Stanford Beats San Jose State 20-17 in a Close Call

San Jose State gave Stanford a good scare in their 2012 opener, as the Cardinal snuck out of Stanford Stadium with a 20-17 victory.

After Stanford jumped out to a 17-3 lead at half time, the Spartans exploded in the third quarter to erase the defecit, as quarterback Blake Jurich ran for a touchdown and Noel Grigsby caught another.

Kicker Jordan Williamson gave Stanford a 20-17 lead with a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that they would keep for the rest of the game. The teams exchanged punts for most of the fourth quarter, until junior safety Ed Reynolds intercepted a David Fales pass to seal the game with under two minutes to play.

The main question on everyone’s mind heading into the game was how the Cardinal would fare in the wake of two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Andrew Luck’s departure to the NFL. Junior quarterback Josh Nunes, who was named Luck’s replacement less than two weeks ago, put on a solid performance, completing 16-26 passes, including a beautiful 11-yard touchdown pass to Drew Terrell in the first quarter.

While Nunes was solid, it was the Cardinal’s ground attack that carried the offense. Stepfan Taylor rushed for 124 yards and a first quarter touchdown, including a beautiful 38-yard scamper on the team’s opening drive. Anthony Wilkerson and Resmound Wright added their efforts, combining for 29 yards between the two of them.

Stanford’s defense struggled a bit in the absence of starting middle linebacker Shayne Skov, allowing 216 passing yards. Still, the front seven was solid, allowing only 63 rushing yards.

Defensive back Usua Amanam put on an excellent individual performance, notching two sacks, one of them a huge play that slowed a threatening San Jose State drive in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Jordan Williamson also impressed in his first showing after a shaky performance in last year’s bowl game, hitting a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and that 20-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Despite the victory, head coach David Shaw must be concerned after his team’s performance. The Cardinal were expected to win big over the Spartans, and we’ll look to see if Stanford performs better next Saturday against Duke.

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Stanford Names Josh Nunes as Starting Quarterback

In the wake of two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Andrew Luck's departure to the NFL, the Stanford Cardinal have been looking for their new starting quarterback.

Head coach David Shaw has been overseeing a position battle between junior Josh Nunes and sophomore Brett Nottingham. While Nottingham was considered the favorite heading into fall camp, Nunes has been awarded the starting job, according to SFGate.com.

This is somewhat surprising considering the fact that Nottingham was the primary backup to Luck last season. The sophomore saw action in six different games, attempting eight passes, while Nunes never saw the field in 2011.

In fact, Nunes has only attempted two passes in his entire three years at Stanford.

Despite that inexperience, Shaw remains optimistic and seems confident in his decision.

"Josh has been the most consistent," Shaw said. "It's not just about throwing the ball. We need to be able to change plays at the line of scrimmage."

Nunes will see his first action as a starter when the Cardinal open the 2012 season at home on Friday, August 31 against San Jose State.

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Why Wide Receiver Ty Montgomery is Key to Cardinal Success in 2012

Ty Montgomery

David Shaw will have his fair share new offensive starters to work with in 2012. The Cardinal have lost quarterback Andrew Luck, who many considered to be the best NFL prospect in a decade, two first-team all-conference linemen in Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro and freakishly athletic tight end Coby Fleener.

With these superstars now on NFL rosters, the Stanford offense may see some early struggles in 2012. What many fail to realize, however, is that the loss of electric wide receiver Chris Owusu is potentially just as big a blow.

Owusu showed his blistering 4.36 speed in the NFL combine earlier this year. Unfortunately, he was unable to demonstrate that elite speed in several games last season due to injury. Owusu was on the receiving end of sickening hits against both USC and Washington State, forcing him to spend much of his time on the sideline with concussions.

Any offensive struggles for Stanford last season can be attributed to the absence of their significant vertical threat. With Owusu in the lineup, defenses had to respect his speed, and they tended to play a bit more conservatively. Without Owusu's speed to worry about, opposing teams were able stack the box against the run and call more aggressive blitzes. Luck's next favorite target on the outside, Griff Whalen, had much less threatening 4.6 speed. While the Cardinal certainly had three excellent tight ends, none were quite the electrifying deep threat that Owusu was.

The Stanford offensive line only allowed 11 sacks in 2011, which is less than one per game. However, seven of those 11 sacks came in the three games in which Owusu never saw the field. Oregon sacked Luck three times while Cal and Oklahoma State each sacked him twice. None of these teams had to game-plan against Owusu. This reflects the ability of defenses to become more aggressive when they have no vertical threat over the top to worry about.

While the loss of Owusu certainly hurts the Cardinal, I believe David Shaw has the right man to replace him. Ty Montgomery joined the Cardinal last season as a 4-star recruit from Dallas, Texas. He impressed as a true freshman, hauling in 24 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns. Montgomery also averaged 25 yards per kick return as the Cardinal's leading return man.

At 6'2" and 205 pounds, he possesses great size for a receiver. In addition, he also has great 4.4 speed. While that is not quite as fast as Owusu, it should be good enough to create more anxiety for defenses and force them to be a bit more conservative in their coverage schemes.

If Montgomery improves on his 2011 season, he should become one of the better receivers in the Pac-12. His threatening speed and talent on the outside should take some of the pressure off of his new quarterback, as well as Stepfan Taylor and the running game. However, if he does not perform as a true No. 1 receiver and significant vertical threat, Stanford may have a tough time moving the ball in 2012.

I don't have a problem imagining Montgomery emerging as Stanford's leading receiver for a few years to come. Look for him to have a big season as the Cardinal break in an offense full of fresh faces.

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