2011 Stanford Cardinal football team The 2011 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS college football season . The Cardinal were led by former offensive coordinator and new head coach David Shaw , as Jim Harbaugh departed following the 2010 season in order to become the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers . They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and are members of the North Division of the Pacific - 12 Conference . They finished the season with 11 – 2 in overall record , 8 – 1 in Pac - 12 play to finish in a tie with Oregon for first place in the North Division . Due to their head - to - head loss to Oregon , they did not represent the division in the inaugural Pacific - 12 Football Championship Game . They were invited the Fiesta Bowl , their second consecutive BCS game , where they were defeated by Oklahoma State 38 – 41 in overtime . 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 65th meeting between Stanford and San Jose State — the most times Stanford has faced a single non - Pac - 12 opponent . Entering the game with a record - high # 7 preseason ranking ( this ties the 1950 team ' s # 7 preseason ranking , the team ' s highest - ever ranking ) , the Cardinal achieved their 50th win in the series as 2011 Heisman Trophy runner - up Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third . In all , six Stanford players scored touchdowns , with running back Stepfan Taylor scoring twice on short rushes . Duke . The Cardinal held a 10 – 0 lead late in the first half due to an Andrew Luck touchdown pass to Coby Fleener and a 40 - yard Jordan Williamson field goal . Duke made a game of it after safety Lee Butler returned a deflected pass 76 yards for a touchdown and the Blue Devils recovered an onside kick on the next play . But Stanford held Duke to a single series , and following a short punt , scored another touchdown before halftime . The second half was all Stanford , as Luck threw two more touchdowns , Jonathan Stewart ran for a 30 - yard score , and Tyler Gaffney added a one - yard plunge to rout the Blue Devils . Arizona . Stepfan Taylor rushed for a career high 153 yards and Andrew Luck threw for 325 yards as the Cardinal held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half to win 37 – 10 . Arizona quarterback Nick Foles completed his first 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown , but after that , he was 7 for 16 and 41 yards as the Cardinal began to break down the passing attack . The victory was costly for the Cardinal , however , as junior linebacker and leading tackler Shayne Skov suffered a season - ending knee injury in the second quarter . UCLA . Coming into the game , Stanford trailed UCLA 45 – 33 – 3 in a series that dates back to 1925 and both teams had the same 19 – 19 – 2 record for games played at Stanford . Stanford ' s Coby Fleener scored on 18 and 51 - yard receptions and Stepfan Taylor added two rushing touchdowns as the Cardinal downed UCLA 45 – 19 . UCLA tight end Joseph Fauria caught two of the Bruin touchdown passes . Colorado . Andrew Luck threw for 370 yards — the second - most in his college career — and three touchdowns as the Cardinal routed Colorado , 48 – 7 and improved to 5 – 0 on the season , Stanford ' s best start since the 1951 season . Stanford linebacker Max Bergen blocked a Colorado field goal attempt in the first quarter and ran back the ball 75 yards for Stanford ' s first score . Fullback Ryan Hewitt caught two of Luck ' s touchdown passes with Griff Whalen catching the other . Three different running backs scored for the Cardinal on one - yard rushes . Washington State . Andrew Luck threw an interception on his first pass of the game , but recovered to throw four second - half passes — two to tight end Levine Toilolo — as the Cardinal routed the Cougars , 44 – 14 . At the end of the first half , Washington State had closed to within 10 – 7 on a two - yard run from Carl Winston , but that would end their scoring until a short touchdown dive with 14 seconds left in the game . On the ensuing kickoff of that final Cougar touchdown , Stanford ' s Ty Montgomery returned the kick 96 yards as time expired to give the Cardinal a 30 - point win . Stanford won its 14th consecutive game , setting a school record ( breaking the marks set in 1904 – 1905 and 1939 – 1940 – 1941 ) and extending the nation ' s longest current winning streak . The team won by its ninth consecutive 25 + point victory margin , the longest such streak in the BCS era since Boise State in 2002 . Washington . Stanford set a single - game school rushing record of 446 yards ( breaking the previous record of 439 set against Oregon State in 1981 , led by Darrin Nelson ' s 190 yards ) as the Cardinal overpowered the visiting Huskies 65 – 21 . Stepfan Taylor ran for 138 yards and a touchdown , Tyler Gaffney had 117 yards and a touchdown , and Anthony Wilkerson had 93 yards and two touchdowns . The Cardinal extended its streak of 15 consecutive wins ( longest in school history , and longest current streak in the nation ) , as well as 10 consecutive wins by more than 25 points ( longest streak in college football since the poll era began in 1936 ) . Washington ' s Chris Polk had two long touchdown runs to highlight Washington ' s scoring . USC . The Cardinal outlasted the Trojans in a triple overtime thriller , winning 56 – 48 , and remaining unbeaten and in the hunt for the 2012 BCS National Championship Game . The Cardinal led 10 – 6 at halftime , but on the first series of the second half , USC running back Curtis MacNeal broke free for a 61 - yard touchdown run to put the Cardinal behind in a game for the first time all season . MacNeal added another score on USC ' s next series to put Stanford further in the hole . But Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck led the Cardinal right back , firing a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Ryan Hewitt and adding a 2 - yard rush of his own to put the Cardinal back up by 3 at the end of three quarters . In the fourth quarter , Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley put USC ahead on a 28 - yard touchdown pass to Marqise Lee , which was followed by a Stanford field goal to tie the game at 27 apiece . With about 5 minutes remaining , Stanford began what they hoped would be a game - winning last drive , but Luck ' s pass was intercepted by Nickell Robey and returned for a USC score to put the Trojans on top . But the Cardinal recovered , and on the ensuing drive , Luck led the Cardinal for a tying Stepfan Taylor touchdown rush with 38 seconds left to send the game to overtime . After both teams scored in the first two overtime periods , the Cardinal had the ball first in the third overtime , scoring on a Taylor 5 - yard run and converting on the mandatory 2 - point conversion . On the first play of USC ' s possession , Barkley completed a 21 - yard pass to Lee to put the Trojans on the 4 - yard line . On the next play , Barkley handed off to MacNeal . Stanford defensive tackle Terrence Stephens reached up from the ground and stripped the ball , which rolled into the end zone where Stanford linebacker A . J . Tarpley pounced on it to end the game and secure a Stanford victory . Oregon State . Stanford rushed for 300 yards behind strong performances from all its backs , led by Stepfan Taylor ' s 95 yards , to hold off the Beavers , 38 – 13 . Andrew Luck threw for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns , while Oregon State ' s Sean Mannion threw for 252 yards and one touchdown . Luck moved within 6 passing touchdowns of both the Stanford single - season mark of 32 ( set by Luck in 2010 ) and of the Stanford career touchdown mark of 77 held by John Elway . Oregon . Oregon ' s LaMichael James rushed for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns as the # 6 Ducks defeated the # 3 Cardinal 53 – 30 . After falling behind early in the first half , the Cardinal closed to within a touchdown on an Andrew Luck touchdown pass to Griff Whalen shortly before halftime . The Ducks blew the game open in the second half , with two short touchdowns by James and a Boseko Lokombo interception of a Luck pass returned 40 yards for a touchdown . As of 2014 , Stanford has not lost at home since this game . California . In a rain - soaked game , the Cardinal held on to defeat the Bears 31 – 28 . The Cardinal scored on the third play from scrimmage on a reverse to Ty Montgomery , who ran 34 yards for the score . The Bears added two Giorgio Tavecchio field goals and a 17 - yard touchdown pass from Zack Maynard to Keenan Allen to move in front 13 – 7 , before a Tyler Gaffney run gave Stanford back the lead in the middle of the third quarter . Touchdown passes to Levine Toilolo and Ryan Hewitt in the third quarter extended the lead . The Bears scored two fourth - quarter touchdowns to move within 3 points with seconds to play , but Stanford recovered the onside kick to retain possession of the Axe for another year . Notre Dame . Powered by four Andrew Luck touchdown passes , the Cardinal defeated the Fighting Irish in Luck ' s final home game at Stanford 28 – 14 . With the first score , Luck tied John Elway ' s Stanford career touchdown total , and surpassed it . The Stanford defense held Notre Dame scoreless until midway through the third quarter , forcing a fumble and recording two interceptions . The Cardinal won its third in a row against Notre Dame , extending its longest winning streak in the rivalry that dates to 1925 . Fiesta Bowl vs . Oklahoma State . In a back - and - forth thriller , the Cardinal fell to the Cowboys in overtime , 41 – 38 , after kicker Jordan Williamson missed two late field goals , one at the end of regulation and one in overtime . Stanford rolled up 590 yards of total offense , including 347 passing yards and two touchdown passes from Andrew Luck and 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Stepfan Taylor , but Oklahoma State kept them close , forcing four ties but never taking the lead until the game ' s final play . Cowboys ' quarterback Brandon Weeden and receiver Justin Blackmon connected for three touchdown passes , but ultimately , the game was decided by special teams , with Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp connecting on a 22 - yard field goal in overtime shortly after Williamson missed his attempt from 43 yards .