Despite big loss against SMU, Elijah Brown’s appearance gives hope for Stanford football

As the Stanford football offense prepared to take the field for its fourth drive on Saturday, the program looked in the worst shape yet under the reign of head coach Troy Taylor. The Cardinal did not even attempt to throw the ball downfield on its last two third-and-long situations, demonstrating Taylor’s lack of faith in the passing game under the direction of junior quarterback Ashton Daniels, who started today’s game.

On the other side, Stanford’s young secondary was getting torched in coverage, as SMU put up a quick 21 points to get out to a quick, dominant lead. Down three touchdowns to zero, the game felt well out of reach. To make matters worse, a sea of blue seemed to make up more than half of those cheering in Stanford Stadium — the recorded attendance of 19,117 appeared to be generous.

But as number two walked onto the field, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the future of the Cardinal. With 1:47 left in the first quarter, the true freshman quarterback Elijah Brown sat behind center, ready to receive the snap. 

“We were down 21-0 and we needed a spark,” Taylor said. “He was ready to go and I [wanted] to see what he could do in extended time.”

Though Brown had an all but perfect game, throwing an interception within his first three minutes of play, and subsequently another late pick early in the fourth quarter, the Stanford offense started moving the ball down the field in a more consistent manner. 

Coming off a turnover in the middle of the second quarter, Brown threw an 18 yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who stripped the ball away from an SMU defender to earn Stanford’s only touchdown of the game. The quarterback from Los Angeles also had other opportunities to lead Stanford into the end zone, but key drops from Stanford’s receivers prevented the Cardinal from capitalizing. True freshman wide receiver Emmett Mosley V, while normally a reliable player, particularly struggled to hold on to the ball, even going into the injury tent briefly in the second quarter. 

The defense followed their counterpart’s lead, holding SMU to 10 points in the second and third quarter, compared to the dismal three touchdowns allowed in the first. Stanford’s defense remained solid, holding the opponent’s offense off from halftime until late in the last quarter, as the Mustangs scored their final touchdown with 5:03 left in regulation. 

Brown also did not receive support from his offensive line and running backs, as Stanford managed to tally just 33 rushing yards — failing to complement the passing game in a requisite manner. In addition, Southern Methodist sacked Brown six times, preventing the quarterback from feeling secure within the pocket. SMU’s final sack even resulted in a safety.  

“We were just not physical enough up front in terms of getting movement in the running game,” Taylor said. “We really tried to establish it and they beat us up front.

“We weren’t able to run the football. It made us one dimensional.” 

Because of these factors, the stats certainly don’t favor Brown’s performance against the Mustangs. The true freshman completed just 16 out of 32 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. 

But by the eye test, Brown showed decisiveness, mobility and the ability to find open receivers– something that could not be said about the other quarterbacks on Stanford’s roster. Moreover, he was able to get the tight ends more involved, as junior tight end Sam Roush even had a career high of 75 yards. 

“[He was] very tough. He hung in there, took some hits and continued to go through his progressions, and for the most part made good decisions,” Taylor said. “It’s not easy to do as a true freshman, to come in there under that scenario. I was proud of how he hung in there.”

The 2024 season has not gone how Cardinal fans hoped. Despite modest expectations, Stanford has not demonstrated enough overall improvement to give fans much hope going forward.

But with a new, highly-touted quarterback now appearing to take the reins, interest in Cardinal football now has the potential to gain traction.

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