Double-overtime 20-17 loss stings Stanford

STANFORD - The sting of Stanford’s disappointing season is starting to simmer.

In the wake of a wrenching 20-17 double-overtime loss to No. 25 Utah on Saturday night, a player could be heard giving his teammates a profanity-laced speech in the Cardinal’s locker room while coach David Shaw was speaking to reporters.

That player? Seldom-used safety John Flacco, the brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. The senior is well respected among teammates because of how hard he works despite receiving little playing time, but they had never heard him speak with so much passion.

“It was a heck of a speech,” senior linebacker James Vaughters said, relaying the message. “We’ve got to fight to do better every week. It’s not about bowl games. It’s about paying respect to this game.”

Unfortunately for Stanford, words will not be enough to save its season.

Travis Wilson sent the Cardinal to their latest setback, throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Scott in the second overtime to spoil Stanford’s Senior Day celebrations.

The Cardinal (5-5, 3-4 Pac-12) dropped consecutive games for the first time since October 2009. They had been 10-0 following a loss under Shaw, and suddenly the two-time defending conference champions have bigger concerns.

Stanford needs to win one of its final two games on the road - at improved California and No. 14 UCLA - just to become bowl-eligible. The Cardinal haven’t missed a bowl game since Jim Harbaugh’s second year as coach in 2008.

It’s a surprising predicament for a program that began the season as the only one in the country to reach a BCS bowl each of the last four years. Now Stanford’s accomplished seniors, who played their last home game, are just trying to earn a chance to play a much-less memorable December game.

“I’m sad for those guys but also proud of them,” Shaw said.

Kaelin Clay, whose careless goal-line fumble swayed the momentum in a loss to Oregon last weekend, caught a 25-yard TD pass on a wheel route on the first play of overtime before the Cardinal came back with the tying score.

Jordan Williamson kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal - the same distance Shaw passed up late in the fourth quarter - to start the second session, setting the stage for the Utes’ dramatic finish.

The Utes (7-3, 4-3) improved to 2-1 in overtime. They had never played three overtime games in a season.

The teams traded fruitless possessions for most of the game as the defenses dominated. Utah’s Tom Hackett and Stanford’s Ben Rhyne took turns flipping field position behind booming punts, and the Utes’ rugby-style kicker often crushed the competition.

The Cardinal still had a couple of chances to win in regulation.

Shaw opted to punt from Utah’s 34 with less than 2 minutes to play instead of allowing Williamson to kick a 51-yard field goal, drawing boos from the home crowd. Michael Rector also dropped a deep pass from Kevin Hogan that would’ve put the Cardinal inside the Utah 20 in the final seconds.

Shaw stood by his decision to punt and, in what has practically become a theme late this season, shouldered the blame for his team’s shortcomings again.

“Have the slings and arrows come toward me,” he said.