For the past decade of PAC-12 football, the Stanford Cardinals have built up a reputation for good coaching, a dominant run game, and winning a lot of football games. The same was true in 2017. The Cardinal rode Bryce Love’s stellar season to a 9-5 record and a berth in the PAC-12 Championship game. With Love returning this season, the future looks bright for David Shaw and the Stanford Cardinal.

Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football Still Existed): 5 stars

Stanford football has been pretty damn good lately. They have appeared in multiple top tier bowl games, have recruited high level talents such as Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey, and have been able to keep winning football games at a consistent rate. While Stanford might not be a nationally known football powerhouse, that should not take away from their accomplishments on the field which is why they receive 5 stars. 

Last Year’s Record: 9-5 (7-2 PAC-12)

Projected Returning Starters: 

Offense: 9 – RB Bryce Love, QB KJ Costello, TE Kaden Smith, WR Trent Irwin, LG Nate Herbig, C Jesse Burkett, RG, Brandon Fanaika, OT A.T. Hall, OT Devery Hamilton

Stanford has much of their offense from 2017 returning for 2018, and that should scare the rest of the PAC-12. Bryce Love had a fantastic season last year, and with most of his offensive line returning, look for him to wreak havoc on opposing defenses once again. KJ Costello also returns under center after having played in 11 games last season, and he will have leading receiver Trent Irwin back in the fold as well. This Stanford Cardinal offense should look to run the ball early and often and be a dominant force this coming season.

Defense: 4 – DE Dylan Jackson, LB Sean Barton, LB Casey Toohill, CB Alijah Holder

The Stanford defense, which is always known for being tough on opponents, will have a lot of holes to fill this season. The defense will be led by the four returning starters mentioned above, and they will be expected to provide leadership and experience. While The defense does not have nearly as many returning starters as the offense, there is a lot of production and experience that is returning. That combination should make this defense very good once again. 

Special Teams: 4 – Punter Jake Bailey, Place Kicker Jet Toner, Long Snapper Richard McNitzky, Punt Returner Jay Tyler

Stanford has a solid special teams unit returning for the 2018 season. They have punter Jake Bailey returning who averaged 45 yards per punt last season, as well as place kicker Jet Toner who converted 21/26 field goals last season. 

Key Losses:

WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside, DT Harrison Phillips 

On offense, Stanford loses their leading receiver from last year’s team JJ Arcega-Whiteside. He led the Cardinal with 781 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. While they do have the second leading receiver, Trent Irwin, returning to help soften the blow, the receiver group will have some slack to pick up. On defense, Stanford lost DT Harrison Phillips who is going to be very difficult to replace. Last season, Phillips led Stanford in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. That is going to leave a huge hole in the middle of their defense that will need to be filled. 

Five Year Recruiting Rank (Bill Connelly): 21

Stanford continues to bring in strong recruiting classes that fit their style of football. David Shaw has been impressive in recruiting players that can both play football at a high level, and meet the high academic standards that Stanford University holds. 

Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace All Name Team Member: Scooter Harrington

Alcohol Prediction for Fans by Seasons End: Red Wine

Since Stanford is Northern California and they are a pristine university, their fans should celebrate another successful season with a nice glass of some red wine.

Outlook:

While there certainly are some tough teams in the PAC-12, such as Washington and USC, that Stanford will have to go through, their roster has the experience and talent to make a run at a PAC-12 championship. Bryce Love and his offensive line returning will be the key to Stanford making another trip to Levi’s Stadium. However, Stanford’s schedule is going to be extremely difficult to navigate. The Cardinal have to play on the road at Notre Dame, at Oregon, and at Washington. Those games will make or break their season. If they can win the hard games and take care of the games they are supposed to win, this could be an incredible season for the Stanford Cardinal.