Stanford Football: 3 takeaways from upset loss at home to Utah

3. Without any run balance, K.J. Costello struggled to keep pace

K.J. Costello did everything he could to keep Stanford in their contest against Utah on Saturday night. The Cardinal quarterback went off for 381 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-41 passing. He spread the ball around well, as Kaden Smith, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Trenton Irwin each finished with 100 or more yards receiving.

But Costello also tossed two costly interceptions, one of which was returned 100 yards the other way for a pick-six by Jaylon Johnson. He suffered four sacks that lost the Cardinal 30 yards on the field by the end of the game. It was a game of big passing numbers as much because of the volume required by the ineptitude of the running game as anything else.

Stanford tried in vain to utilize the ground game, handing off the ball 28 times. But because the team struggled to gain any positive momentum with their backfield, it put that much more pressure on Costello.

The Cardinal quarterback ultimately crumbled in the end, but while he did turn over the ball a few times Stanford also would not have been as close as they were in the second half without his steadying presence under center.

Now Stanford has a bye week to try to rebound from the inevitable tumble they will take down the AP Top 25. They next face Arizona State in a Thursday night game in Tempe in Week 8. Utah prepares for a Friday night showdown against Arizona at home next week in more #Pac12AfterDark action.