All Cardinal

3 Decisions That Led to Stanford's Win over Louisville

Jason Burke

Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) is chased down from behind during the first quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) is chased down from behind during the first quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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With the Stanford Cardinal coming into the game having lost six straight and the Louisville Cardinals coming to town as a ranked opponent, it didn't seem as though the likelihood of Stanford's fortunes changing this week were terribly high. Yet, the Cardinal topped the Cardinals on Saturday in a thrilling 38-35 win, with senior kicker Emmet Kenney splitting the uprights from 52 yards out to seal the win.

There are a number of plays or moments that can have a big impact on the outcome of a football game, and outside of the 13 penalties for 101 yards which really helped Stanford out in this game, there were three decisions that were made that played a big role in this one.

Justin Lamson's touchdown pass

Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson
Aug 30, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

When QB Justin Lamson comes into the game in a fourth and short situation, the play call all year has typically been to have him run the ball right up the gut, and more often than not it works out for Stanford, earning the team a new set of downs.

On 4th and 1 from the Louisville 25, Lamson replaced starting QB Ashton Daniels, and it looked as though they were trying to catch the defense sleeping on the change, but the official that was spotting the ball stood in the middle of the line for a beat too long, giving Louisville time to see what had happened and call a timeout. Lamson immediately turned to the official to voice some displeasure.

When play resumed, Lamson, known more for his legs than his arm, took the snap and dropped back, then let a pass fly to the end zone as he was hit where Emmett Mosley V was able to reel it in, and bring the Cardinal within a point of tying things up. Emmet Kenney nailed the extra point to knot the game up at 35 all with 45 seconds on the clock.

The 25-yarder was Lamson's second-longest pass completion of the season.

Coach Taylor said that the play call didn't change before and after the timeout. "So a lot of times if you hustle to the line of scrimmage, and then you have Justin Lamson in, who is a really good runner, we thought we could hustle the line of scrimmage and get the safeties low and take a shot.

"There was some concern that we were too tight for the route. We just said, 'Hey, get it up early.' They [the officials] stood over the ball the first time we did it, which to me was interesting. We felt like we still had a shot, and Justin made an unbelievable throw. I think he got hit as he was throwing it, and Mosley made an unbelievable catch."

Louisville goes for it on 4th and 10

With the score tied at 35 and ten seconds remaining on the clock, Louisville was at the Stanford 45. They had three options: Kick a field goal, go for it, or punt. Place kicker Brock Travelstead's long on the year is 56 yards at Notre Dame, but he wasn't dropping them in from that distance during pregame warmups, so having him attempt a kick from this distance would have been iffy. This attempt would have been a new career best, and if he missed it, then Stanford would have the ball at midfield.

If Louisville were to punt it, they would risk a return, and would also be putting the ball in Stanford's hands instead of holding the control of the game in their own hands. It would also be a concession to allow the game to go to overtime. Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said after the game that punting was his first inclination for that play, but they elected to go a different route.

The third option was what they ended up doing, and that was going for it. The pass fell incomplete, and Stanford got the ball back with five seconds on the clock. Ashton Daniels threw a short pass to the sideline that gained one yard, but drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which moved the Cardinal within field goal range. With Kenney lined up to kick a 57 yarder, Stanford was able to get Louisville to jump offside, scooting them five yards closer, giving Kenney a 52 yard attempt.

He drilled it.

Hindsight is 20/20, but the decision to punt when Louisville had the ball at the Stanford 45 would have almost assuredly sent the game to overtime with the Cardinal pinned deep in their own territory. Of course, you also don't bank on giving up 20 yards in penalties in the final five seconds of the game if you're coach Brohm either. That decision ended up being huge.

Shifting focus to Emmett Mosley V

Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Emmett Mosley V
Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Emmett Mosley V (10) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

With a minute remaining in the third quarter, Stanford star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor didn't have a catch in the game. He'd been targeted plenty, but the catches were made difficult by the defense being played on him.

After focusing on Ayomanor to begin the game, Ashton Daniels shifted that focus to Mosley, who turned in a career game for the Cardinal, hauling in 13 catches on 14 targets for 168 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-tying catch with under a minute left in the game.

While shifting focus made sense after Ayomanor had been targeted five or six times with zero receptions, the shift to Mosley made the defense adapt to another playmaker on the field and put more attention on Mosley, which in turn opened up Ayomaor for two big plays.

His first catch, which you could feel coming, was a 13 yard touchdown reception with :07 seconds left in the third quarter, and brought Stanford within a score. After Louisville answered back with a touchdown to begin the fourth, the first play of Stanford's next drive was a 55 yarder from Daniels to Ayomanor, which immediately put them deep in Cardinals territory.

Those two plays were enough to make Ayomanor a threat to the defense again, and Mosley caught two more touchdowns from that point forward. Those were Ayomanor's only two catches of the day, but they came at a huge point in the game and opened up Mosley the rest of the way.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

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