Stanford takeaways: Cardinal change ‘narrative’ and find an identity. Will more fans show up?

STANFORD Senior cornerback Collin Wright was getting sick and tired of how the Stanford football association was being perceived Picked to finish last in the -team ACC following four straight - seasons and months after an abrupt coaching change the season looked like it might be spiraling for the Cardinal following two nationally televised losses to begin the year The Cardinal needed as Wright put it to change the narrative So they did Behind Micah Ford s career-high yards rushing and an impressive performance from its defense particularly in the second half Stanford began ACC play with a - win over Boston College giving interim coach Frank Reich his first conquest in the collegiate ranks Wright s pick six in the second quarter was one of a handful of big plays Stanford enjoyed against the Eagles following a - loss at Hawaii last month and a - loss to BYU in Provo last week For us we just came back every day worked hard didn t listen to all the B S and then just came out here and played to our standards Wright stated So definitely excited and definitely looking forward to the rest of the season What I loved about it the bulk is it was a complete group win Reich stated I ve been around selected good organization wins This is up there with the best unit wins I ve been around Here are our takeaways from Stanford s win on Saturday A DECLARATION SERIES Stanford s defense came up with the competition s biggest play late in the third quarter On th and goal on the Cardinal -yard line Eagles running back Turbo Richard tried to leap the pile at the line of scrimmage but had the ball knocked loose by defensive lineman Clay Patterson with safety Jay Green recovering in the end zone On the ensuing play Ford darted up the middle for a -yard run to the Boston College then scored on the next play to give Stanford a - lead after the extra point Stanford's quarterback Ben Gulbranson runs with the ball against Boston College s Daveon Crouch and Boston College s Chris Marable Jr in the first quarter at Stanford Stadium in Stanford Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group If Richard had scored there s no guarantee the Cardinal would be able to tie the match in the fourth quarter and they may have been looking at a - record going into next week s competition against unbeaten Virginia It was awesome Wright revealed It was a big emphasis this week winning the third quarter There are a lot of areas of improvement from our first two games Those types of things just change the momentum in the match Obviously a big stop Those points likely would ve changed the trajectory of the battle For the contest the Cardinal scored points off Boston College turnovers to help earn their first win of the season and open the season at home on a positive note Since spring ball since camp we want three turnovers a practice and three turnovers a championship Wright reported So we accomplished that as a defense REDISCOVERING AN IDENTITY It wouldn t look right for the Cardinal to have an air raid type offense and quite frankly they might not be able to find the personnel to be able to run such a scheme effectively Stanford s Collin Wright scores a touchdown against Boston College in the second quarter at Stanford Stadium in Stanford Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group No in the initiative s heyday of - years ago Stanford s success on offense came from running the ball behind a bruising offensive line utilizing their tight ends and grinding teams down That s what happened in the second half against the Eagles While it was tough for Stanford to run the ball in the first half with just yards on carries holes started opening up in the second half and the Cardinal finished with yards on carries I just felt the will in the Boston College defense that they didn t really want any part of it anymore Ford announced Just to go out there and execute take advantage of that Ford s yards was the the greater part in a match by a Cardinal running back since Bryce Love had yards on Nov against Washington Ford reported on his -yard run The line did a great job getting up to the second level and I just finished the play Quarterback Ben Gulbranson completed his first touchdown pass of the season late in the first half On rd and at the Cardinal Gulbranson identified tight end Sam Roush along the sideline at the -yard line where Roush eluded a tackle and outraced cornerback Isaiah Farris to the end zone as Stanford cut Boston College s lead to - Bryce Farrell had five catches for yards and tight end Roush s yards receiving on three catches was a career high We were running the ball well and we called one of our movements off it Gulbranson stated of Roush s touchdown Sam did a great job getting open and then finishing the run He s a special member and he can make a lot of guys miss after the catch Urged if he had anything to prove after an uneven start to the season Gulbranson reported I was just going to keep believing in my process I felt like offensively we kind of exposed particular rhythm late against BYU and it felt good to carry it out here Stanford s head coach Frank Reich watches the unit warm up before a battle against Boston College at Stanford Stadium in Stanford Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group INTIMATE GATHERING The revealed attendance for Saturday s meeting was the smallest crowd for a Stanford home opener in over years The actual number of fans in the stands looked far less with bulk of the upper deck at Stanford Stadium empty Related Articles Pac- power rankings Fresno State on top as Texas State slips Cal takeaways Bears take over late to beat Minnesota extend strong start to season CFB DeShaun Foster under fire Deion Sanders CU future Pac- meltdowns Cal slows Minnesota offense Sagapolutele throws TDs in win Game-changing play in second half helps Stanford beat Boston College in ACC opener Last season paid attendance for Stanford home conference games against SMU and Louisville dipped below an indication that there s work to be done to generate more local enthusiasm for the plan Still Saturday s crowd presented it could be loud and maybe the win will get more fans on board for Stanford s next home meeting on Sept against San Jose State I m just happy the guys got it done especially in the home opener Ford stated Fans presented out Crew manifested out Everybody indicated out Just to get it done feels amazing