Stanford escapes with 15-14 win at Oregon State on late TD pass

Improbably outplayed by a heavy underdog for most of the night, Stanford pulled out a victory Thursday night in even more improbable fashion.

With Bryce Love sidelined by an ankle injury, the No. 20 Cardinal looked absolutely punchless. Plus, Oregon State had the ball with a five-point lead and time running out.

But defensive lineman Harrison Phillips recovered Ryan Nall’s fumble at the Beavers’ 40 with 2:30 left. Quarterback Keller Chryst and tight end Kaden Smith connected on a 25-yard, fourth-down pass, and Chryst lobbed a 3-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 20 seconds left for a dramatic 15-14 victory.

Hall his first win, and it would have been a treasured prize. Hall had taken the job after Gary Andersen made a startling departure Oct. 9.

“The coaching staff and a lot of our older players tried to warn our guys about what it is (like) playing in this stadium,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said. “The student section is loud and raucous, as they should be. I give a lot of credit to Coach Hall and his staff for getting those guys ready to play.”

Smith’s clutch catch moved the ball to the Beavers’ 15, and the Cardinal pushed it to the 3 before Arcega-Whiteside used his size advantage against an OSU cornerback to collect the game winner.

Without Love, the nation’s leading rusher, the Cardinal had just 81 yards on the ground — but they escaped with their fifth straight win and their eighth in a row in the series with Oregon State.

Chryst completed 16 of 33 passes for a mere 141 yards with an interception, but he made his final pass count. Shaw indicated he didn’t consider replacing Chryst with K.J. Costello.

“There were things that happened that were not Keller’s fault, and there were things he could have done better,” Shaw said.

Missing their three top cornerbacks because of injuries, the Beavers (1-7, 0-5) put up a sterling defensive performance until the end.

“We talk about it ad nauseam,” Shaw said. “It is hard to win a conference game — any conference — late in the season on the road. It didn’t have to be pretty, but we found a way to get it done.”

That Phillips came up with the clutch fumble recovery, his second of the night, was no surprise to his teammates.

“He’s a big-time player for us,” cornerback Quenton Meeks said. “Coming up with plays like that was huge for us. If he’s got his hands on it, nobody’s going to take it from him.”

Phillips admitted Stanford is not the same without Love. “He brings something that no one else can bring, not to say he’s our only weapon. We’re a dynamic offense, and we have receivers and other backs who are talented.”

The offense didn’t look dynamic until the end, relying on Jet Toner’s three field goals for all of its scoring.

Stanford was penalized eight times for 81 yards. Asked for an explanation, Shaw said, “Not one that I’ll say in here. It’s what I’m most upset about. I thought twice we lost our composure. That’s not us. We don’t play that way. ... Far too many penalties on our team tonight.”

Cameron Scarlett, who started at tailback in place of Love, rushed 17 times for 72 yards.

Quarterback Darell Garretson’s 3-yard run in the second quarter and Thomas Tyner’s 18-yard jaunt in the third quarter provided the Oregon State touchdowns. Toner’s field goals were for 40, 33 and 40 yards.

Garretson, in his fourth start since Jake Luton fractured his spine, threw for 126 yards (13-for-21). For most of the night, he outplayed Chryst, hitting some clutch third-down passes to keep drives alive.

Jonathan Willis’ sack of Chryst on third down seemed to have snuffed out Stanford’s hopes with just less than four minutes left. But Chryst and his teammates escaped.

Source: sfgate