E.J. Smith dashed 87 yards on Stanford’s first play from scrimmage, Tanner McKee threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cardinal held visiting Colgate without an offensive touchdown in a 41-10 season-opening victory Saturday night.
Smith, a junior who is the son of longtime Dallas Cowboys star Emmitt Smith, needed just 11 carries to amass a game-high 118 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinal. The 118 yards were just 15 fewer than Smith’s season total last year, when he had just one touchdown.
En route to the second 300-yard passing game of his career, McKee went 22-for-27 with one interception. Both TD passes went to wideout Michael Wilson, a 26-yarder that gave Stanford the lead for good with 12:49 remaining in the first half and a 13-yarder that made it a 28-7 game at halftime.
Smith’s other score came on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Casey Filkins’ 1-yard plunge in the first minute of the final period and backup quarterback Ari Patu’s 7-yard TD strike to Mudia Reuben with 3:15 left in the game completed Stanford’s scoring.
The Cardinal outgained the Raiders 497-218, allowing them to overcome four turnovers, including three fumbles.
One of the fumbles produced Colgate’s only TD when Asauni Allen fell on a muffed punt in the end zone, temporarily pulling the visitors from New York into a 7-7 tie early in the second period.
Spencer Biscoe’s 25-yard field goal provided the only scoring of the third quarter and accounted for Colgate’s lone points of the second half.
Raiders quarterback Michael Brescia went 9-for-19 for 57 yards with one interception. H added 43 yards on 13 rushes for the Raiders, who were playing a Pacific-12 Conference opponent for the first time in school history.
Max Hurleman was Colgate’s leading rusher, with 65 yards on 12 carries.
Stanford has a showdown with Pacific-12 Conference rival Southern Cal next week.
–Field Level Media