The 2012 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by second-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The Cardinal won their first Pac-12 championship since 1999 after defeating UCLA in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game. They represented the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl, where they defeated Wisconsin to win their first Rose Bowl championship since 1972. This was Stanford's third consecutive year playing in a BCS bowl game. They finished the season with a 12–2 record (8–1 Pac-12).
Schedule
Roster 2012 Stanford Cardinal rosterQuarterbacks
5 Evan Crower – Freshman 6 Josh Nunes – Junior 7 Brett Nottingham – Sophomore 8 Kevin Hogan – Freshman 10 David Olson – Sophomore 13 Robbie Picazo – Junior 19 Adam Brzeczek – Freshman
Running backs 26 Barry J. Sanders – Freshman 22 Remound Wright – Freshman 23 Jackson Cummings – Sophomore 25 Tyler Gaffney – Senior 29 Andrew Stutz – Junior 30 Ricky Seale – Sophomore 32 Anthony Wilkerson – Junior 33 Stepfan Taylor – Senior 39 Kelsey Young – Freshman
Fullbacks 10 Geoff Meinken – Junior 36 Lee Ward – Sophomore 85 Ryan Hewitt – Junior
Centers 61 Conor McFadden – Sophomore 64 Sam Schwartzstein – Senior 65 Khalil Wilkes – Junior
Offensive guards 50 Cole Underwood – Sophomore 63 Kevin Reihner – Freshman 75 Dillon Bonnell – Sophomore 76 Kevin Danser – Junior
Offensive tackles 54 David Yankey – Sophomore 60 Brian Moran – Freshman 73 Cameron Fleming – Sophomore 74 Brendon Austin – Freshman Wide receivers 4 Drew Terrell – Senior 13 Rollins Stallworth – Freshman 18 Jeff Trojan – Sophomore 20 Keanu Nelson – Sophomore 21 Jamal-Rashad Patterson – Senior 44 John Flacco – Sophomore 80 Sam Knapp – Junior 84 Jemari Roberts – Junior 87 Jordan Pratt – Freshman 88 Ty Montgomery – Sophomore 89 Devon Cajuste – Freshman
Tight ends 9 Brandon Gottfried – Sophomore 11 Levine Toilolo – Junior 46 Matt Kasner – Freshman 83 Davis Dudchock – Sophomore 86 Zach Ertz – Junior
Defensive tackles 56 Jacob Gowan – Junior 58 David Parry – Sophomore 72 J.B. Salem – Freshman 95 Lance Callihan – Freshman 97 Anthony Hayes – Freshman 99 Terence Stephens – Senior
Defensive ends 48 Kevin Anderson – Freshman 49 Ben Gardner – Junior 69 Eddie Plantaric – Sophomore 72 J.B. Salem – Freshman 79 Alex Yazdi – Freshman 90 Josh Mauro – Junior 91 Henry Anderson – Sophomore 92 Charlie Hopkins – Freshman Linebackers 7 Patrick Skov – Freshman ILB 9 James Vaughters – Sophomore OLB 11 Shayne Skov – Senior ILB 17 A. J. Tarpley – Sophomore ILB 24 Cameron Vanderwall – Freshman OLB 35 Jarek Lancaster – Junior ILB 40 Joe Hemschoot – Sophomore ILB 42 Alex Debniak – Senior ILB 43 Blake Lueders – Junior OLB 44 Chase Thomas – Senior OLB 50 Brent Etiz – Junior ILB 51 Sam Mercer – Freshman ILB 53 Torsten Rotto – Freshman OLB 93 Trent Murphy – Junior OLB
Defensive backs 2 Wayne Lyons – Sophomore 8 Jordan Richards – Sophomore 23 Ronnie Harris – Freshman 38 Ra’Chard Pippens – Freshman
Cornerbacks 6 Terrence Brown – Junior 15 Usua Amanam – Junior 24 Quinn Evans – Senior 28 Harold Bernard – Senior 31 Barry Browning – Junior 37 Chris Gaertner – Sophomore
Safeties 5 Devon Carrington – Junior FS 15 Brent Seals – Junior SS 22 Kyle Olugbode – Sophomore SS 29 Ed Reynolds – Sophomore SS 41 Cason Kynes – Junior SS 47 Myles Muagututia – Junior SS
Kickers 19 Jordan Williamson – Sophomore 47 Spencer Summers – Freshman 46 Eric Whitaker – Junior
Punters 14 Ben Rhyne – Sophomore 36 Daniel Zychlinski – Senior
Long snappers 62 Austin Tubbs – FreshmanSources: 2012 Stanford Cardinal Football Spring Roster
Coaching staff David Shaw – Head coach (Bradford M. Freeman director of football) Derek Mason – Associate head coach/defensive coordinator Pep Hamilton – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (Andrew Luck director of offense) David Kotulski – Inside linebackers Randy Hart – Assistant coach – defensive line Mike Bloomgren – Running game coordinator/offensive line Mike Sanford Jr. – Assistant coach – Running backs/recruiting coord. Lance Anderson – Assistant coach–outside linebackers/admissions Liaison Pete Alamar – Special teams coordinator Ron Crook – Tight ends/offensive tackles Shannon Turley – Head strength coach Nick Holz – Offensive assistant Aaron Moorehead – Offensive assistant Morgan Turner – Offensive assistant Tavita Pritchard – Defensive assistant
Game summaries
San Jose State
Known as the "Bill Walsh Legacy Game" (Bill Walsh was a graduate of San Jose State and a two-time head coach at Stanford), this game marked the 66th meeting between Stanford and San Jose State—the most times Stanford has faced a single non-Pac-12 opponent. In their first game after the Andrew Luck era, the Cardinal struggled offensively, but persevered over the Spartans, taking a 20–17 victory. Luck's successor at quarterback, Josh Nunes, threw one touchdown pass and running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for 116 yards and scored Stanford's other touchdown in the first quarter. The Spartans added two third-quarter touchdowns—a Blake Jurich run and a David Fales to Noel Grigsby completion—to tie the score. A fourth-quarter field goal from Jordan Williamson put the Cardinal in front to stay.
Duke
Drew Terrell returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown and caught a Josh Nunes pass for another as Stanford routed Duke, 50–13. Nunes completed 16 of 30 passes for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Cardinal defense stifled the Blue Devils, holding them to just 27 rushing yards. Stanford defensive back Ed Reynolds intercepted Duke quarterback Sean Renfree twice, returning one 71 yards for another touchdown.
USC
Stanford's defense held USC to just 26 rushing yards and sacked Matt Barkley 5 times as the Cardinal came from behind to upset the second-ranked Trojans, 21–14. Stanford won its fourth in a row against USC, its longest winning streak in the rivalry that dates to 1905. Stanford's Stepfan Taylor rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass from Josh Nunes that tied the game in the third quarter. Nunes later connected on a fourth-quarter strike to tight end Zach Ertz to put the Cardinal ahead to stay. Barkley, who likely finished his college career winless against Stanford, threw two interceptions as USC failed to score in the second half. Stepfan Taylor was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, and Stanford defensive end Ben Gardner, who recorded six tackles (3.5 tackles for losses) and a sack, was the conference Defensive Player of the Week.
Washington
Stanford failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time since 2007 as the Huskies beat the Cardinal 17–13. The Husky defense held the Cardinal to just 235 yards of total offense. Stanford's defense was stingy in the first half, and gave the Cardinal its only touchdown of the day when linebacker Trent Murphy tipped and returned a Keith Price pass 40 yards for the score. But the Huskies broke through on the last play of the third quarter, when Bishop Sankey broke free on a fourth down play for a 61-yard touchdown run. Price connected with Kasen Williams for a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Huskies.
Arizona
Coming off a lackluster performance the previous week in which Stanford failed to score an offensive touchdown, Stanford's Josh Nunes threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for three more as the Cardinal came back from a 14 point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Wildcats in overtime, 54–48. For the Wildcats, Ka'Deem Carey ran for three touchdowns and quarterback Matt Scott completed 45 of 69 passes (school records for attempts and completions), including three touchdown passes. However, on the first possession in overtime, Scott's pass was intercepted by Chase Thomas, setting up a 21-yard Stepfan Taylor touchdown run to win the game.
At Notre Dame
In a defensive struggle with a controversial ending, Stanford fell to Notre Dame in overtime, 20–13. For the second time in three weeks, the Cardinal failed to score an offensive touchdown, with its lone touchdown coming as Chase Thomas recovered an Everett Golson fumble in the end zone. Stanford's defense later knocked Golson out of the game and replaced him with Tommy Rees. Notre Dame would tie the score on a Kyle Brindza field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Notre Dame got the ball first and Rees connected with TJ Jones on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Stanford quickly moved the ball to first-and-goal from the four, and after three Notre Dame stops, had the ball inside the one on fourth down. On the game's final play, Stepfan Taylor dove for the end zone, but his initial rush was stopped. Although he eventually reached the end zone, officials ruled that his forward progress had been stopped. An official review did not overturn the decision and Notre Dame took back the Legends Trophy.
California
The Cardinal defense held the Bears to 3 yards rushing on the way to a 21–3 victory, their third straight Big Game win. Quarterback Josh Nunes threw for 214 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Kevin Hogan threw and completed his first career pass for the Cardinal, a touchdown to Levine Toilolo. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor rushed for 189 yards (a career-high) and a touchdown. He moved past Toby Gerhart for second place overall among Stanford's career rushing list. Taylor's 3,616 yards trails only Darrin Nelson.
This marked the first time that the Big Game was played in October. The game was moved due to scheduling issues created with the expansion of the conference and the television programming requirements of the Pac-12 Network.
Washington State
Washington State, winless in Pac-12 play, kept Stanford close, but the Cardinal prevailed, 24–17. The Cardinal offense sputtered all day, with just 12 first downs on the day and converting only 5 of 12 third downs. Stepfan Taylor managed only 58 yards on 21 carries and no scores, while quarterback Josh Nunes completed just 7 of 15 passes and a lone touchdown pass to Jamal-Rashad Patterson. For Washington State, quarterback Jeff Tuel threw for 401 yards and two touchdown passes, but was sacked by the Cardinal defense 10 times, leading to an overall rushing yardage loss of 16 yards. Tuel also threw a fourth quarter interception that was returned for a touchdown by Stanford safety Ed Reynolds, which provided the final winning margin.
Colorado
Stanford head coach David Shaw turned over his offense to quarterback Kevin Hogan late in the first quarter as Stanford gave Colorado its first shutout at home in 26 years, 48–0. Whereas in previous weeks, quarterback Josh Nunes had looked ineffective, Hogan was extremely effective, running for 48 yards and throwing for 184 more and two touchdowns. Stepfan Taylor added two touchdown runs, and Ed Reynolds returned an interception for a touchdown, his third of the season.
Oregon State
In his first start as quarterback, Kevin Hogan connected for two late touchdown passes to lead the Cardinal to a comeback victory over the Beavers, 27–23. Stanford had taken an early lead on a Stepfan Taylor run and a Hogan pass to Ryan Hewitt, but the Beavers took momentum into halftime on a Terron Ward run and a short field goal, and continued to control the game in the third quarter, taking the lead on a Cody Vaz touchdown pass to Markus Wheaton and padding it with two more Trevor Romaine field goals. But on the last play of the third quarter, Stanford's Taylor caught a short pass from Hogan and took it 40 yards to bring the Cardinal within 2 points. After Hogan's third touchdown pass of the day to Zach Ertz gave the Cardinal back the lead, quarterback Vaz fumbled on Oregon State's next possession and Stanford ran out most of the clock to secure the victory.
Oregon