Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 05, 2018 at 9:45 pm.

Stanford in rare prolonged slump

The question throughout the tenure of Stanford coach David Shaw hasn’t been whether or not the Cardinal will have a winning record, but rather, will his team win a conference title?

Stanford, though, has dropped four of its past five games and is likely out of the running for a Pac-12 North title after a 27-23 loss to Washington on Saturday in Seattle.

The Cardinal (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) made a valiant comeback effort, after going down three touchdowns before even making a first down, but is now in November without having clinched bowl eligibility.

Stanford will try to get back on track when it plays host to Oregon State (2-7, 1-5) on Saturday at Stanford Stadium.

Shaw, who took over the Cardinal in 2011, is pleased with his team’s resolve in tough moments but frustrated with its habit of needing to rally.

“When things are tough and dark and it’s us against the world, we are at our absolute best,” Shaw said. “I love that about our guys. The problem is we create the situation that puts us there.

“We’ve got to find a way to stop screwing it up to get to the point where we have to be at our best just to get back into the game.”

Certainly, an injury to senior wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside did not help. Arcega-Whiteside, at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, came into last week second in the nation with 11 touchdown receptions. He had to be helped off the field after suffering what appeared to be a right knee injury.

“J.J.’s an All-American,” Shaw said. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, receiver in America. When a guy like that’s not on the field, you miss him.”

Indeed, without Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello struggled and threw three interceptions (29 of 43 passing with 347 yards and two touchdowns).

Senior tailback Bryce Love continued his slow but steady return to form, with 18 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown, but he could never truly put his stamp on the game with the Cardinal trailing from basically the outset. Tight end Kaden Smith starred for the offense with eight catches for 107 yards and a score.

“We need to come out strong, faster, on both sides of the ball,” Smith said. “I’m proud of my team for fighting through all the adversity that we faced.”

Oregon State, coming off a 38-21 home loss to USC, toppled Colorado on the road the game before that. The Beavers had been on a five-game losing streak.

Oregon State’s offense is headlined by tailback Jermar Jefferson, who has 1,092 rushing yards and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.