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'Can't Kick It': Stanford Comes Up Just Short In Loss To Arizona

Originally posted on FanNation All Cardinal
By Kevin Borba | Last updated 9/23/23

The Stanford football program took a huge blow last week when they lost to Sacramento State, leading to overreactions that included canceling the program.

This week they welcomed the Arizona Wildcats to town and looked like a completely different team despite losing by a score of 21-20.

With uncertainty at quarterback, Troy Taylor opted to use Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson in a similar fashion to the way he used Asher O'Hara and Jake Dunniway at Sac State. Lamson has established himself as the running quarterback and quick-pass quarterback, while Daniels is used for down-the-field plays.

The Cardinal opened the game with a 3-0 lead after not being able to capitalize on a huge 45-yard run from freshman Sedrick Irvin. After forcing an Arizona punt, Stanford got into field goal position for Josua Karty who missed his first and later second in over a year.

The Cardinal would eventually get a touchdown on a Bryce Farrell rush, and head into halftime with a 10-7 lead. To open up the second half, Jaden de Laura threw for a touchdown to give Arizona a 14-10 lead, to which Stanford would go on to answer with a touchdown run by Irvin.

Following the score, the Cardinal were able to hold Arizona scoreless and get a chance to go up by 10. The Cardinal again failed to score a touchdown, but did have a chance to extend the lead with a Karty field goal. To the bewilderment of Stanford fans, he missed his second of the day that would have given Stanford a six point lead.

Instead, Arizona was then led by backup quarterback Noah Fifta who was filling in for an injured de Laura, and was able to lead the Wildcats down the field for the go-ahead touchdown to make it 21-17.

With a chance to win the game, Stanford's last offensive drive got off to a good start following a Lamson scamper and a pass interference call on Arizona. After a couple positive plays, Daniels threw a near interception, got sacked for a loss of six, and then took off out of the pocket to get some yards back but threw the ball despite being past the line of scrimmage.

This forced Stanford to settle for a field goal that cut the lead to 21-20, and meant they needed to force an Arizona punt with just two timeouts to spare.

The Cardinal got Arizona to a third down situation, but the Wildcats converted to seal the victory. The loss gives Stanford their third straight, and will again have them frustrated due to the fact that similar to last week's loss they had chances to deliver a kill-shot.

This article first appeared on FanNation All Cardinal and was syndicated with permission.

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