DALLAS (FWAA) – The Stanford Cardinal scored on eight consecutive possessions in the second half and overtime, overcoming a 29-0 halftime deficit to stun Colorado 46-43 in Boulder last Friday night. For rallying with the largest halftime comeback in school and Pac-12 Conference history, Stanford earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 14, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the seventh time for Stanford to earn the national team of the week honor from the FWAA.
It was a welcomed win for Stanford (2-4), taking its first road conference win since Sept. 11, 2021, at USC and snapping a seven-game Pac-12 losing streak. The Cardinal came to life in the second half, gaining 408 of their 523 yards after halftime. Quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns, with most of the yardage and three of the touchdowns to wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who broke Stanford’s single-game school record with 294 receiving yards.
It took a 46-yard field goal from Stanford kicker Joshua Karty on the final play of regulation just to force overtime. The 523 total yards was the Cardinal’s most since a Dec. 19, 2020, game at UCLA.
A 97-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Daniels to Ayomanor on a one-play drive midway through the third quarter kick-started the comeback getting Stanford to within 29-12. Ayomanor caught another 60-yard touchdown toss from Daniels minutes later to get the Cardinal within 29-19 entering the fourth quarter. The third of Ayomanor’s touchdown catches tied the game again on Stanford’s first official play of overtime.
On Colorado’s second overtime possession, Stanford safety Alaka’i Gilman intercepted a pass in the Cardinal end zone, and Karty converted the 31-yard field goal on Stanford’s ensuing possession.
“We made some big plays. They were playing a lot of man coverage, which we expected coming in,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said. “We just didn’t create much space at the wide receiver in the first half. We were winning the one-on-one matchups and we had a total turnaround. In the second half, we won those matchups, created big plays and then once you get it rolling, you got an opportunity to score some points, which we did.”
Stanford hosts UCLA at 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different…
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