Stanford vs. UCLA: Score and Twitter Reaction

With a chance to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game, No. 8 UCLA laid an egg at home against Stanford. Using a power-running style and surprising efficiency through the air, the Cardinal dominated the Bruins with a 31-10 victory. 

This loss means two things for the Pac-12. First, the Bruins miss out on a chance to play Oregon next Saturday, as this scenario tweeted out by the Pac-12 Network shows: 

Second, UCLA's slim hopes of making it into the College Football Playoff are over. The Bruins already had a steep hill to climb with Mississippi State, TCU, Ohio State and Baylor also battling for that fourth spot, but a third loss eliminates Jim Mora's team regardless of what happens to those teams. 

As Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated wrote on Twitter, the drop from where UCLA could have been to where it likely will be come bowl season is steep:

While there is plenty to nitpick about UCLA's performance in a key spot, Stanford deserves all the credit for this victory. It wasn't some fluke effort where the Cardinal played their best and UCLA played its worst; Stanford dictated every part of this game from the opening kickoff. 

As Phil Murphy of ESPN.com put it, this was the Stanford performance that we have been waiting to see since the season started:

In fact, the formula used by David Shaw's team was similar to the one it used in defeating Oregon in 2012 and 2013. The Cardinal dominated the time of possession (37 minutes, 49 seconds), converted critical third downs on offense (9-of-14), ran the ball whenever they wanted (202 yards) and gave up nothing on defense after UCLA's first drive that resulted in a touchdown. 

All five of Stanford's scoring drives consisted of at least seven plays and covered at least 63 yards. That allowed the defense to catch its breath on the sidelines while wearing down UCLA's defense for the power running later in the game. 

The biggest surprise of the day was Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, who finished 16-of-19 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 46 rushing yards on seven carries. 

The often-maligned senior picked a great day to have his best game of the season. ESPN Stats & Info tweeted out information that would rightly allow one to call this a career game for Hogan:

Mandel pointed out why Hogan's numbers look even better than what the box score will show:

Hogan wasn't just a threat with his arm. The Cardinal took full advantage of their rushing attack to open up the passing game, which included their quarterback running all over the field. Here's how much success they were having in the first half, via ESPN.com's David Lombardi:

Of course, anyone who has kept track of Brett Hundley's career at UCLA wasn't entirely surprised by this result, as these two stats from ESPN Stats & Info highlight:

Even though UCLA entered the year with a lot of hype and was riding high coming off a victory over USC last week, beating Stanford in the regular-season finale was always going to be the true litmus test. The Bruins have been like Charlie Brown trying to kick the ball, while Stanford is always pulling it away like Lucy. 

UCLA wide receiver Jordan Payton said specifically to Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times that Stanford and Oregon are litmus-test games for the Bruins in the Pac-12.

"We can't say our program is there until we beat Stanford and Oregon," Payton said. "They have been killing it the last several years. It would be a big game for us as far as our culture. We haven't taken down the big two."

The game started off perfectly for UCLA, scoring on its first drive to take a 7-0 lead. That would be as good as things would get, as the Cardinal defense went on lockdown, via Stanford Football on Twitter:

Hundley, in particular, had a day to forget. Not only did UCLA come up short in its quest for a Pac-12 title, but he also ended the game on the sidelines with a hand injury in the fourth quarter, via Mark McClune of CBS5 in Phoenix:

Even though the loss doesn't look good for UCLA, it's not like Stanford is a bad team. Don't be fooled by the 6-5 record for the Cardinal. Their five losses came against USC, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oregon and Utah.

Three of those defeats (USC, Notre Dame, Utah) came by a combined nine points, while Oregon and Arizona State are two of the best teams in the Pac-12. You can't go back and replay those games, but Stanford was a handful of plays away from being 9-2 coming into this game. 

Stanford and UCLA will prepare for their respective bowl games, while the latter will also spend the offseason trying to figure out how to get over the white whale that is Stanford in 2015. 

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