Stanford’s passing game has continued to sputter in the first season under general manager Andrew Luck.
The Cardinal didn’t get inside the BYU 40 until the fourth quarter in a 27-3 loss Saturday night in Provo, Utah.
After throwing for 109 yards and an interception in a season-opening 23-20 loss at Hawaii, redshirt senior Ben Gulbranson was 17 of 32 passing for 142 yards and committed three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — against the Cougars.
Stanford (0-2) managed just 161 yards of offense in all.
It was just the third time since 2007 the Cardinal failed to score a touchdown. Two years ago they lost 42-6 against Oregon, and lost 16-6 in the 2015 opener against Northwestern.
Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich said he never considered making a change at quarterback during the loss.
“No, we did not talk about any switch,” Reich said. “Listen, I’m not going to make any quick judgment on this. I’ve been around too long to understand that quarterback play is the byproduct of a lot of things, and we need the protection to be better. We need to coach better.
“Yeah, we need to make a few throws as well. But we need to go back and look at the tape.”
On eight first-half drives, Stanford gained just 20 yards, turned the ball over twice inside its 20, and allowed a safety on a completed pass.
Gulbranson overthrew receiver Myles Libman on a short crossing pattern and the ensuing interception was returned to the Stanford 17. He then was sacked when right tackle Khalil House was beaten cleanly by an edge rusher and lost a fumble at the Stanford 5. Later in the quarter, Gulbranson completed a pass to receiver Marcus Brown, who was tackled in his end zone.
Still, interim coach Frank Reich stuck with Gulbranson, who transferred from Oregon State after spring practice, for the entire game.
The Cardinal defense held the Cougars (2-0) to field goals after the first-half turnovers and only trailed 17-0 at halftime, but BYU opened the second half with a touchdown and cruised to victory.
Emmet Kenney’s 26-yard field goal with 10:31 remaining prevented the shutout.
True freshman Bear Bachmeier, who committed to Stanford before transferring to BYU after spring practice, was 17 of 27 for 175 yards. Older brother Tiger Bachmeier, who spent his first two seasons as Stanford, had a 44-yard punt return for the Cougars.