Stanford Football Falls Just Short in Hard Fought Week One Battle

Dylan Grausz | Sep 1, 2024

Aug 30, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanford Cardinal came into Stanford Stadium locked and loaded, ready to start the 2024 season on a high note. Unfortunately, the bid to win their first home game since 2022 came up just short as the Cardinal fell 34-27 to TCU on Friday night.

Trailing 17-10 lead into halftime, the Horned Frogs, led by a big day from quarterback Josh Hoover, turned things up a notch in the second half and scored 24 points to come back and win the game.

“Yeah, we had the lead late in the fourth quarter, so our guys battled,” head coach Troy Taylor said. “They're a good team, they’re resilient. We were able to take the lead with six minutes left and we got to get a stop and then we got to go back and score again. So [we] just didn't finish it. I thought we did a good job being resilient. Obviously we struggled offensively in the second half early on and we were able to stay in it, our defense made some good stops, but it just wasn't enough plays to come out with the win.”

The Cardinal got things going early when sophomore wide receiver Jackson Harris caught a three-yard touchdown from quarterback Ashton Daniels and after the converted PAT from kicker Emmet Kenney, the Cardinal were able to go up 7-0 with 7:57 left in the opening quarter. Overall for the game, Harris caught two passes for 14 yards and the touchdown but was targeted eight times during the game, finding himself dealing with lockdown defense on the other side.

“I have a lot of trust in Jackson,” Daniels said. “That's why I targeted him a lot tonight. I've built a lot of trust and chemistry with all of our receivers, so there is not a certain guy that I want to target every single game, there’s not a certain guy I want to target every single drive. He was open. I threw the ball up, and gave him a chance. You know, he's beating himself up for it, but he's a young guy and I would never lose trust in him based off one game because I know how great he is and I know that he’s gonna use this game as motivation and he’s gonna have a really good season.”

With the Cardinal up by a touchdown, TCU receiver Savion Williams helped the Horned Frogs tie things up with 1:16 left in the opening quarter when he hauled in a five-yard pass from Josh Hooever. After kicker Kyle Lemmermann made the extra point, the score was tied 7-7. However, the tie would not last long as early in the second quarter, with 9:20 left, Stanford’s Ismael Cisse caught a two-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Justin Lamson, giving the Cardinal the eventual 14-7 lead. A 22-yard field goal from Lemmermann with 4:09 left in the half made it 14-10 with a 35-yard field goal from Kenney with 1:36 left in the half making it 17-10 Stanford heading into the break.

The second half was a different story for the Cardinal. After TCU scored first thanks to another field goal from Lemmermann, a 1-yard TD rush from Hoover with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter followed by the converted PAT from Lemmermann made it 20-17 TCU. From then on, both defenses stood strong, keeping the score the same until 6:57 left in the fourth quarter, when Lamson gave Stanford yet another lead when he dove in for a one yard touchdown after the offense drove down the field, making it 24-20 in favor of the Cardinal. However, the next drive was when things started to take a turn. After TCU wide receiver Jack Bech caught a four-yard touchdown to eventually make it 27-24 Horned Frogs with 3:13 left in the game, Stanford opted to play four-down territory in its next offensive series in hopes of scoring a touchdown.

“I thought we were going to go for it no matter what,” Daniels said. “It wasn't necessarily four down territory, but when you're down with not too much time left you can't put all your marbles into one basket and hope that we get a stop, which I have all the trust in our defense to go out there and get a stop, but Coach told us it was going to be four down territory. We went out there and unfortunately couldn't execute.”

TCU then scored its final touchdown with 1:51 left in the game when running back Cam Cook ran it in for a seven yard score before another Emmet Kenney field goal with 0:36 seconds left in the game made it 34-27.

Defensively, the Cardinal showed immense promise including recording two turnovers, with EDGE rusher David Bailey forcing a fumble in the second quarter, knocking out a ball caught by TCU wide receiver JP Richardson that was eventually recovered by transfer Jay Green and transfer Clay Patterson recovering a Josh Hoover fumble near the end of the first half, preventing a potential TCU scoring drive. For the day, linebacker Gaethan Bernadel led the way with 10 tackles, continuing his role as the leader of the defense.

“Just running to the football, playing harder,” Bernadel said of the defense’s ability to force turnovers. “You see a lot more white hats around the ball. Just being able to -- coach always talks about finishing--finishing with violent arms and violent hands around the football. Just being smart at the end of the day.”

While taking home the loss, it wasn’t without putting up a valiant effort, not only staying in the game until the very end but showing just how high the potential of the team is, creating optimism and excitement for the rest of the campaign.

“Resiliency,” Taylor said. “We got more turnovers that were big, that was great to see. Our defense, creating some turnovers, really made a big difference. And our guys keep competing and those are the positives for sure. [We] had a chance to win. Emmet Kenney kicked the ball really well, just the disappointing part is not being able to finish and make some plays down the stretch on both sides of the ball.”

Now sitting at 0-1, the Cardinal will use this upcoming week to regroup and refocus ahead of another home game with Cal Poly coming into town next Saturday, September 7. Kickoff for the contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. (PT) and is slated to be broadcast on both the ACC Network and ESPN+.