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Tough one to swallow for Cardinal
By Jeremy Kahn October 13, 2007 |
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STANFORD-Just one week after one of the most stunning upsets in college football history, the Stanford Cardinal came very close to making it two wins in a row. Aaron Brown scored on one yard plunge the Cardinal defense with 4:13 remaining in the game, as the TCU Horned Frogs came all the way back to defeat the Cardinal on homecoming 38-36 at Stanford Stadium. After the Brown touchdown, Tavita Pritchard drove the Cardinal down to the Horned Frogs’ 20-yard line, but Pritchard’s fourth down pass was batted down by Robert Henson that gave the ball back to the Horned Frogs. Horned Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton took time off the clock, and eventually ran out of the end zone with just two seconds remaining on the game clock. On the free kick after the safety, Ben Ladner picked up the ball and threw the ball to Jeremy Stewart, who in turn threw to Doug Baldwin; however unlike “The Play,” between the Cardinal and the California Golden Bears nearly 25 seasons ago, the Cardinal were unable to score, as Davi Hawthorne tackled Baldwin to preserve the two-point victory. Dalton was amazing, as he went 23-for-34 for 344 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Young. All around, the Horned had a great day offensively, as they totaled 494 yards of total offense, while the Cardinal managed just 364 in the losing effort. Brown was the star on the ground for the Horned Frogs, as he carried the ball 21 times for 91 yards and a touchdown. Brown was also the leading receiver for the Horned Frogs, as he made five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Young had just three catches for 110 yards and that 70-yard touchdown. Anthony Kimble carried the ball 19 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns, including from 15 yards out that gave the Cardinal what looked like an insurmountable 28-17 lead in the third quarter. The Cardinal eventually pushed the lead up to 31-17, as Derek Belch kicked a 37-yard filed goal, but on the next offensive possession Dalton found Young down the sideline cut the Cardinal lead in half. The Horned Frogs eventually tied up the game, as Brown was on the receiving end of a two-yard Dalton touchdown pass with 9:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. Belch then gave the lead back to the Cardinal, as he nailed a 40-yard field goal. On their next possession, the Horned Frogs drove all the way down the Cardinal two-yard line, where Brown scored the eventual game-winning touchdown. Pritchard went 12-for-27 for 171 yards and two touchdowns. The 12 completions were a career high for Pritchard, as was the 171 yards and the two touchdown passes. “We just didn’t execute down the stretch and we need to come up with more plays at the end of the game, They did a good job; I need to do a better job of finding some holes in the defense. The offensive line today did an outstanding job and I need to work on finding more soft spots in the defense. We just need to find a way to make more plays in the clutch and execute late in the game,” said Pritchard. T.C. Ostrander made a brief appearance on the field, as he went a perfect 3-for-3 for 23 yards. “It was planned,” said Jim Harbaugh. Richard Sherman picked up his 100-yard game of the season, as he had four catches for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinal. Sherman is the only member of the Cardinal to top the 100-yard plateau this season. With the two touchdowns on the afternoon, Kimble now has six for the season. He is the first Cardinal running back to score six touchdowns in a season since J.R. Lemon scored six during the 2004 season. The last Cardinal running back to top the six touchdown plateau during the season was when both Brian Allen and Kerry Carter each scored nine touchdowns during the 2001 season. Evan Moore had three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown. |
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