STANFORD, Calif. – In a matchup between the Stanford Cardinal and the Arizona Wildcats that could only be described as critical to the Arizona’s Rose Bowl hopes, the Wildcats flat lined when it mattered most. Arizona fell to Stanford 42-17 on Saturday night.
“Long night,” head coach Mike Stoops said about Arizona’s battle with the Cardinal (8-1, 5-1 Pacific 10 Conference). “Didn’t play nearly good enough against a really good football team.”
The Cardinal got off to a fast start when redshirt sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck hit receiver Chris Owusu for a 45-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the game. Stanford added another touchdown minutes into the second quarter and by the half had a 21-3 lead over the Wildcats.
“Just got off to a bad start and missed some scoring opportunities,” Stoops said. “Just didn’t execute well enough.”
Arizona’s offense was stagnant, even with the return of quarterback Nick Foles. The redshirt junior was unable to get anything started early in the game and looked rusty after not playing for much of the last two games due to a dislocation of his right kneecap. Matt Scott, who replaced Foles while he was injured, did not dress due to a sprained wrist he sustained in the win over UCLA.
The Wildcats were in a position to salvage their first half performance, but Foles was picked off with 16 seconds remaining in the half as Arizona was threatening.
Arizona (7-2, 4-2) found some success in the rushing game, often picking up big chunks of yardage, but penalties and the lack of a consistent passing game kept the Wildcats out of the end zone until 5:45 in the third quarter. Foles hit receiver Juron Criner, who had limped off the field on a previous play in the drive, for a 7 yard score. The Wildcats added another touchdown in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but it was too late for Arizona to mount a serious comeback.
“It was a rough one,” Foles said of the game overall. “We really didn’t play well on any side of the ball and Stanford just came out here and went up and down the field.”