Troy Taylor Addresses Stanford Not 'Executing' on Third Down

Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor blames third down conversion issues and the failed run game on their 42-7 loss to UCLA on Saturday.

Another Saturday, another heartbreaking loss for the Stanford Cardinal. UCLA clobbered the Cardinal 42-7 and Stanford head coach Troy Taylor blames their performance on beginning the game with a rough start. 

“Obviously, got off to another slow start,” Taylor said after the game on Saturday. “Really, really good football team. You just can't get behind like that. We were able to obviously come back last week. This week we didn't start well in all three phases. Didn't do enough to get back in the second half.”

UCLA QB Ethan Garbers / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The entire game, Stanford only recorded 24 rushing yards. Taylor points out that the Cardinal's lack of productivity on offense contributed to UCLA's dominant and nearly shut-out win over Stanford. 

“Yeah, eliminate poor penalties,” Taylor said. “I think early on we knew it was going to be difficult to run the ball. No one's really run the ball against these guys. They're really good up front. We were hoping we would be able to protect, get the ball out quickly, sustain some drives, get some points early on the board, hopefully their D-line would get a little bit tired, and it would be easier to pass protect because they're so explosive. We didn't sustain any drives offensively in the first half early on, then they got out to a big lead.”

The Cardinal struggled heavily on third-down conversions and needs to point their focus on a game plan for reaching the first down line during practices. Out of 12 total attempts on Saturday, only one try succeeded. On the other side of the football, however, the Cardinal allowed UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers to scramble to reach the third down marker. UCLA claimed 10 of 18 third down attempts.

"Some of them just completely self inflicted but others just not executing to a good plan by me," Taylor said.