The Stanford Cardinal played their final home game of the 2011 college football season as they defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 28-14. Stanford had little trouble defeating Notre Dame and were able to use their victory formation to close out the game. This was particularly pertinent because the non-contact formation provided an opportunity for senior wide receiver Chris Owusu to make one last appearance on the field for Stanford.
Owusu suffered a concussion in Stanford's November 5 win over Oregon State and had been sidelined since. He has had multiple concussions throughout his Stanford career and the injury against Oregon State would appear to have ended his season. The Cardinal still have a bowl game to play, but barring something unexpected, Owusu likely will sit out that game. He was the team's leading receiver and has NFL talent, but it remains to be seen what his football future holds.
If he does not play competitive football again, it was nice to get him on the field one last time. Owusu dressed in full pads for warm-ups and introductions but was not going to play. However, with the victory formation, the Cardinal were able to line Owusu up as the deep "safety" for the play. Shaw gave him explicit instructions to run off the field and away from potential contact if something went wrong with the play. Thankfully nothing did and he was able to enjoy one last moment in the spotlight.