Top five moments from Stanford football's win over Cal Poly

Dylan Grausz | Sep 11, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier (24) returns a punt for a touchdown against the Cal Poly Mustangs during the second half at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Stanford took home its first win of the season this past weekend, beating the Cal Poly Mustangs 41-7, not only improving to 1-1 ahead of the first ACC game of the season but beating the Mustangs in the first meeting ever between the two programs. With week two now in the rearview mirror and the Cardinal heading into an early season bye week, here are the top Stanford highlights from its win over the Mustangs.

Tiger Bachmeier’s punt return touchdown

Sep 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier (24) returns a punt for a touchdown against the Cal Poly Mustangs during the second half at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Arguably the turning point in the game as Stanford was only up 14-7 before this play, a Tiger Bachmeier 90-yard punt return early in the third quarter not only resulted in a touchdown for the Cardinal, but changed the momentum in the game as from then on, Stanford piled on the points, scoring 17 unanswered points in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth. Fielding the punt at the Cardinal 10-yard line, Bachmeier was then able to follow his blocks and evade defenders as he found a running lane to score the touchdown. 

Elijah Brown’s first career touchdown pass

A highly touted prospect out of Mater Dei High School, Brown’s arrival has sparked immense anticipation to see him play, with the true freshman putting together a very strong camp. And he finally got the chance to showcase his talents this past week, entering the game in the fourth quarter with Stanford up 31-7 and he wasted no time in impressing, leading a touchdown drive in his very first possession after finding Ismael Cisse open for a 12-yard score. Going 7-for-7 with 97 yards and his TD pass, Brown also had a deep 51-yard completion to Sedrick Irvin to put Stanford inside the red zone and set up the scoring play two plays later.

Collin Wright’s interception

Last year, Wright only had one interception the entire season. But this year, Wright was able to pick off a pass early in the year, picking off Cal Poly quarterback Bo Kelly with 4:53 left in the third quarter with the Cardinal up 24-7, spoiling a potential Cal Poly scoring drive and giving the Cardinal even more momentum as they got the ball back in Mustang territory.

Aristotle Taylor’s blocked field goal

Stanford’s special teams was dominant from start to finish, being a big reason why the Mustangs only scored seven points. In the first Cal Poly drive of the game, the Mustangs were able to drive down the field and get into field goal range, eventually getting stopped on Stanford’s 24-yard line. On 4th down and 19, the Mustangs opted to attempt the 41-yard field goal but senior defensive lineman Aristotle Taylor managed to get through the line and block Cal Poly kicker Noah Serna’s attempt. This resulted in Cal Poly coming up empty in the drive for the game to remain 0-0 and Stanford getting the ball back on its own 36-yard line.

First half fake punt

The first half was close, but Stanford did a good job of retaining possessions for a large portion of the game, and a successful fake punt helped contribute to that. With 9:48 left in the first half and the game tied 7-7, the Cardinal had the ball and got to 4th and 2 with the ball on their own 40-yard line. Instead of punting the ball away, Taylor called a fake punt where a direct snap to linebacker Tristan Sinclair allowed him to carry the ball over the first down marker and move the chains, keeping the ball in Stanford’s hands.