The week before, the Cardinal beat Arizona 24–23 in an exciting conference game, while the Bruins lost a close game to the Ducks. UCLA had a record of 44–31–3 on the Cardinal before game time.
With ten seconds left in this UCLA's homecoming game and the Bruins behind by four points, Bruin quarterback Kevin Craft passed to freshman Cory Harkey for a 7-yard touchdown to win the game, 23–20, over the Stanford Cardinal in the northeast corner of the Rose Bowl Saturday afternoon. Two turnovers by the Bruins led to the 14 Stanford points in the first half.
In the game, Craft had 285 passing yards and Taylor Embree caught 72 yards, while Stanford's Toby Gerhart rushed for 138 yards.
Washington State
1
2
3
4
Total
Washington State
0
0
0
0
0
Stanford
10
21
20
7
58
Oregon
1
2
3
4
Total
Stanford
3
14
3
8
28
Oregon
17
3
7
8
35
USC
1
2
3
4
Total
USC
3
14
7
21
45
Stanford
10
7
0
6
23
California
1
2
3
4
Total
Stanford
0
3
0
13
16
California
3
7
20
7
37
The Cardinal traveled up to Berkeley in an attempt to hold on to the Axe and earn a bowl berth with a sixth win. The Bears led 10–3 at the half and ran up 20 unanswered points in the third quarter. Stanford was able to score two quick back to back touchdowns in the fourth quarter but could not close a 21–point deficit. Tavita Pritchard threw for 306 yards and a score while Toby Gerhart rushed for 103 yards and a score. Although the loss relinquished the Axe to Cal and prevented Stanford from becoming bowl eligible, Harbaugh set the standards even higher for 2009 by declaring that "Bowl Championship Series eligible is what we’re aiming for."[6]
References
^"Oregon State vs Stanford (08/28/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
^"Stanford vs Arizona State (Sep 06, 2008)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
^"Stanford vs TCU (09/13/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
^"SJSU vs Stanford (09/20/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
^Wilner, Jon (November 16, 2008). "USC 45, Stanford 23: The tactics, the turnovers and that strange final sequence". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
^"Stanford falls short of bowl berth once again". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 24, 2008.