Stanford drops stunner to Sacramento State at home on last-minute touchdown
Stanford coach Troy Taylor saw the team he left come into his new home Saturday night and spoil his home debut.
A field goal from Joshua Karty less than two minutes into the fourth quarter tied the game at 23-all. After the two sides exchanged field goals, Sacramento State took over with 2:23 to play at its 47. A 34-yard punt from Stanford set the Hornets up in prime position to steal a win on the road.
Three plays in, quarterback Kaiden Bennett hit Marcus Fulcher on a flip pass while falling to the ground, and Fulcher somehow managed to evade three Stanford tacklers down the sideline to race for a 49-yard game-winner.
Sac State forced a four-play, turnover on downs from Stanford on the following possession to win 30-23.
ARE YOU KIDDING‼️‼️@SacHornetsFB takes the lead at Stanford#ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/c6GU2q6Ra0
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) September 17, 2023
Stanford played with two quarterbacks again on Saturday, and Ashton Daniels again struggled. He went 4-for-7 for 69 yards and an interception. Justin Lamson didn’t fare much better, completing seven of his 17 passes for 138 yards and a pick.
Daniels had a touchdown pass, but Stanford could never quite find a rhythm on offense.
The Cardinal began the day with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions, but they managed just nine points and 4.2 yards per play the rest of the way.
Sacramento State threw a pair of interceptions itself, but those were the only stops Stanford was able to create on the evening.
The Cardinal (1-2, 0-1 Pac-12) host Arizona next Saturday at 4 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.