The 2025 season has pulled up the curtains, and already the penalty book has marked its first entry. And who’s the unlucky one to get their name first written on it? Frank Reich’s Stanford Cardinals. They were facing off against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, August 23, which is when they landed in deep soup. The courtesy goes to their defensive lineman, Clay Patterson. Now, that’s not what Reich signed up for while serving as interim head coach for the 2025 season. 

Reich, along with Stanford, had high hopes for Patterson changing the scenes for the Cardinals. After all, the position ranked second-to-last nationally in total defense in 2024. But here we are. 

On August 23, Unnecessary Roughness tweeted, “Aura Farming results in a 15-yard penalty.” But what’s the hoopla all about? Chris Vannini elaborated a little more. He tweeted, “Hawaii! Stanford got penalized for a TikTok dance after a deep sack, and Hawaii turns the drive into a TD and a 14-13 lead over Stanford, late 2Q. Stanford had 45 yards of penalties on the drive.”

The Cardinals’ defense initially made a big play with a deep sack against Hawaii. But maybe Patterson celebrated too early, as his celebration drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That mistake, combined with additional flags totaling 45 yards on the drive, kept Hawaii’s possession alive. Now, that’s what you call a golden ticket. Timmy Chang’s boys took full advantage of Stanford’s falling into deep soup and marched down the field and scored a touchdown to grab a 14-13 lead late in the second quarter. But what’s this Aura Farming trend?

By now, it has been trending on X and Instagram. No, folks, it has got nothing to do with actual agriculture. This viral Gen Z trend is an act of curating one’s presence, more specifically, vibe, especially to gain admiration, attention, or envy from others. Patterson’s Stanford squad was up 13-7 on Hawaii in the 2nd quarter when he sniffed out a trick play and made a stop in the backfield for a big loss. The defensive lineman strip-sacked Micah Alejado in the end zone in the first quarter. He blew up an attempted trick play for a 12-yard loss late in the second half. And now the seventh-year senior got to pay the price for not controlling his urge to gain attention. And what is the analyst’s reaction to Stanford’s on-field celebration turning awry? 

CBS color commentator Logan Ryan, a former NFL defensive back, shared, “Clay Patterson aura farming right now. Hawaii goes with the trickeration. Clay Patterson has been in college for seven years. You can’t fool him. But then he does the foolish TikTok dance that looks like it’s gonna be a taunting call. Welcome to Week 0 football, people.” Now, it must be difficult for Stanford fans to digest this news. Why so? 

How Stanford has high hopes for Clay Patterson 

Patterson, who played four seasons at Yale, was a three-time all-Ivy selection. Not just this, he is tied for second all-time in Yale football history for sacks at 22.5. It’s the same player who changed his mind twice before making the trek up to California to play for Stanford in his last year of eligibility. When it comes to penalties, Stanford has often tread a steady path.

The Stanford Cardinal football team had a history marked by both discipline and occasional lapses in penalty management. In the 2015 season, Stanford committed 78 penalties totaling 648 yards. But that did not stop the Cardinals from ending the season with a 12-2 record. However, this is the same program that has set a high bar for disciplined play, committing the fewest penalties per game, 4.4 in 1967.  

Now, Reich must have high expectations from Stanford now that he is here for a short while after making multiple stops in the NFL.. As reported by Clutch Points on June 15, 2024, last year, Reich’s net worth was approximately $10 million. Even though, for now, Reich has signed a one-year interim head coaching role, he is estimated to bag a hefty amount of $4 million at Stanford. Remember what he said during the post-spring press conference?

“We want to dictate the game on offense. What that means is we want to run the ball on our terms when we want to run it. And we want to throw it on our terms, when we want to throw it. The whole point of this game is trying to impose your will on the other team,” said the interim Stanford Cardinals head coach. Along with on-field strategies, perhaps it’s time for Frank Reich to call his squad together for a crash course in discipline.