2012 Stanford Cardinal football team The 2012 Stanford Cardinal football team represents Stanford University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS college football season . The Cardinal are led by second - year head coach David Shaw . They play their home games at Stanford Stadium and are members of the North Division of the Pacific - 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 ) . Game notes . 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 Wilcats 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 . 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 quarter 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 . In an overtime thriller , Stanford upset # 1 - ranked Oregon 17 – 14 , all but ending the Ducks ' hopes for a return to the BCS National Championship Game and putting the Cardinal in the driver ' s seat for the Pac - 12 Championship Game and the Rose Bowl . Stanford ' s defense limited Oregon ' s rushing attack , then ranked third in the nation , to just 198 rushing yards , and held its leading rusher , Kenjon Barner , to just 66 yards . Oregon led 14 – 7 with less than two minutes to go before Kevin Hogan found Zach Ertz in the end zone for a touchdown catch that was initially ruled incomplete ; further official review overturned the call , saying that Ertz controlled the ball before rolling out of bounds . In the first possession of overtime , Ducks kicker Alejandro Maldonado missed a 41 - yard field goal . In Stanford ' s possession , kicker Jordan Williamson , who had been inconsistent most of the year and who had missed a game - winning attempt in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl , kicked a 37 - yard field goal to give the Cardinal the win . UCLA . Stanford defeated UCLA 35 – 17 to clinch the Pac - 12 North Division title , setting up a rematch with UCLA in the 2012 Pacific - 12 Football Championship Game . Stepfan Taylor rushed for two touchdowns , Anthony Wilkerson rushed for another , and Kevin Hogan threw a touchdown pass to Drew Terrell in a balanced offensive performance . Usua Amanam recovered a fumble following a kickoff and returned it for the final Stanford touchdown . UCLA ( Pacific - 12 Championship Game ) . The Cardinal earned its first Rose Bowl appearance in 13 years with a comeback 27 – 24 victory over the Bruins , whom they had met just six days earlier in their final regular season game . The Cardinal ' s rushing defense , ranked among the nation ' s best , gave up the most yards it had all season as the Bruins rushed for 284 yards , 194 of which came from Johnathan Franklin , who also scored two touchdowns . Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan threw for 155 yards and a fourth - quarter touchdown to tie the score . Hogan also ran for Stanford ' s first touchdown . Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson had two field goals , including the game winner with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game . UCLA kicker Ka ' imi Fairbairn missed a 52 - yard field goal that would have tied the game with 39 seconds left to send Stanford to its third straight BCS bowl appearance . Wisconsin ( Rose Bowl ) . Stanford won its first Rose Bowl in 41 years , winning 20 – 14 over Wisconsin , which lost its third Rose Bowl in as many years . The Cardinal appeared poised to run away with the game , scoring quickly on its first possession following a trick play where wide receiver Drew Terrell threw a 34 - yard pass to Jamal - Rashad Patterson . Stepfan Taylor added a three - yard run on Stanford ' s next possession . Stanford held Wisconsin out of the end zone on fourth and goal from the one yard line but after punting from their own end zone , were unable to stop the Badgers ' Montee Ball on an 11 - yard touchdown run . Stanford ' s Jordan Williamson added a long field goal , and then Wisconsin scored just before halftime to close within three points . In the third quarter , teams exchanged punts as both defenses held firm and allowed no scoring . In the fourth quarter , Stanford drove inside the Wisconsin 10 , but the Badgers forced a field goal keeping the game within a single score . But Stanford ' s Usua Amanam intercepted Curt Phillips on the next series , icing the game for the Cardinal .