Stanford’s David Shaw upset about UCLA hit on Francis Owusu

Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu, right, catches a touchdown pass behind the back of UCLA defensive back Jaleel Wadood during the second half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar) less Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu, right, catches a touchdown pass behind the back of UCLA defensive back Jaleel Wadood during the second half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, ... more Photo: Tony Avelar, Associated Press Photo: Tony Avelar, Associated Press Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Stanford’s David Shaw upset about UCLA hit on Francis Owusu 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu will miss Friday night’s game at Washington because of a concussion that, according to coach David Shaw, should have resulted in a personal-foul penalty against UCLA.

Owusu was hit hard by defensive back Tahaan Goodman after making a catch for 17 yards during the Cardinal’s 22-13 victory Saturday night.

Although Goodman clearly hit Owusu helmet-to-helmet, he was not called for targeting. Owusu fumbled on the play, and UCLA’s Adarius Pickett recovered. Owusu walked off the field and immediately was escorted to the locker room.

UCLA then marched to a field goal. Had Goodman been flagged, it would have been Stanford’s ball at the UCLA 10. On Monday, though, Shaw wasn’t talking about any competitive advantage. He was talking about player safety.

“I know that Francis Owusu was technically not a quote-unquote defenseless player,” Shaw said. “But in the era we’re in right now, in the mode where we’re trying to make the game safer ... you should throw a flag. It should be a penalty. The initial contact was helmet-to-helmet. It’s not what we want. It’s exactly what we say we don’t want.”

He said the rule should be changed to prohibit such contact “whether it’s a defenseless player or not.” Shaw brought up the matter with Pac-12 officials but wouldn’t say what their feedback was. “It’s up to them if they’ll provide that,” he said.

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A Pac-12 spokesman said a comment on the play would be provided, but it had not been received at press time.

Owusu’s brother, Chris, a former Stanford wide receiver, had several concussions in his career. After being with four NFL organizations after going undrafted in 2012, he has retired in favor of medical school. He plans to be a surgeon.

A decision has not been made on the availability of three other injured starters, cornerbacks Alijah Holder and Quenton Meeks and fullback Daniel Marx, for the Washington game.

Both Holder and Meeks went down in the second quarter. Terrence Alexander and Alameen Murphy replaced them and played “extremely well,” Shaw said. Each had four tackles and a pass breakup.

“We have depth,” Shaw said. “If those guys miss a week or two, or more ... I feel good about the guys we have.”

Sophomore safety Justin Reid made one of the game’s critical plays, breaking up a long pass from Josh Rosen to Kenneth Walker III in the closing seconds.

Had Walker caught the ball, the Bruins would have been in position to attempt a tying field goal. Rosen fumbled on the next play, and Solomon Thomas returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Thomas was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

Christian McCaffrey was “held” to 138 yards rushing and 165 all-purpose yards. “We are unbelievably spoiled, including” the media, Shaw said. “When this kid doesn’t get 300 yards of total offense, we say he got ‘bottled up.’ He was phenomenal. …

“He didn’t have the signature 80-yard run, but at the same time, he played a whale of a game.”

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald