2020 Stanford Cardinal football team

American college football season

2020 Stanford Cardinal football
ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Record4–2 (4–2 Pac-12)
Head coach
  • David Shaw (10th season)
Offensive coordinatorTavita Pritchard (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorLance Anderson (7th season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Pac-12 Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
Washington x   3 1     3 1  
Oregon y$   4 2     4 3  
Stanford   4 2     4 2  
California   1 3     1 3  
Washington State   1 3     1 3  
Oregon State   2 5     2 5  
South Division
No. 21 USC xy   5 0     5 1  
Colorado   3 1     4 2  
Utah   3 2     3 2  
Arizona State   2 2     2 2  
UCLA   3 4     3 4  
Arizona   0 5     0 5  
Championship: Oregon 31, USC 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Pac-12 suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on November 6. In addition to the title game on December 18, the conference seeded all remaining teams for a game during that weekend.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by tenth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

On August 11, the Pac-12 Conference initially canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] On September 24, the conference announced that a six-game conference-only season would begin on November 6, with the Pac-12 Championship Game to be played December 18. Teams not selected for the championship game would be seeded to play a seventh game.[3]

On December 13, with a record of 3-2 and one game left to play, the program announced that it would not participate in any bowl game.[4] The Cardinal won their final game, finishing their season with a 4-2 record.

Pac-12 media day

Pac-12 media poll

In the Pac-12 preseason media poll, Stanford was voted to finish fourth in the Pac-12 North division.

Media poll (North Division)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Oregon 222 (35)
2 California 176 (3)
3 Washington 161
4 Stanford 105
5 Oregon State 76
6 Washington State 58

Schedule

Stanford had games scheduled against William & Mary (September 5), Notre Dame (October 10), and BYU (November 28), but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Original 2020 Stanford Cardinal schedule
Date Opponent Site
September 5 William & Mary* Stanford StadiumStanford, CA
September 12 at Arizona Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ
September 19 USC Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (rivalry)
September 26 at UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA
October 10 at Notre Dame* Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry)
October 17 Washington State Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
October 24 at Oregon Autzen StadiumEugene, OR
October 30 Oregon State Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
November 7 at Washington Husky StadiumSeattle, WA
November 14 Colorado Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
November 21 at California California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (Big Game)
November 28 BYU* Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
November 74:30 p.m.at No. 12 OregonABCL 14–35
November 1412:30 p.m.ColoradoESPNL 32–35
November 218:00 p.m.Washington State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
FS1No contest [6]
November 271:30 p.m.at CaliforniaFOXW 24–23
December 51:00 p.m.at No. 22 WashingtonFOXW 31–26278
December 127:30 p.m.at Oregon StateESPNUW 27–24[7]
December 194:00 p.m.at UCLA
ESPNW 48–47 2OT0

[8]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name Position Stanford years Alma mater
David Shaw Head coach 14th Stanford (1994)
Lance Anderson Defensive coordinator / outside linebackers coach 14th Idaho State (1996)
Tavita Pritchard Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks 8th Stanford (2009)
Pete Alamar Special teams coordinator 5th Cal Lutheran (1983)
Ron Gould Running backs coach 4th Oregon (1987)
Morgan Turner Tight ends coach 8th Illinois (2009)
Kevin Carberry Offensive line coach 4th Ohio (2005)
Bobby Kennedy Wide receivers coach 3rd Northern Colorado (1989)
Duane Akina Defensive backs coach 7th Washington (1979)
Eric Sanders Inside linebackers coach 1st UC Davis (2005)
Diron Reynolds Defensive linemen coach 4th Wake Forest (1994)

Game summaries

At Oregon

Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon Ducks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinal 7 0 0714
No. 12 Ducks 7 7 14735

at Autzen StadiumEugene, Oregon

  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 46 °F (8 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Michael Mothershed
  • TV: ABC
  • Reference
Game information
First quarter
  • STAN – Austin Jones 4-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 3:25. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:30.
  • ORE – C. J. Verdell 10-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 0:54. Tied 7–7. Drive: 7 plays, 87 yards, 2:31.
Second quarter
  • ORE – D. J. Johnson 5-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Camden Lewis kick), 1:05. Oregon 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 96 yards, 3:59.
Third quarter
  • ORE – Travis Dye 14-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 11:13. Oregon 21–7. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:47.
  • ORE – Tyler Shough 9-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 0:53. Oregon 28–7. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 3:57.
Fourth quarter
  • STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 7:39. Oregon 28–14. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:32.
  • ORE – Cyrus Habibi-Likio 4-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 3:37. Oregon 35–14. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:02.
Top passers
  • STAN – Jack West – 13/19, 154 yards
  • ORE – Tyler Shough – 17/26, 227 yards, TD, int
Top rushers
  • STAN – Austin Jones – 20 rushes, 100 yards, 2 TD
  • ORE – C. J. Verdell – 20 rushes, 105 yards, TD
Top receivers

Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes vs. Stanford Cardinal – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buffaloes 7 7 14735
Cardinal 3 6 71632

at Stanford StadiumStanford, California

  • Date: November 14, 2020
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 50 °F (10 °C)
  • Game attendance: 1
  • Referee: Francisco Villar
  • TV: ESPN
  • Reference
Game information
First Quarter
  • STAN – Jet Toner 48-yard field goal, 11:45. Stanford 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 3:15.
  • COLO – Dimitri Stanley 55-yard pass from Sam Noyer (Evan Price kick), 3:20. Colorado 7–3. Drive: 2 plays, 57 yards, 0:40.
Second Quarter
  • STAN – Jet Toner 33-yd field goal, 14:13. Colorado 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 4:07.
  • COLO – Sam Noyer 7-yard run (Evan Price kick), 9:36. Colorado 14–6. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:37.
  • STAN – Jet Toner 28-yard field goal, 4:38. Colorado 14–9. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 4:58.
Third Quarter
  • COLO – Sam Noyer 10-yard run (Evan Price kick), 11:32. Colorado 21–9. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:28.
  • COLO – Brenden Rice 34-yard pass from Sam Noyer (Evan Price kick), 8:55. Colorado 28–9. Drive: 3 plays, 61 yards, 1:09.
  • STAN – Davis Mills 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 4:35. Colorado 28–16. Drive: 9 plays, 82 yards, 4:20.
Fourth Quarter
  • COLO – Jaren Mangham 2-yard run (Evan Price kick), 14:58. Colorado 35–16. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:37.
  • STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Davis Mills–Connor Wedington pass), 8:45. Colorado 35–24. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 3:08.
  • STAN – Scooter Harrington 1-yard pass from Davis Mills (Davis Mills–Tucker Fisk pass), 2:34. Colorado 35–32. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 3:15.
Top passers
  • COLO – Sam Noyer – 15/24, 255 yards, 2 TD, int
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 31/56, 327 yards, TD
Top rushers
  • COLO – Jarek Broussard – 27 rushes, 121 yards
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 6 rushes, 36 yards, TD
Top receivers
  • COLO – Dimitri Stanley – 6 receptions, 126 yards, TD
  • STAN – Michael Wilson – 6 receptions, 95 yards

At California

Stanford Cardinal vs. California Golden Bears – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinal 0 10 14024
Golden Bears 7 3 7623

at California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, California

  • Date: November 27, 2020
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Matt Richards
  • TV announcers (FOX): Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis
  • Reference
Game information
First quarter
  • CAL – Kekoa Crawford 7-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 10:32. California 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:28.
Second quarter
  • STAN – Jet Toner 27-yard field goal, 14:55. California 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:29.
  • CAL – Dario Longhetto 24-yard field goal, 10:15. California 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:40.
  • STAN – Michael Wilson 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 3:09. Tied 10–10. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 0:57.
Third quarter
  • STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 10:57. Stanford 17–10. Drive: 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:00.
  • CAL – Nikko Remigio 3-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 9:13. Tied 17–17. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.
  • STAN – Austin Jones 8-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 1:51. Stanford 24–17. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 4:28.
Fourth quarter
  • CAL – Christopher Brooks Jr. 3-yard run (kick blocked), 0:58. Stanford 24–23. Drive: 14 plays, 90 yards, 3:30.
Top passers
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 24/32, 205 yards, TD
  • CAL – Chase Garbers – 19/29, 151 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
  • STAN – Austin Jones – 21 rushes, 85 yards, 2 TD
  • CAL – Damien Moore – 10 rushes, 121 yards
Top receivers
  • STAN – Michael Wilson – 7 receptions, 88 yards, TD
  • CAL – Kekoa Crawford – 5 receptions, 52 yards, TD

At Washington

Stanford Cardinal vs. Washington Huskies – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinal 14 10 7031
No. 22 Huskies 0 3 131026

at Husky StadiumSeattle, Washington

  • Date: December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 278
  • Referee: Michael Mothershed
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Davis and Mark Helfrich
  • Reference
Game information
First quarter
  • STAN – Austin Jones 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 9:53. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 5:07.
  • STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 2:05. Stanford 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:34.
Second quarter
  • UW – Peyton Henry 23-yard field goal, 11:59. Stanford 14–3. Drive: 13 plays, 71 yards, 5:06.
  • STAN – Nathaniel Peat 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 6:54. Stanford 21–3. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 5:05.
  • STAN – Jet Toner 42-yard field goal, 0:00. Stanford 24–3. Drive: 14 plays, 61 yards, 3:09.
Third quarter
  • UW – Sean McGrew 6-yard run (Peyton Henry kick), 12:20. Stanford 24–10. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:40.
  • STAN – Scooter Harrington 3-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 9:01. Stanford 31–10. Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 3:19.
  • UW – Dylan Morris 1-yard run (kick blocked), 2:33. Stanford 31–16. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:28.
Fourth quarter
  • UW – Sean McGrew 2-yard run (Peyton Henry kick), 11:03. Stanford 31–23. Drive: 9 plays, 92 yards, 4:11.
  • UW – Peyton Henry 45-yard field goal, 7:54. Stanford 31–26. Drive: 4 plays, -17 yards, 2:11.
Top passers
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 20/30, 252 yards, TD
  • UW – Dylan Morris – 15/23, 254 yards
Top rushers
  • STAN – Austin Jones – 31 rushes, 138 yards, 2 TD
  • UW – Sean McGrew – 16 rushes, 65 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko – 4 receptions, 61 yards
  • UW – Ty Jones – 2 receptions, 79 yards

At Oregon State

Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon State Beavers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinal 6 3 71127
Beavers 7 7 7324

at Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR

  • Date: December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 36 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Francisco Villar
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): John Schriffen and Rene Ingoglia
  • Reference
Game information
First Quarter
  • OSU – Tyjon Lindsey 18-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 9:46. Oregon State 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:14.
  • STAN – Tucker Fisk 12-yard pass from Davis Mills (pass failed), 5:45. Oregon State 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:56.
Second Quarter
  • OSU – Zeriah Beason 8-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 12:34. Oregon State 14–6. Drive: 4 plays, 88 yards, 2:19.
  • STAN – Jet Toner 47-yard field goal, 1:16. Oregon State 14–9. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 1:14.
Third Quarter
  • STAN – Davis Mills 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 12:14. Stanford 16–14. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:39.
  • OSU – Tyjon Lindsey 30-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 8:38. Oregon State 21–16. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:36.
Fourth Quarter
  • STAN – Davis Mills 6-yard run (Davis Mills–Houston Heimuli pass), 13:03. Stanford 24–21. Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 6:10.
  • OSU – Everett Hayes 26-yard field goal, 7:18. Tied 24–24. Drive: 13 plays, 67 yards, 5:45.
  • STAN – Jet Toner 39-yard field goal, 1:48. Stanford 27–24. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 5:24.
Top passers
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 21/29, 292 yards, TD
  • OSU – Chance Nolan – 17/30, 221 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
  • STAN – Austin Jones – 22 rushes, 126 yards
  • OSU – Jermar Jefferson – 18 rushes, 80 yards
Top receivers
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko – 6 receptions, 110 yards
  • OSU – Tre'Shaun Harrison – 5 receptions, 91 yards

At UCLA

Stanford Cardinal vs. UCLA Bruins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OT2OTTotal
Cardinal 7 13 0147748
Bruins 3 0 14177647

at Rose Bowl StadiumPasadena, CA

  • Date: December 19, 2020
  • Game time: 4:05 p.m. PST
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Michael Mothershed
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, and Taylor McGregor
Game information
First Quarter
  • STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 7:02. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:54.
  • UCLA – Nicholas Barr-Mira 31-yard field goal, 1:21. Stanford 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 5:41.
Second Quarter
  • STAN – Isaiah Sanders 2-yard run (kick failed), 13:42. Stanford 13–3. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:39.
  • STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 0:16. Stanford 20–3. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 1:45.
Third Quarter
  • UCLA – Keegan Jones 9-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 9:10. Stanford 20–10. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:41.
  • UCLA – Greg Dulcich 17-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 3:07. Stanford 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:12.
Fourth Quarter
  • UCLA – Chase Cota 23-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 14:54. UCLA 24–20. Drive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 1:25.
  • UCLA – Nicholas Barr-Mira 31-yard field goal, 6:28. UCLA 27–20. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 4:30.
  • UCLA – Jay Shaw 39-yard interception return (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 5:39. UCLA 34–20.
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 2:34. UCLA 34–27. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:05.
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko 21-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 0:18. Tied 34–34. Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 1:20.
First Overtime
  • UCLA – Greg Dulcich 21-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick). UCLA 41–34. Drive: 2 plays, 25 yards.
  • STAN – Isaiah Sanders 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick). Tied 41–41. Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards.
Second Overtime
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko 14-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick). Stanford 48–41. Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards.
  • UCLA – Kyle Philips 21-yard pass from Chase Griffin (run failed). Stanford 48–47. Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards.
Top passers
  • STAN – Davis Mills – 32/47, 428 yards, 3 TD, 3 int
  • UCLA – Chase Griffin – 9/11, 127 yards, 4 TD
Top rushers
  • STAN – Austin Jones – 23 rushes, 92 yards, 2 TD
  • UCLA – Brittain Brown – 29 rushes, 219 yards
Top receivers
  • STAN – Simi Fehoko – 16 receptions, 230 yards, 3 TD
  • UCLA – Kyle Philips – 7 receptions, 61 yards, TD

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP
CoachesRVRVRVRVRV
CFPNot releasedNot released

Players drafted into the NFL

Round Pick Player Position NFL club
2 45 Walker Little OT Jacksonville Jaguars
3 67 Davis Mills QB Houston Texans
3 76 Paulson Adebo CB New Orleans Saints
4 114 Drew Dalman C Atlanta Falcons
5 179 Simi Fehoko WR Dallas Cowboys

References

  1. ^ Pac-12 Conference. "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons". Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved September 24, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Pac-12 Conference postpones all sport competitions through end of calendar year". pac-12.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons". pac-12.com. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Teams opting out of bowls in 2020: Stanford becomes the latest school to decline a bowl invite". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Bromberg, Nick. "Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "Saturday's Washington State vs Stanford football game cancelled because of COVID-19 cases". KomoNews. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Pac-12 statement regarding Stanford vs. Oregon State football game". Pac-12.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020. The Pac-12 announced today that in order to comply with the newly issued Santa Clara Public Health Department directives and related restrictions on sport competitions, the December 12 football game between Stanford and Oregon State will now take place at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
  8. ^ "2020 Stanford Football Schedule". Stanford Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
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