2018 College Football Team Previews: Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Coach: David Shaw (73-22) 8th Season
Stadium: Foster Field at Stanford Stadium (Capacity: 50,424)
CSJ Projections:
3rd: Pac-12 (2nd in North Division)
2nd: California
21st: FBS
21st: Division I
2017 In A Sentence: The Cardinal won the Pac-12 North again, but fell to USC in the title game, meaning two of Stanford’s four regular-season losses came to the hated Trojans.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year DL Harrison Phillips led the nation’s FBS linemen with and eye-popping 103 tackles and is one of several football players on defense that head coach David Shaw will need to replace.
Key Player: RB Bryce Love is yet another Stanford running back that is dominating the Pac 12 and is currently the frontrunner in the early race for the Heisman this season. Though he could have chosen to enter the NFL draft after rushing for 2,218 yards and 19 TDs last season, he is staying in school for his senior year where he enters the season as the preseason favorite for the coveted award.
Fearless Prediction: Will this be the year where Stanford’s conservative offensive playcalling takes a back seat in order to showcase the Cardinal’s intimidating weaponry? Love and newly-healthy QB K.J. Costello on paper should be able to blow away most of the teams on their schedule. But will it be enough to get past USC and rise above the rest?
Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.
Reach him at: this email or click below:
