After honoring all of the seniors that are set depart from the program, Stanford's defense was quickly exposed by the BYU offense.
The future Big 12 member took just seven plays to march down the field and eventually score on a Jaren Hall rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
The Cardinal were able to answer with a score of their own, just of the three point variety as Josh Karty capped off the drive with a 34-yard field goal. The Cougar's lead didn't stay in single digits for long as BYU would answer Stanford's field goal with a 43-yards rushing touchdown to up their lead to 14-3.
Stanford's next drive featured a whole lot of nothing. The offensive line is struggling to give Tanner McKee any time, forcing the junior to constantly be on the run. While the Stanford offense isn't clicking by any means, BYU's offense continues to fire on all cylinders. The Cougars busted out some trickery, using a reverse that turned into a flea flicker that allowed for Hall to find a wide open receiver down field for a 43-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-3.
The following Stanford drive saw the Cardinal drive down the field for a Mitch Leigber touchdown. However, the drive ended in a stunning manner. Joshua Karty who was a perfect 24-of-24 on PATs and 17-of-17 on field goals missed the PAT wide left.
As they have every time they've touched the ball, BYU charged down field and scored a touchdown. Through the first two quarters I personally have counted four trick plays, and three of them have worked against the Stanford defense. The lone play that didn't work was due to a bobbled snap, but Stanford lined up offsides anyway. Hall found Isaac Rex for the touchdown to extend their lead to 28-9
Karty was able to redeem himself with a 54-yarder with one second left in the half to cut the lead to 28-12.
Stats Comparison:
Total Yards: Stanford 202, BYU 279
Passing Yards: Stanford 128, BYU 137
Rushing Yards: Stanford 74, BYU 199
Penalties: Stanford 6-50 , BYU 0- 0
Turnovers: Stanford 0 , Cal 0
Time of possession: Stanford 13:24, BYU 14:38
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