Josh Hoover Leads TCU to a 34–27 Victory Over Stanford in Season Opener

Justin Lamson (8) of the Stanford Cardinal runs the ball against the TCU Horned Frogs in the second quarter in Stanford, Calif., on August 30, 2024. Eakin Howard/Getty Images

STANFORD, Calif.—Josh Hoover threw for 353 yards and the go-ahead touchdown with 3:13 to play to lead TCU to a 34–27 victory over Stanford in the season opener for both teams on Friday night.

After Stanford (0–1) took the lead midway through the fourth quarter following a missed field goal by the Horned Frogs (1–0), Hoover engineered an efficient 74-yard drive to give TCU the win.

He completed all six passes for 67 yards, capping it with a 4-yard TD to Jack Bech that gave the Horned Frogs a 27–24 lead they didn’t relinquish.

Hoover also threw a TD pass on the opening drive of the game and scored on a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter.

Cam Cook put the game away with a 7-yard TD run with 1:51 to play.

That all led to a 10th straight home loss for the Cardinal, who are still seeking their first win at Stanford Stadium under second-year coach Troy Taylor after going 0–7 last season.

Stanford had taken the lead on Justin Lamson’s 1-yard run with 6:57 to play but faltered late. The Cardinal allowed the TD drive and then Ashton Daniels threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-16 from their own 19 with 2:14 to play.

Daniels threw for 163 yards and one TD to go with 89 yards on the ground. His backup, Lamson, who relieved Daniels in some short-yardage situations, had a touchdown pass to go with his TD run.

The Takeaway

TCU: The Horned Frogs overcame a litany of mistakes to come out with the win. They had 100 yards in penalties, several dropped passes, the two turnovers and a missed field goal. They will have to clean that up if they want to improve on last season’s 5–7 record and get back to their 2022 form when they went to the national title game.

Stanford: The Cardinal haven’t won at home since beating Arizona State 15–14 on Oct. 22, 2022, under former coach David Shaw. They started fast with a TD on the opening drive aided by three 15-yard penalties by TCU and scored another TD on a short drive following a fumble. But they couldn’t muster consistent offense and got stopped twice on fourth-down tries in their own territory in the fourth quarter.

Up Next

TCU: Hosts Long Island University on Saturday.

Stanford: Hosts Cal Poly on Saturday.

By Josh Dubow