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Officials penalize Stanford lineman Clay Patterson for popular TikTok dance

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels08/24/25ChandlerVessels
clay patterson
Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Stanford defensive lineman Clay Patterson received a penlaty for a rather peculiar reason on Saturday against Hawaii. Patterson was celebrating after stopping a trick play from the Rainbow Warriors as he came up with a huge sack in the backfield.

He jumped up and celebrated with a popular TikTok dance, but referees threw an unsportmanlike conduct penalty flag. Instead of a 12-yard loss, it was now a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down for Hawaii.

Ultimately, that penalty ended up being pretty costly. The Rainbow Warriors scored a touchdon on the very next play when quarterback Micah Alejado found former Stanford receiver Jackson Harris for a 19-yard touchdown. That gave Hawaii a 14-13 lead heading into halftime.

“Clay Patterson has been in college 7 years,” Logan Ryan said on the call. “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 college football, people. …Clay Patterson, trying to get trending a little bit, cost his team. That might get you a seat next to the coach on the bench right there, Rich.”

Patterson still got credit for the sack on the play and finished the game with two total. He’s certainly been a menace in getting to the quarterback, though he likely wishes he had this play back.

Clay Patterson is in his seventh year playing college football and his second year at Stanford. He began his career at Yale in 2019 and remained with the team until 2023. He left tied for second in program history with 22.5 career sacks.

He played only four games for Stanford this past season but appears to have earned himself a larger role in his second year with the program. His ability in getting to the quarterback will be a key skill for the Cardinal defense.

Ultimately, Stanford ended up losing the game by a score of 23-20 on a last-second field goal. Patterson will likely be kicking himself about that penalty, but he still had a solid game overall.

The defensive lineman will hope that carries over into the remainder of the season. Next up Stanford will look to bounc back from this loss when it faces BYU on Sept. 6.