receiving Touchdowns – JJ Arcega-Whiteside (14, tied James Lofton)
Field Goal Percentage – Jet Toner (.933)
Extra Point Percentage – Jet Toner (1.000)
#13/13 Stanford 31, San Diego State 10
Aug. 31, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford knew defenses were going to do whatever it takes to slow down Bryce Love after his record-setting 2017 season.
Being able to take advantage of that with the deep passing game will be key to the Cardinal's success this year.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside did just that, getting loose for three long touchdown catches from K.J. Costello to overcome a slow night by Love and No. 13 Stanford opened the season with a 31-10 victory over San Diego State.
Love was held to 29 yards on 18 carries as the Aztecs focused their defense on stopping the man who led all Power 5 backs with 2,118 yards rushing last season on the way to a Heisman Trophy runner-up finish.
After a slow start, the Cardinal made San Diego State pay for that decision. Costello connected with Arcega-Whiteside on a 38-yard score in the second quarter and then on plays from 19 and 80 yards in the third quarter as the Aztecs defensive backs struggled to contend with Stanford's big receiver. Arcega-Whiteside finished with six catches for 226 yards.
Costello added a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson in the fourth quarter to break open what had been a close game for more than a half. Costello finished 21 for 31 for 332 yards and four touchdowns.
The game turned following an odd sequence late in the first half. Noble Hall intercepted a deflected pass for San Diego State but then lost the ball when Stanford receiver Trenton Irwin raced back and knocked it loose before recovering the fumble.
Three plays later, Costello found Arcega-Whiteside deep for his first touchdown that gave Stanford a 9-7 lead at the half.
The Aztecs had scored first behind talented back Juwan Washington, who had runs of 22, 10 and 40 yards on a 92-yard drive that ended with his 4-yard score.
Stanford finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when Jake Bailey's 63-yard punt went out of bounds at the 1 and Bobby Okereke sacked Christian Chapman in the end zone.
#10/9 Stanford 17, #17/12 USC 3
Sept. 8, 2017 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
With Bryce Love and the key parts of Stanford's offense back, the Cardinal figured to be dynamic on that side of the ball.
Two games into the season, the defense showed that it is capable of leading the way, as well.
Joey Alfieri and crew helped harass talented freshman quarterback JT Daniels into four sacks and three turnovers and the 10th-ranked Cardinal held No. 17 Southern California to its fewest points in more than two decades in a 17-3 victory.
Stanford has allowed just 13 points so far this season and has not given up a touchdown in the past seven quarters against San Diego State and USC.
That kind of performance means the Cardinal haven't had to rely on big plays from Love to win. Love did bounce back from a 29-yard performance in the opener by rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown.
His 28-yard run sparked the opening drive that ended with his 6-yard score. He added a 59-yard run in the third quarter to set up a field goal.
The defense did the rest, holding USC to its fewest points since being shut out by Washington in 1997.
Stanford took control of the game late in the second quarter with a strip sack on fourth down against Daniels that set up K.J. Costello's 9-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson that gave Stanford a 14-0 lead.
Daniels made an impressive debut last week for the Trojans when he threw for 282 yards and a touchdown against UNLV. But duplicating that against Stanford proved far more difficult with the Cardinal using blitzes to pressure Daniels.
Daniels went 16 for 34 for 215 yards with interceptions by Malik Antoine on his final two passes of the night. He was forced to leave the game for one possession in the first half with a bruised hand after a hard hit by Alfieri.
It was another big play by Alfieri that proved crucial late in the first half. Helton went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Cardinal 40, but Alfieri came free on a blitz and knocked the ball loose for Bobby Okereke to recover at the Stanford 49.
The Cardinal drove down field to score on Costello's touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the half.
#9/9 Stanford 30, UC Davis 10
Sept. 15, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Stanford made it through its season-opening three-game homestand unscathed. But with the schedule about to get much tougher, the Cardinal know they will need to be much better the next few weeks to remain perfect.
K.J. Costello overcame a rough start to throw two touchdown passes to JJ Arcega-Whiteside and No. 9 Stanford beat FCS-level UC Davis 30-10.
The game kicked off at the unusually early time of 11:01 a.m. local time in front of a sparse crowd at Stanford Stadium. The Cardinal even played without star running Bryce Love, who got the week off to heal some minor ailments.
After Stanford punted on the opening drive, Costello threw an interception to Nas Anesi deep in his own territory to set up an early UC Davis field goal.
Then one play after Costello's fumble that was returned for a TD was changed to an incomplete pass on replay, he sailed a pass that was intercepted by Isaiah Thomas.
UC Davis was unable to capitalize on that turnover, failing to convert a fourth-and-6 from the Cardinal 37. Stanford then took control by scoring on its next three drives, including TD passes of 9 and 88 yards from Costello to Arcega-Whiteside.
The defense did the rest against a UC Davis team that averaged 49 points per game and more than 500 yards of offense in season-opening wins over San Jose State and San Diego.
#7/7 Stanford 38, #20/19 Oregon 31 (OT)
Sept. 22, 2018 • Eugene, Ore.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
K.J. Costello threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 23-yarder to Colby Parkinson in overtime, and No. 7 Stanford rallied for a 38-31 victory over No. 20 Oregon.
After Costello's touchdown pass to Parkinson, Stanford's Alameen Murphy intercepted Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert's pass in the end zone for the victory.
Bryce Love returned after sitting out last week against UC Davis to rest minor injuries. He ran for 89 yards and a touchdown as Stanford remained undefeated.
Love's 22-yard scoring run late in the third quarter cut Oregon's lead to 24-21, but Cyrus Habibi-Likio scored on a 1-yard run for the Ducks with 4:39 left.
In the frenzied final minutes of regulation, Stanford answered with Costello's 15-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside to narrow it again before Sean Barton recovered CJ Verdell's fumble on the Stanford 40 with 51 seconds left.
Costello passed for a pair of first downs on the ensuing drive and Jet Toner hit a 32-yard field to tie it and send the game into overtime.
Herbert threw for 346 yards and a touchdown while receiver Dillon Mitchell caught 14 passes for 239 yards in Oregon's first real challenge of the season after nonconference wins over Bowling Green, Portland State and San Jose State.
Oregon came out with a collective tenacity that it hadn't really shown this season. The Ducks' first series was capped by Tony Brooks-James' 7-yard touchdown run. Herbert got Oregon downfield with a 53-yard pass to Mitchell.
The Ducks went up 14-0 on Herbert's 7-yard pass to Jacob Breeland to open the second quarter.
Arcega-Whiteside scored on a 13-yard pass from Costello for his sixth touchdown reception of the season. He was tied at third nationally for touchdown catches going into the game.
Oregon answered on the next drive with Verdell's 48-yard scoring run to go up 21-7. The Ducks added a 38-yard field goal from Adam Stack and ran off the field for halftime celebrating the dominant performance by dancing and waving towels.
The momentum shifted late in the third quarter when Stanford's Joey Alfieri scooped up a fumble and ran 80 yards for the touchdown to narrow the gap to 24-14.
The Cardinal touchdown came just after Oregon had a touchdown overturned.
Love's touchdown closed the quarter before the frenetic final five minutes.
#8/8 Notre Dame 38, #7/7 Stanford 17
Sept. 29, 2018 • South Bend, Ind.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
No. 7 Stanford suffered its first loss of the season, falling on the road to No. 8 Notre Dame 38-17.
The Cardinal, which was beaten by the Irish for the first time since 2014, was also seeking its third victory over a ranked opponent this season, having already defeated No. 17/12 USC and No. 20/19 Oregon.
Saturday's contest also marked the first time in the series that both teams were carrying a top-10 AP ranking.
Notre Dame and Stanford traded touchdowns before the Irish eventually seized control, scoring 39 seconds before halftime to take a 21-14 lead into the break.
Bryce Love's 39-yard scamper to the end zone opened the scoring for Stanford, knotting the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter. Love finished with 73 yards on 17 carries despite leaving due to injury early in the fourth quarter.
K.J. Costello completed 15 of 27 passes for 174 yards, including a 4-yard strike to JJ Arcega-Whiteside for Stanford's second score of the game. It was the eighth touchdown catch of the year and 22nd career for Arcega-Whiteside, who now ranks fourth in school history in that category.
Arcega-Whiteside and Trenton Irwin caught five passes apiece.
Jet Toner matched his career high with a 46-yard field goal at the 2:16 mark of the third quarter, keeping the Cardinal within striking distance at 24-17. Toner improved to 7-10 on field goals over 40 yards for his career.
Utah 40, #14/14 Stanford 21
Oct. 6, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Jaylon Johnson returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and Zack Moss ran for two scores to lead Utah to a 40-21 victory over No. 14 Stanford.
Moss ran for 160 yards and the Utes intercepted K.J. Costello on back-to-back first-half drives in the red zone to snap an 11-game home winning streak for the Cardina, which suffered its first home loss since a 10-5 setback to Colorado on Oct. 22, 2016.
Johnson intercepted the first at the goal line and raced down the sideline for the third 100-yard interception return in school history and first since Harold Lusk did it in 1994 against Colorado State.
The Cardinal, which was playing without Bryce Love due to an injury, fell behind 24-7 at halftime with a 2-yard run from Trevor Speights accounting for its only first-half score.
Cameron Scarlett's 1-yard run with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter trimmed Utah's lead to 27-14.
K.J. Costello, who completed 26 of 41 passes for 381 yards, threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter, keeping Stanford within striking distance at 27-21 before Utah closed the game with 13 unanswered points.
The Cardinal totaled 381 receiving yards, with Kaden Smith (8-120), JJ Arcega-Whiteside (8-103) and Trenton Irwin (7-100) all reaching the century mark. Saturday's contest marked the first time three players totaled 100 receiving yards since Oct. 10, 1998 against Oregon State, when Troy Walters (159), Dave Davis (151) and DeRonnie Pitts (124) accomplished the feat.
RV/#24 Stanford 20, Arizona State 13
Oct. 18, 2018 • Tempe, Ariz.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
K.J. Costello threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, and Stanford remained in the thick of the Pac-12 North Division race with a 20-13 win over Arizona State.
Stanford needed a half to get its offense fully rolling off a bye week, held to a pair of field goals in the first half. The Cardinal put together a pair of impressive drives in the third quarter and had a 16-minute advantage in time of possession to tie No. 14 Washington atop the Pac-12 North.
Arizona State was held to a field goal in the first half before Manny Wilkins scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to pull the Sun Devils within 20-13.
Arizona State got the ball back at its own 16 -yard line with 2:20 left, but couldn't get off a final play from Stanford's 20 after a short gain.
Wilkins threw for 353 yards, but the Sun Devils turned it over three times, including one on a failed trick play, to lose for the fourth time in five games.
Arizona State had a good drive going late in the first half, but failed on a trick play when receiver N'Keal Harry's pass off a reverse was intercepted at Stanford's 11.
The Cardinal appeared to have a touchdown when Cameron Scarlett turned a screen pass into a 59-yard score, but it was called back on a holding penalty.
Jet Toner hit his second field goal of the half, from 31 yards, on the final play of the half to put Stanford up 6-3.
Arizona State opened the second half with Brandon Ruiz's second field goal.
Stanford opened by dominating the Sun Devils on a pair of long scoring drives to take control.
Costello hit JJ Arcega-Whiteside on a 28-yard touchdown pass on the first drive, and Scarlett scored on a 1-yard dive to put the Cardinal up 20-6.
#14/15 Washington State 41, #24/23 Stanford 38
Oct. 27, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Gardner Minshew completed his first 19 passes of the second half and drove No. 14 Washington State to a 42-yard field goal by Blake Mazza with 19 seconds remaining to put the Cougars in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 North with a 41-38 victory over No. 24 Stanford.
Minshew completed 40 of 50 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars to their third straight win over the Cardinal.
K.J. Costello kept Stanford within striking distance, throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside to even the game at 38-38 with 1:25 remaining. Costello finished with 323 passing yards and four touchdowns, becoming the first Cardinal quarterback to record multiple four-touchdown games in a season since Andrew Luck in 2011.
Minshew engineered the winning drive in the final 1:25 with the big play coming on a 35-yard pass to Jamire Calvin on third-and-2 from the 33. Minshew completed one more pass to move the ball to the 25 and after two incomplete passes, Mazza made his kick to win it.
With No. 15 Washington losing at California, the Cougars head into the final month of the season alone in first place in the conference and remain the only one-loss team in the Pac-12.
Arcega-Whiteside continued his torrid play, hauling in a career-high 10 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Arcega-Whiteside, who moved into 17th place in school history with 1,792 career receiving yards, is the first Cardinal player with 11 touchdown catches in a season since 1980.
Kaden Smith hauled in nine catches for 112 yards while Trenton Irwin totaled 80 yards on eight receptions, representing his third straight game with at least seven catches.
Stanford built a 28-14 lead with 1:04 remaining before halftime, as Costello found Houston Heimuli from one yard out. Washington State quickly answered with a 23-yard field goal as time expired, closing the gap to 28-17.
Jet Toner's 40-yard field goal at the 6:16 mark of the third quarter extended the Cardinal's lead to 31-24 before the Cougars responded with a pair of touchdowns to open the fourth.
#RV/19 Washington 27, Stanford 23
Nov. 3, 2018 • Seattle, Wash.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
K.J. Costello, Kaden Smith and Bryce Love jolted the Stanford offense in the second half, but a furious Cardinal comeback fell short against Washington, 27-23.
The Huskies built a 21-0 lead thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jake Browning, an 11-yard touchdown pass from Browning to Drew Sample and Gaskin's 6-yard run early in the second quarter. But the Huskies offense was unable to find the end zone the rest of the way, making for a nervy second half after Stanford's Costello got hot.
Costello threw a 14-yard touchdown to Kaden Smith and Bryce Love ran for a 5-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to pull Stanford within 24-14. Collin Riccitelli hit a 21-yard field goal with nine minutes remaining after Washington's defense held inside the 10 to pull the Cardinal within 24-17.
Washington answered with one more drive and Peyton Henry hit a 38-yard field goal with 5:09 left and gave the Huskies a 10-point lead, but Costello made the final minutes uncomfortable hitting Trenton Irwin for a 33-yard touchdown with 3:24 left. Stanford missed the extra point and the Huskies lead was 27-23.
Washington was only able to run 79 seconds off the clock before punting and Stanford took possession at its 15 with 2:05 left. Costello hit five passes to get to the Washington 34 with 10 seconds left. He missed an end zone throw for Irwin and on the last play Costello was intercepted by Taylor Rapp at the goal line.
Costello was 29 of 43 for 347 yards with two touchdowns. Love rushed 18 times for 71 yards and a score. Smith finished with eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Stanford 48, Oregon State 17
Nov. 10, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson caught all four of K.J. Costello's touchdown passes and Stanford beat Oregon State 48-17.
Bryce Love scored a touchdown and rushed for 90 yards. Cameron Scarlett also scored for the Cardinal with a career-long touchdown run of 41 yards. Dorian Maddox scored on a 1-yard run, his first career touchdown.
Last year the teams combined for 486 total yards in Stanford's 15-14 win. The teams had 632 by halftime on Saturday.
Costello threw for 342 yards and touchdown passes of 28, 9, 75 and 5 yards. He's thrown four touchdowns in three games this season, the most since Andrew Luck did in 2011. Parkinson finished with six catches and 166 yards.
Parkinson became integral to Stanford's offense after top receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside suffered an injury in the first quarter of last week's loss at Washington.
Love, who did not play after a brief appearance in the third quarter, finished off a 5-play, 75-yard drive with a 28-yard run that brought comparisons from last year when he set a school rushing record.
The Cardinal broke it open in the second quarter, scoring the first three touchdowns, all passes to Parkinson, and taking a 34-7 advantage before the Beavers closed within 34-17 by halftime.
Stanford 49, UCLA 42
Nov. 24, 2018 • Pasadena, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
K.J. Costello threw for 344 yards and career-high five touchdowns leading Stanford to a 49-42 victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
The Cardinal, which has won 11 straight over the Bruins, trailed 42-41 midway through the fourth quarter when the junior threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Osiris St. Brown. Bryce Love ran it in for the two-point conversion to put them up by a touchdown.
UCLA drove to the Stanford 43 with under a minute remaining before turning it over on downs.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside -- who had seven receptions for 106 yards -- caught three touchdowns. He has 14, which ties the school's single-season record first set by James Lofton in 1977. Trenton Irwin (seven receptions, 103 yards) also had a touchdown while Love rushed for 85 yards on 22 carries with a TD for the Cardinal.
UCLA's Wilton Speight was 29 of 47 for 466 yards and an interception and one rushing touchdown in his final collegiate game. Tight end Caleb Wilson was his main target with nine receptions for 184 yards.
Joshua Kelley rushed for 55 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns and Martell Irby had 47 yards and a score.
UCLA trailed 41-27 with 5:24 remaining on a Arcega-Whiteside TD from Costello before beginning its rally. UCLA got its first safety since 2012 when Martin Andrus tackled Love in the end zone. On the free kick, Darnay Holmes returned it 93 yards to bring the Bruins within 41-36 with 2:09 left in the third.
After a Stanford punt, the Bruins took a one-point lead on a 13-play, 90-yard drive, culminating in a Speight keeper from a yard out.
Stanford 23, Cal 13
Dec. 1, 2018 • Berkeley, Calif.
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Cameron Scarlett caught a short pass from K.J. Costello and raced 46 yards for one of his two touchdowns, Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes and Stanford relied on its defense to win its ninth straight Big Game, 23-13 over California.
The Cardinal scored on their first two drives of the game to take a 10-0 lead on Scarlett's first score and held on against the Golden Bears to extend the longest winning streak in the series that began in 1892.
Adebo made a spectacular one-handed interception in the end zone to preserve the lead in the fourth quarter for the Cardinal. He added another interception late in the quarter that he returned to the 3-yard line that set up Scarlett's second score and helped Stanford keep The Axe for another year.
Bryce Love lost a fumble the play after Adebo's interception but Stanford's defense stepped up again and forced a field goal that Greg Thomas missed from 36 yards to keep the score 13-6.
The Cardinal then burned more than seven minutes off the clock, with help from a third-down roughing the passer penalty against Tevin Paul, before making it a 10-point lead on Jet Toner's third field goal of the day.
This year's matchup featured both teams with at least seven wins for just the second time in the past 27 seasons. The game was delayed two weeks after being postponed on Nov. 17 because of unhealthy air conditions from Northern California wildfires.
There was a boisterous crowd hopeful the Bears would end their Big Game slump but Stanford started fast. Costello picked apart Cal's defense on the opening drive to set up Toner's 26-yard field goal and Scarlett added has long score on the second drive.
Thomas kicked two field goals in the second quarter for Cal but 290-pound fullback Malik McMorris lost a fumble late in the half and the Cardinal drove down for a field goal in the final seconds that made it 13-6 at the break.
Stanford 14, Pitt 13
Dec. 31, 2018 • El Paso, Texas
Box Score • Recap • Photos
Cameron Scarlett scored on a 1-yard run and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a second score to lead Stanford to a 14-13 victory against Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl.
The Cardinal finished on a four-game winning streak, much the same way it did two years ago when Stanford won the Sun Bowl for a season-ending six-game streak. Making a school-record 10th straight postseason appearance, Stanford has won four of its last five bowl games, with two of those victories coming in the Sun Bowl.
The Panthers lost their fourth straight bowl game and sixth in the past seven after falling to playoff championship finalist Clemson in the ACC title game. The past three losses have been in four years in under coach Pat Narduzzi.
Stanford struggled offensively throughout the game but was playing without five starters: tailback Bryce Love, receiver Trenton Irwin, tight end Kaden Smith, left tackle Walker Little and right guard Nate Herbig.
In fact, the Cardinal did not score in the first quarter, representing its first scoreless quarter of play in a bowl game since being shut out in the third quarter of the 2014 Rose Bowl Game against Michigan State.
Scarlet finished with 91 yards on 21 carries while filling in for Love, who missed the game due to injury. Scarlett was honored as the C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player, while on the defensive side, Thomas Booker was recognized as the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman.
The Cardinal was 0 for 8 on third downs before K.J. Costello hit JJ Arcega-Whiteside for a 12-yard completion. A 49-yard pass to Arcega-Whiteside followed, and Scarlett recovered Costello's fumble for the go-ahead score on the next play with 11:28 left.
Pitt, which had a 10-7 halftime lead and was up 13-7 early in the fourth quarter, was led by tailback Darrin Hall, who had 16 carries for 123 yards and a score.
The Cardinal has been able to reload each year under head coach David Shaw, who is 82-26 overall (55-17 Pac-12). Shaw has never won less than eight games in a season, and his Cardinal has played in four Pac-12 title games (3-1).