Three Takeaways From Stanford's Historic Comeback Win Over Deion Sanders And Colorado

Stanford pulled off a historic comeback against Colorado

With the college football world tuning in to watch Deion Sanders and his squad on Friday evening, Stanford made sure to steal the show.

After trailing by as many as 29 points, Stanford would go on to score 26 unanswered points, force overtime, and pull off the win. The comeback marked the largest comeback in Stanford history, the fourth largest in Pac-12 history, and saw Stanford come back from what was the largest halftime deficit in Pac-12 history according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

It was a much-needed win for a Stanford program that had lost four straight with two of the losses coming by seven or fewer points, and there were some major positives to take away from the game.

Here are my three most important takeaways from Stanford's 46-43 win over Colorado. 

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Troy Taylor And His Staff Are On The Right Track

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If you look at Stanford's record this season you see a program that has been struggling over the past few years still struggling. However, the amount of fight and resilience they showed had been missing in the years prior. It's not to say that prior teams would have stopped trying, but this team just never felt like they were out of it in the second half, and that seems to be a testament to the new culture and the way in which the coaches motivate the players. They came out swinging like it was a one-score game, and finally made big plays on offense. 

Offensively, they put up 366 yards on offense in the second half after mustering just 115 in the first. Defensively we saw major adjustments made by Bobby April's unit, as after giving up 324 yards of offense on 9.5 yards per play, Stanford held Colorado to just 169 yards on 6.6 yards per play. They also held Colorado to just 2-of-7 on third-down conversions, which was another reason they were able to win. However, the most important part is that the players seemed bought in, and now that they have a taste of what winning a bigger game feels like this could be a program-shifting win. Not to mention, they are a few plays going there way against Arizona and Sacramento State from being 4-2. 

Elic Ayomanor Just Became WR1

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Prior to this season, Stanford lost three receivers to the NFL meaning that it was time for new faces to step up. However, in weeks prior the wide receiver unit struggled to get separation, and not a single receiver had amassed 100 yards receiving in a game yet. It is evident when Daniels is in, that he and Elic Ayomanor have a connection as he targets him often, but the two just weren't connecting as much. On Friday, something clicked and oddly enough it was clicking the most against Travis Hunter. 

Ayomanor went from having 15 catches on the year to 13 in a game, and Taylor recognized that getting him the ball was working and was force-feeding him. Even with the defense knowing he was getting the ball, Ayomanor was still open and he also showed an innate ability to work after the catch. I would expect him to continue to be heavily targeted, and a game like that is certainly going to boost his confidence moving forward. With Yurosek's status uncertain, Ayomanor should be the featured pass catcher, which will open up players like Tiger Bachmeier and Mudia Reuben. 

Ashton Daniels Claimed The Starting Quarterback Job

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While much of the focus is on the performance of Elic Ayomanor's big game and rightfully so, Ashton Daniels was everything this offense needs at quarterback and then some. After Justin Lamson got the start that he deserved for his gritty showings in the past weeks, Daniels provided a calming presence in the second half. He was pushing the ball down the field, making smart choices, and for what seems like the first time this season was using his mobility to his advantage. Taylor frequently discusses how good of an athlete Daniels is, but outside of the Week 1 game against Hawaii he seemed to stop running when things went south in the pocket. 

He finished the day 27-of-45 (60%) for 396 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions while adding 39 yards rushing. Taylor had been saying over the past couple of weeks that until someone claims the starting job he'd rotate the two passers, but it feels safe to say that is now Daniels' job to lose. I still expect to see Lamson in the run game due to the fact he is a tough runner, but I foresee far less quarterback rotations.