1982 Stanford Cardinal football team

The 1982 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-10 Conference in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Paul Wiggin, the Cardinal had an overall record of 5–6 (3–5 in Pac-10, seventh).

1982 Stanford Cardinal football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
1982 record	5–6 (3–5 Pac-10)
Head coach	Paul Wiggin (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Fassel (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Mac Duff (1st season)
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium (c. 85,500, grass)

1982 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 UCLA $	5	–	1	–	1			10	–	1	–	1
No. 7 Washington	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Arizona State	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 15 USC	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Arizona	4	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
California	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Stanford	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Oregon	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Oregon State	0	–	7	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

This was the first football season for Stanford's new singular nickname Cardinal; from 1972 to 1981, it was the plural Cardinals.[1] Both represented the color.

Regular season

With consensus All-American John Elway at quarterback, the 1982 Cardinal were exciting - seven of its eleven games were decided in the fourth quarter - but maddeningly erratic:

• After an impressive opening road win at Purdue, the Cardinal dropped a 35–31 decision at home to unranked San Jose State, coached by Elway's father Jack, who became Stanford's head coach in 1984.

• In week 3 at #12 Ohio State, Stanford won on a last-minute eighty-yard drive, scoring the decisive TD with 34 seconds remaining. [2]

• In week 5 at #11 Arizona State, Stanford scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, only to lose on a Sun Devil TD with eleven seconds left on the clock. [2]

• In week 7 at Washington State, the Cardinal scored the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left. [2]

• In week 8 at home, Stanford scored thirty consecutive points to decisively defeat previously unbeaten #2 Washington 43–31,[3] which put Elway on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[4][5]

• In week 9, at home against unranked Arizona, it gave up 28 unanswered fourth quarter points to lose by fourteen. [6]

After a hard-fought 38–35 loss at Rose Bowl-bound and 12th-ranked UCLA in week 10, the Cardinal traveled to Berkeley for its eleventh game.

Elway's last football game at Stanford was one of the most famous games of all time, the 1982 Big Game versus rival California. It ended with "The Play," a kickoff return for a touchdown with five backward lateral passes that allowed Cal to win the game as time expired.

After that game, Elway congratulated the Stanford Band trombone player that got run over in the end zone. Although Elway never led Stanford to a bowl game, he had an accomplished college career. In his four seasons (1979–1982), he completed 774 passes for 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns. Stanford had a 20–23 (.465) record during his tenure. Elway's 24 touchdown passes in 1982 led the nation, and he left with nearly every Stanford and Pacific-10 career record for passing and total offense.

He won Pac-10 Player of the Year honors for the second time in 1982, and was a consensus All-American. In addition, he finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	at Purdue*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 35–14	64,381
September 18	San Jose State*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 31–35	57,027
September 25	at No. 13 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 23–20	89,436
October 2	Oregon State	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 45–5	39,400
October 9	at No. 11 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 17–21	70,823
October 16	No. 14 USC	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 21–41	73,859
October 23	at Washington State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	W 31–26	26,806
October 30	No. 2 Washington	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 43–31	55,213
November 6	Arizona	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 27–41	45,290
November 13	at No. 12 UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	L 35–38	78,452
November 20	at California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (85th Big Game - The Play)	L 20–25	75,662
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1982 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 42 Steve Brown RB 24 Mike Dotterer Sr TE 88 Chris Dressel Sr QB 7 John Elway Sr WR 10 Emile Harry So OT Chris Rose Sr WR 26 Mike Tolliver Jr RB 22 Vincent White Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 86 Kevin Bates S 20 Rod Gilmore Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 8 Mark Harmon So	Head coach Paul Wiggin (3rd year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim Fassel (OC) Larry Mac Duff (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[7][8]

Coaching staff

• Head Coach – Paul Wiggin (Stanford '57)
• Associate Head Coach – Ray Handley (Stanford '66)
• Offensive Coordinator – Jim Fassel (USC '70)
• Defensive Coordinator – Larry Mac Duff (CSU-Fullerton '71)
• Running Backs – Jim Anderson (Cal Western '70)
• Defensive Backs – Chuck Detwiler (Utah State '68)
• Offensive Line – Dick James (UC Davis '62)
• Receivers and Tight Ends – Dave Ottmar (Stanford '74)
• Defensive Line – Fred von Appen (Linfield '64)
• Asst. Coach-Offensive Line – Pete Mangurian (Louisiana State '77)
• Asst. Coach-Secondary – Mike Nolan (Oregon '80)

Season summary

at Purdue

San Jose State

at Ohio State

Stanford at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total • Cardinal 0 0 13 10 23 No. 13 Buckeyes 3 10 0 7 20 Date: September 25 Location: Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH Game attendance: 89,436 Referee: Glen Fortin

Scoring summary 1 4:22 OSU Spangler 31-yard field goal OSU 3–0 2 14:58 OSU Broadnax 1-yard run (Spangler kick) OSU 10–0 2 0:13 OSU Spangler 24-yard field goal OSU 13–0 3 10:56 STAN Harmon 23-yard field goal OSU 13–3 3 6:26 STAN Harmon 24-yard field goal OSU 13–6 3 3:30 STAN Dotterer 11-yard pass from John Elway (Harmon kick) Tied 13–13 4 8:47 OSU Spencer 2-yard run (Spangler kick) OSU 20–13 4 4:15 STAN Harmon 47-yard field goal OSU 20–16 4 0:34 STAN Harry 18-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick) Stanford 23–20

John Elway threw for 407 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winner to Emile Harry with 34 seconds remaining.[9]

Oregon State

at Arizona State

USC

at Washington State

Washington

Washington at Stanford

1 2 3 4 Total No. 2 Huskies 10 7 7 7 31 • Cardinal 7 17 13 6 43 Date: October 30 Location: Stanford Stadium Stanford, California Game attendance: 55,213 TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson

Source:[5]

Arizona

at UCLA

at California

Stanford at California

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinal 0 0 14 6 20 • Golden Bears 0 10 0 15 25 Date: November 20 Location: California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California Game attendance: 75,662 Referee: Charles Moffett TV announcers (USA Network): Barry Tompkins and John Beasley

Scoring summary 2 9:22 CAL Joe Cooper 31-yard field goal Cal 3–0 2 2:42 CAL Mariet Ford 29-yard pass from Gale Gilbert (Joe Cooper kick) Cal 10–0 3 5:29 STAN Vincent White 2-yard pass from John Elway (Mark Harmon kick) Cal 10–7 3 1:42 STAN Vincent White 43-yard pass from John Elway (Mark Harmon kick) Stanford 14–10 4 13:28 CAL Joe Cooper 31-yard field goal Stanford 14–13 4 11:24 CAL Wes Howell 32 yard pass from Gale Gilbert (pass failed) Cal 19–14 4 5:32 STAN Mark Harmon 22-yard field goal Cal 19–17 4 0:04 STAN Mark Harmon 35-yard field goal Stanford 20–19 4 0:00 CAL Kevin Moen 25-yard kickoff return after numerous laterals (Kick failed) Cal 25–20

[10] [11] [12]

NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
John Elway	Quarterback	1	1	Baltimore Colts (later traded to Denver)
Chris Dressel	Tight End	3	69	Houston Oilers
Vincent White	Running Back	6	163	New York Jets
Mike Dotterer	Running Back	8	222	Los Angeles Raiders
Chris Rose	Tackle	9	241	Baltimore Colts

Source:[13]

Awards and honors

• John Elway – Sammy Baugh Trophy, Pac-10 Player of the Year, Consensus First-team All-American, 2nd in Heisman Trophy voting

References

1. "What is the history of Stanford's mascot and nickname?". Stanford Athletics website. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
2. "Anatomy of a Miracle". Sports Illustrated. 1 September 1983.
3. "Cards spring Elway, rush by Huskies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 31, 1982. p. 1F.
4. "Bombs Away". Sports Illustrated. 8 November 1982.
5. Fimrite, Ron (November 8, 1982). "Oh what a notable victory!". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
6. "A Look at Stanford's Series With Arizona From a Different Perspective". PAC-12.com.
7. "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 2, 1982. p. 2B.
8. "Game facts (probable starters)". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 23, 1982. p. 25.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. "The craziest Big Game". The San Francisco Examiner via newspapers.com. November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
11. "Cal defeats Stanford on final play, 25-20". The San Bernardino Sun via newspapers.com. November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
12. "Weird, last-second TD leads Cal over Stanford". Santa Cruz Sentinel via newspapers.com. November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
13. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1983.htm