# 2020 Stanford Cardinal football team

The 2020 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by tenth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
On August 11, the Pac-12 Conference initially canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 24, the conference announced that a six-game conference-only season would begin on November 6, with the Pac-12 Championship Game to be played December 18. Teams not selected for the championship game would be seeded to play a seventh game.
On December 13, with a record of 3-2 and one game left to play, the program announced that it would not participate in any bowl game. The Cardinal won their final game, finishing their season with a 4-2 record.

## Pac-12 media day
### Pac-12 media poll

In the Pac-12 preseason media poll, Stanford was voted to finish fourth in the Pac-12 North division.
Media poll (North Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Oregon | 222 (35) |
| 2 | California | 176 (3) |
| 3 | Washington | 161 |
| 4 | Stanford | 105 |
| 5 | Oregon State | 76 |
| 6 | Washington State | 58 |

## Schedule

Stanford had games scheduled against William & Mary (September 5), Notre Dame (October 10), and BYU (November 28), but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Original 2020 Stanford Cardinal schedule :
| Date | Opponent | Site |
| September 5 | William & Mary* | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA |
| September 12 | at Arizona | Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ |
| September 19 | USC | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (rivalry) |
| September 26 | at UCLA | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA |
| October 10 | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry) |
| October 17 | Washington State | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA |
| October 24 | at Oregon | Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR |
| October 30 | Oregon State | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA |
| November 7 | at Washington | Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA |
| November 14 | Colorado | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA |
| November 21 | at California | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA (Big Game) |
| November 28 | BYU* | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 7 | 4:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Oregon | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | ABC | L 14–35 | |
| November 14 | 12:30 p.m. | Colorado | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | ESPN | L 32–35 | |
| November 21 | 8:00 p.m. | Washington State | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | FS1 | No contest | |
| November 27 | 1:30 p.m. | at California | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (Big Game) | FOX | W 24–23 | |
| December 5 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 22 Washington | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FOX | W 31–26 | 278 |
| December 12 | 7:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | ESPNU | W 27–24 | |
| December 19 | 4:00 p.m. | at UCLA | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | ESPN | W 48–47 $^{2OT}$ | 0 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Stanford years | Alma mater |
| David Shaw | Head coach | 14th | Stanford (1994) |
| Lance Anderson | Defensive coordinator / outside linebackers coach | 14th | Idaho State (1996) |
| Tavita Pritchard | Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks | 8th | Stanford (2009) |
| Pete Alamar | Special teams coordinator | 5th | Cal Lutheran (1983) |
| Ron Gould | Running backs coach | 4th | Oregon (1987) |
| Morgan Turner | Tight ends coach | 8th | Illinois (2009) |
| Kevin Carberry | Offensive line coach | 4th | Ohio (2005) |
| Bobby Kennedy | Wide receivers coach | 3rd | Northern Colorado (1989) |
| Duane Akina | Defensive backs coach | 7th | Washington (1979) |
| Eric Sanders | Inside linebackers coach | 1st | UC Davis (2005) |
| Diron Reynolds | Defensive linemen coach | 4th | Wake Forest (1994) |

## Game summaries
### At Oregon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 12 Ducks | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
at Autzen Stadium • Eugene, Oregon
* Date: November 7, 2020
* Game time: 4:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 46 °F (8 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV: ABC
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 4-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 3:25. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:30.
ORE – C. J. Verdell 10-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 0:54. Tied 7–7. Drive: 7 plays, 87 yards, 2:31.
Second quarter
ORE – D. J. Johnson 5-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Camden Lewis kick), 1:05. Oregon 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 96 yards, 3:59.
Third quarter
ORE – Travis Dye 14-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 11:13. Oregon 21–7. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:47.
ORE – Tyler Shough 9-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 0:53. Oregon 28–7. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 3:57.
Fourth quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 7:39. Oregon 28–14. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:32.
ORE – Cyrus Habibi-Likio 4-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 3:37. Oregon 35–14. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:02.
Top passers
STAN – Jack West – 13/19, 154 yards
ORE – Tyler Shough – 17/26, 227 yards, TD, int
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 20 rushes, 100 yards, 2 TD
ORE – C. J. Verdell – 20 rushes, 105 yards, TD
Top receivers
STAN – Simi Fehoko – 3 receptions, 88 yards
ORE – Johnny Johnson III – 4 receptions, 60 yards :

### Colorado

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Cardinal | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 32 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California
* Date: November 14, 2020
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Overcast, 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 1
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV: ESPN
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
STAN – Jet Toner 48-yard field goal, 11:45. Stanford 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 3:15.
COLO – Dimitri Stanley 55-yard pass from Sam Noyer (Evan Price kick), 3:20. Colorado 7–3. Drive: 2 plays, 57 yards, 0:40.
Second Quarter
STAN – Jet Toner 33-yd field goal, 14:13. Colorado 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 4:07.
COLO – Sam Noyer 7-yard run (Evan Price kick), 9:36. Colorado 14–6. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:37.
STAN – Jet Toner 28-yard field goal, 4:38. Colorado 14–9. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 4:58.
Third Quarter
COLO – Sam Noyer 10-yard run (Evan Price kick), 11:32. Colorado 21–9. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:28.
COLO – Brenden Rice 34-yard pass from Sam Noyer (Evan Price kick), 8:55. Colorado 28–9. Drive: 3 plays, 61 yards, 1:09.
STAN – Davis Mills 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 4:35. Colorado 28–16. Drive: 9 plays, 82 yards, 4:20.
Fourth Quarter
COLO – Jaren Mangham 2-yard run (Evan Price kick), 14:58. Colorado 35–16. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:37.
STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Davis Mills–Connor Wedington pass), 8:45. Colorado 35–24. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 3:08.
STAN – Scooter Harrington 1-yard pass from Davis Mills (Davis Mills–Tucker Fisk pass), 2:34. Colorado 35–32. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 3:15.
Top passers
COLO – Sam Noyer – 15/24, 255 yards, 2 TD, int
STAN – Davis Mills – 31/56, 327 yards, TD
Top rushers
COLO – Jarek Broussard – 27 rushes, 121 yards
STAN – Davis Mills – 6 rushes, 36 yards, TD
Top receivers
COLO – Dimitri Stanley – 6 receptions, 126 yards, TD
STAN – Michael Wilson – 6 receptions, 95 yards :

### At California

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
at California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California
* Date: November 27, 2020
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Clear, 64 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Matt Richards
* TV announcers (FOX): Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
CAL – Kekoa Crawford 7-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 10:32. California 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:28.
Second quarter
STAN – Jet Toner 27-yard field goal, 14:55. California 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:29.
CAL – Dario Longhetto 24-yard field goal, 10:15. California 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:40.
STAN – Michael Wilson 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 3:09. Tied 10–10. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 0:57.
Third quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 10:57. Stanford 17–10. Drive: 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:00.
CAL – Nikko Remigio 3-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 9:13. Tied 17–17. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.
STAN – Austin Jones 8-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 1:51. Stanford 24–17. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 4:28.
Fourth quarter
CAL – Christopher Brooks Jr. 3-yard run (kick blocked), 0:58. Stanford 24–23. Drive: 14 plays, 90 yards, 3:30.
Top passers
STAN – Davis Mills – 24/32, 205 yards, TD
CAL – Chase Garbers – 19/29, 151 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 21 rushes, 85 yards, 2 TD
CAL – Damien Moore – 10 rushes, 121 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Michael Wilson – 7 receptions, 88 yards, TD
CAL – Kekoa Crawford – 5 receptions, 52 yards, TD :

### At Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| No. 22 Huskies | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 26 |
at Husky Stadium • Seattle, Washington
* Date: December 5, 2020
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 278
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (FOX): Joe Davis and Mark Helfrich
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 9:53. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 5:07.
STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 2:05. Stanford 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:34.
Second quarter
UW – Peyton Henry 23-yard field goal, 11:59. Stanford 14–3. Drive: 13 plays, 71 yards, 5:06.
STAN – Nathaniel Peat 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 6:54. Stanford 21–3. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 5:05.
STAN – Jet Toner 42-yard field goal, 0:00. Stanford 24–3. Drive: 14 plays, 61 yards, 3:09.
Third quarter
UW – Sean McGrew 6-yard run (Peyton Henry kick), 12:20. Stanford 24–10. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:40.
STAN – Scooter Harrington 3-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 9:01. Stanford 31–10. Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 3:19.
UW – Dylan Morris 1-yard run (kick blocked), 2:33. Stanford 31–16. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:28.
Fourth quarter
UW – Sean McGrew 2-yard run (Peyton Henry kick), 11:03. Stanford 31–23. Drive: 9 plays, 92 yards, 4:11.
UW – Peyton Henry 45-yard field goal, 7:54. Stanford 31–26. Drive: 4 plays, -17 yards, 2:11.
Top passers
STAN – Davis Mills – 20/30, 252 yards, TD
UW – Dylan Morris – 15/23, 254 yards
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 31 rushes, 138 yards, 2 TD
UW – Sean McGrew – 16 rushes, 65 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
STAN – Simi Fehoko – 4 receptions, 61 yards
UW – Ty Jones – 2 receptions, 79 yards :

### At Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 6 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 27 |
| Beavers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
* Date: December 12, 2020
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 36 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV announcers (ESPNU): John Schriffen and Rene Ingoglia
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
OSU – Tyjon Lindsey 18-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 9:46. Oregon State 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:14.
STAN – Tucker Fisk 12-yard pass from Davis Mills (pass failed), 5:45. Oregon State 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:56.
Second Quarter
OSU – Zeriah Beason 8-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 12:34. Oregon State 14–6. Drive: 4 plays, 88 yards, 2:19.
STAN – Jet Toner 47-yard field goal, 1:16. Oregon State 14–9. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 1:14.
Third Quarter
STAN – Davis Mills 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 12:14. Stanford 16–14. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:39.
OSU – Tyjon Lindsey 30-yard pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes kick), 8:38. Oregon State 21–16. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:36.
Fourth Quarter
STAN – Davis Mills 6-yard run (Davis Mills–Houston Heimuli pass), 13:03. Stanford 24–21. Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 6:10.
OSU – Everett Hayes 26-yard field goal, 7:18. Tied 24–24. Drive: 13 plays, 67 yards, 5:45.
STAN – Jet Toner 39-yard field goal, 1:48. Stanford 27–24. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 5:24.
Top passers
STAN – Davis Mills – 21/29, 292 yards, TD
OSU – Chance Nolan – 17/30, 221 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 22 rushes, 126 yards
OSU – Jermar Jefferson – 18 rushes, 80 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Simi Fehoko – 6 receptions, 110 yards
OSU – Tre'Shaun Harrison – 5 receptions, 91 yards :

### At UCLA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Cardinal | 7 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 48 |
| Bruins | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
at Rose Bowl Stadium • Pasadena, CA
* Date: December 19, 2020
* Game time: 4:05 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), Clear, Wind 5 MPH
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (ESPN): Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, and Taylor McGregor
Game information :
First Quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 7:02. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:54.
UCLA – Nicholas Barr-Mira 31-yard field goal, 1:21. Stanford 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 5:41.
Second Quarter
STAN – Isaiah Sanders 2-yard run (kick failed), 13:42. Stanford 13–3. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:39.
STAN – Austin Jones 1-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 0:16. Stanford 20–3. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 1:45.
Third Quarter
UCLA – Keegan Jones 9-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 9:10. Stanford 20–10. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:41.
UCLA – Greg Dulcich 17-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 3:07. Stanford 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:12.
Fourth Quarter
UCLA – Chase Cota 23-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 14:54. UCLA 24–20. Drive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 1:25.
UCLA – Nicholas Barr-Mira 31-yard field goal, 6:28. UCLA 27–20. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 4:30.
UCLA – Jay Shaw 39-yard interception return (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 5:39. UCLA 34–20.
STAN – Simi Fehoko 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 2:34. UCLA 34–27. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:05.
STAN – Simi Fehoko 21-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 0:18. Tied 34–34. Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 1:20.
First Overtime
UCLA – Greg Dulcich 21-yard pass from Chase Griffin (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick). UCLA 41–34. Drive: 2 plays, 25 yards.
STAN – Isaiah Sanders 3-yard run (Jet Toner kick). Tied 41–41. Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards.
Second Overtime
STAN – Simi Fehoko 14-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick). Stanford 48–41. Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards.
UCLA – Kyle Philips 21-yard pass from Chase Griffin (run failed). Stanford 48–47. Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards.
Top passers
STAN – Davis Mills – 32/47, 428 yards, 3 TD, 3 int
UCLA – Chase Griffin – 9/11, 127 yards, 4 TD
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 23 rushes, 92 yards, 2 TD
UCLA – Brittain Brown – 29 rushes, 219 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Simi Fehoko – 16 receptions, 230 yards, 3 TD
UCLA – Kyle Philips – 7 receptions, 61 yards, TD :

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | |
| Coaches | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | | | | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | | | | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 2 | 45 | Walker Little | OT | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 3 | 67 | Davis Mills | QB | Houston Texans |
| 3 | 76 | Paulson Adebo | CB | New Orleans Saints |
| 4 | 114 | Drew Dalman | C | Atlanta Falcons |
| 5 | 179 | Simi Fehoko | WR | Dallas Cowboys |