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2010 Stanford Cardinal football
Orange Bowl Champions
Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, W 40–12
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
2010 record12–1 (8–1 Pac-10)
Head coachJim Harbaugh (4th season)
Offensive coordinatorDavid Shaw (4th season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorVic Fangio (1st season)
Base defense3-4
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
(Capacity: 50,000)
Uniform
Seasons
← 2009
2011 →
2010 Pacific-10 football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#3 Oregon   9 0         12 1  
#4 Stanford   8 1         12 1  
USC   5 4         8 5  
Washington   5 4         7 6  
Arizona   4 5         7 6  
Arizona State   4 5         6 6  
Oregon State   4 5         5 7  
California   3 6         5 7  
UCLA   2 7         4 8  
Washington State   1 8         2 10  
† – BCS representative as champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
  • USC ineligible for championship and post-season due to NCAA sanctions
    As of January 11, 2011 • Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 2010 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Cardinal were led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was in his 4th and final season before leaving to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the Pacific-10 Conference.

Stanford ended the regular season 11–1, with their sole loss to conference champion Oregon. They defeated Virginia Tech 40–12 in the Orange Bowl for the first BCS bowl victory in program history.

Schedule[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 4* 3:30 PM Sacramento State Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (Bill Walsh Legacy Game) CSN Bay Area W 52–17   30,626[2]
September 11 7:30 PM at UCLA #25 Rose BowlPasadena, CA ESPN W 35–0   56,931[3]
September 18* 8:15 PM Wake Forest #19 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA ESPN2 W 68–24   39,061[4]
September 25* 12:30 PM at Notre Dame #16 Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (Legends Trophy) NBC W 37–14   80,795[5]
October 2 5:00 PM at #4 Oregon #9 Autzen StadiumEugene, OR ABC L 31–52   59,818[6]
October 9 5:00 PM USC #16 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA ABC W 37–35   51,607[7]
October 23† 2:00 PM Washington State #12 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA FCS W 38–28   36,679[8]
October 30 4:00 PM at Washington #13 Husky StadiumSeattle, WA Versus W 41–0   69,020[9]
November 6 5:00 PM #13 Arizona #10 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA ABC W 42–17   43,506[10]
November 13 4:30 PM at Arizona State #7 Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ FS Arizona/CSN Bay Area W 17–13   45,592[11]
November 20 12:30 PM at California #7 California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (113th Big Game/Stanford Axe) FSN/CSN Bay Area W 48–14   67,793[12]
November 27 4:30 PM Oregon State #7 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA Versus W 38–0   38,775[13]
January 3* 5:00 PM vs. #12 Virginia Tech #5 Sun Life StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl) ESPN W 40–12   65,453[14]
*Non-Conference Game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time.

Game notes[]

Sacramento State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Hornets 7 0 7 3 17
Cardinal 21 17 7 7 52



Andrew Luck threw for 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as Stanford routed Sacramento State, 52–17. Doug Baldwin caught an 81-yard touchdown strike from Luck in the first quarter, the eighth-longest Stanford touchdown reception in school history, and caught another 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Three different Stanford rushers scored from within the two-yard line. For the Hornets, Kyle Monson returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, the first Sacramento State punt return for a score in seven years, and kicker Chris Diniz matched his career-longest field goal with a 52-yard kick in the fourth quarter.[15]

UCLA[]

File:Stanford at UCLA 2010.jpg

Stanford Cardinal visits UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl

1 2 3 4 OT
#25 Cardinal 10 3 15 7 35
Bruins 0 0 0 0 0



Stanford safety Michael Thomas (top, left photo) stripped the ball and ran 21 yards for one touchdown, and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck rushed for a career-best 63 yards and threw for 151 yards and two more touchdowns as Stanford shut out UCLA 35–0.[16] It was the first time UCLA had lost at home to Stanford since 1996 and was the first shutout UCLA had suffered at home since a 17–0 loss to California on October 16, 1999.[17] It was also the first time Stanford had achieved a road shutout against an opponent since 1974 and the first time since 1941 that Stanford had shut out UCLA.[16][17]

Wake Forest[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Demon Deacons 7 3 14 0 24
#19 Cardinal 14 27 14 13 68



In their 2009 meeting, the Demon Deacons defeated the Cardinal 24–17 at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but the Cardinal got revenge in this game, scoring touchdowns on their first eight possessions on the way to a 68–24 rout. Quarterback Andrew Luck has scored 11 touchdowns in the first three games.[18] This is the fifth time in 36 seasons, and the first time since 2001 that the Cardinal has started 3-0. The win is the 13th in Stanford's last 15 home games.[18] They are averaging 51.7 points per game through three games, the best offensive start to a season for the Cardinal since scoring 164 points in the first three games of the 1923 season. This was the most points Stanford had scored in a game since 1968 when the Cardinal scored 68 points against San Jose State.[18] Wake Forest has given up 116 points combined in its last three games. This was the most points allowed by Wake Forest since a 72-13 loss to Florida State in 1995.[18]

Notre Dame[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#16 Cardinal 10 6 3 18 37
Fighting Irish 3 3 0 8 14



Owen Marecic scored on a one-yard touchdown plunge, then returned an interception for a touchdown two plays later as Stanford defeated Notre Dame 37–14, the team's first win in South Bend since 1992. Stanford placekicker Nate Whitaker added five field goals to tie a Stanford single-game record to help the Cardinal move to 4–0 for the first time since 1986.[19]

Oregon[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#9 Cardinal 21 10 0 0 31
#4 Ducks 3 21 14 14 52



The Cardinal started out quickly, scoring three touchdowns in less than five minutes of the first quarter aided by two Duck turnovers. But the Ducks used a risky onside kick to keep the score close at halftime, and in the second half, held the Cardinal scoreless. Meanwhile, Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, while running back LaMichael James rushed for three touchdowns on a career high 257 yards. Two interceptions by Duck cornerback Cliff Harris and a fourth-quarter fumble by Stanford receiver Chris Owusu sealed the game for the Ducks.[20]

USC[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Trojans 7 7 7 14 35
#16 Cardinal 7 7 7 16 37



Nate Whitaker kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cardinal a dramatic 37–35 victory over the visiting Trojans. Whitaker had missed a PAT earlier in the fourth quarter, and USC capitalized on the miss to go ahead of Stanford 35–34 with just over a minute to play. But Andrew Luck led the Cardinal on a nine-play, 62-yard drive to set up Whitaker's game winner. In an evenly matched back-and-forth game, Luck and Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley each threw for three touchdowns.[21]

Washington State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Cougars 0 7 0 21 28
#12 Cardinal 10 14 7 7 38



Andrew Luck threw for three touchdowns as the Cardinal defeated the Cougars 38–28 to improve their record to 7–1, their best start since the season they appeared in the 1971 Rose Bowl. Stepfan Taylor added two more rushing touchdowns for Stanford. Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel threw for four touchdowns on the day, including two in the last four minutes of the game to keep the final score close.[22]

Washington[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#14 Cardinal 14 14 10 3 41
Huskies 0 0 0 0 0



Stepfan Taylor ran for two touchdowns, and quarterback Andrew Luck ran 51 yards for another as the Cardinal shut out the Huskies 41–0, the worst shutout for the Huskies at home since 1976. The highly touted matchup between NFL quarterback prospects Luck and Jake Locker turned into a lopsided affair as Washington could only manage 104 yards of offense, as Locker went 7 for 14 with only 88 yards passing, was sacked three times, and intercepted twice.[23]

Arizona[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#13 Wildcats 0 3 7 7 17
#10 Cardinal 7 14 14 7 42



In highly anticipated matchup for second place in the Pac-10, Stanford overwhelmed Arizona 42–17. Quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Chris Owusu caught 9 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinal defense, meanwhile, intercepted Arizona quarterback Nick Foles and held the Wildcats to 3 points in the first half. Though they allowed two late touchdowns, Stanford answered each on its next possession with a long drive that culminated in a touchdown run from Stepfan Taylor.[24]

Arizona State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Sun Devils 7 0 6 0 13
#7 Cardinal 7 0 3 7 17



With its usually explosive offense held in check by the Sun Devils, the Cardinal relied on their defense to keep the game close until a fourth-quarter drive put them on top of the Sun Devils, 17–13. After scoring on its first drive, the Stanford rushing game was held to 128 yards on 42 carries. Quarterback Andrew Luck fumbled and threw an interception, but had enough left to engineer a fourth-quarter drive finished with an Owen Marecic one-yard touchdown plunge. Stanford moved to 9–1 on the year, its best start since 1951.[25]

California[]

File:2010 Big Game.jpg

Stanford players lift the Stanford Axe after winning the 2010 Big Game against the California Golden Bears.

1 2 3 4 OT
#7 Cardinal 10 21 14 3 48
Golden Bears 0 0 0 14 14



Andrew Luck led the Cardinal to scores on all eight possessions in which he participated—including three touchdown drives of more than 80 yards—as the Cardinal cruised to a 48–14 victory, its most lopsided victory in the Big Game since 1930, when Stanford shut out California 41–0.[26][27] Luck was 16 of 20 for 235 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Stepfan Taylor scored on three short touchdown runs, but Luck was Stanford's leading rusher with 72 yards, 58 of which came on a broken play in which he stiff-armed a Cal defender and continued for another 20 yards.[28] Stanford's 48 points tied with Cal's 1975 total for the most points scored by either team in 113 Big Games.[26] Both Bears touchdowns came on fourth-quarter trick plays: a pass from receiver Keenan Allen to Marvin Jones, and with 15 seconds left in the game, an Allen lateral to Isi Sofele.[26] Stanford remains in contention for an at-large BCS berth while the Golden Bears need one more win to attain of bowl-eligibility.[28]

Oregon State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Beavers 0 0 0 0 0
#7 Cardinal 14 10 7 7 38



The Cardinal closed out its best-ever regular season at home with a 38–0 victory over the Beavers. Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes for a total of 28 on the year, setting a new Stanford single-season record, and surpassing Stanford quarterback greats John Elway and Steve Stenstrom. Meanwhile, the Stanford defense intercepted Beavers quarterback Ryan Katz three times and sacked him four times, one of which resulted in a fumble recovered by the Cardinal. The shutout was Stanford's third of the season and Oregon State's first since 2002. Coupled with losses by Boise State and LSU, the win moved Stanford to #4 in the BCS standings, a position which would assure them an at-large bid in a BCS bowl for the first time (Stanford last won an automatic BCS bid to the 2000 Rose Bowl).[29]


Virginia Tech (Orange Bowl)[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#5 Cardinal 7 6 13 14 40
#12 Hokies 2 10 0 0 12



Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes, three to Coby Fleener and one to Zach Ertz, to defeat the Hokies to finish the season with 12 wins and the first BCS bowl victory in program history.

Rankings[]

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Final
AP NR 25 19 16 9 16 14 12 13 10 7 7 7 5 5 4
Coaches NR NR 19 17 13 18 15 14 14 12 9 8 8 5 5 4
Harris Not released 14 13 13 10 8 8 7 5 5
BCS Not released 12 13 13 6 6 6 4 4

Awards and honors[]

  • September 13 – Cornerback Mike Thomas was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week.[30]
  • September 27 – Placekicker Nate Whitaker was named Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week.
  • November 8 - Quarterback Andrew Luck was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week.
  • November 22 - Quarterback Andrew Luck was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week.
  • November 29 - Linebacker Chase Thomas was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week

References[]

  1. 2010 NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 Week 14
  2. "Sacramento State Hornets vs. Stanford Cardinal - Box Score - September 04, 2010". ESPN. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2010. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302470024. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  3. "Stanford Cardinal vs. UCLA Bruins Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100914040246/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302540026. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  4. "Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100921154705/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302610024. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  5. "Stanford Cardinal vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100927175637/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302680087. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  6. "Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon Ducks Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101006180051/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302752483. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  7. "USC Trojans vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101012234603/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302820024. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  8. "Washington State Cougars vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101025162225/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302960024. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  9. "Stanford Cardinal vs. Washington Huskies Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101102005323/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303030264. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  10. "Arizona Wildcats vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101109154225/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303100024. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  11. "Stanford Cardinal vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101117222007/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303170009. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  12. "Stanford Cardinal vs. California Golden Bears Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101124173319/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303240025. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  13. "Oregon State Beavers vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101201083215/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303310024. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  14. "Stanford Cardinal vs. Virginia Tech Hokies - Box Score - January 3, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com. January 3, 2011. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=310030259. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  15. "Andrew Luck completes 81-yard TD pass as Stanford drops Sacramento State". ESPN.com. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100907202439/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302470024. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Fitzgerald, Tom (September 11, 2010). "Stanford punishes UCLA 35-0 in Pac-10 opener". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/11/SPV81FBTTT.DTL. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Yanda, Steve (September 12, 2010). "Saturday's late show". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/12/AR2010091202905.html. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "No. 19 Stanford stomps Wake Forest behind Andrew Luck's 5 total TDs". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302610024. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  19. "Nate Whitaker's five FGs give Stanford winning edge over Irish". ESPN.com. September 25, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302680087. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  20. "Darron Thomas scores four TDs as Oregon beats Stanford". ESPN.com. October 3, 2010. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101006180233/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302752483. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  21. "Stanford's Nate Whitaker rebounds to put away USC on final play". ESPN.com. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101012024124/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302820024. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  22. "Andrew Luck tosses 3 TDs as Stanford handles Washington St.". ESPN.com. October 23, 2010. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101025134519/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302960024. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  23. "Andrew Luck keys Stanford rout as Jake Locker fails to impress". ESPN.com. October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101103002907/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303030264. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  24. "Andrew Luck puts on a clinic as No. 13 Stanford handles No. 15 Arizona". ESPN.com. November 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101110041437/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303100024. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  25. "Andrew Luck, No. 6 Stanford fight through feisty Arizona State". ESPN.com. November 13, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101124173329/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303170009. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 "Andrew Luck leads Stanford to scores on all his possessions". ESPN.com. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303240025. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  27. Dowd, Katie (November 20, 2010). "Bears Suffer Worst Big Game Defeat Since 1930". Daily Californian. http://www.dailycal.org/article/111281/bears_suffer_worst_big_game_defeat_since_1930. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  28. 28.0 28.1 Sawhney, Kabir (November 20, 2010). "The Axe comes home". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/11/20/the-axe-comes-home/. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  29. "Stanford pushes for BCS berth as Andrew Luck sets school TD record". ESPN.com. November 27, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101201083229/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303310024. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  30. Pac-10 Players of the Week, September 21, 2010
  31. Marecic, Mohamed Highlight Pac-10 All-Academic Football Team, Pac-10 News, November 17, 2010
  32. Stanford fullback/linebacker Owen Marecic wins first Paul Hornung Award, The Courier-Journal, January 10, 2011

External links[]

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