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On Saturday, Stanford will hold their annual Cardinal and White spring game. It will be held in the normal offense vs. defense format as it has in prior years. The controlled scrimmage marks the last time the Cardinal will be on the turf until the team is brought back together again for August training camp.
Stanford returns with 72 returning players from their 2014 roster; a roster that last saw a dominating 45-21 victory against Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl. The Cardinal finished the ‘14 campaign with an 8-5 record (5-4 Pac-12), beefing up their win total to 52 in the past five seasons.
Carrying out a strong end to the 2014 season, many eyes will be on Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan in the spring game. The young QB without question has tons of confidence built up, and although it's hard to make huge conclusions from one spring game, it's going to be a plus if Hogan continues to show the strong pocket presence he had last season. Not only will a strong outing add up more confidence for Hogan, but it will also draw in more hope for a successful 2015 offensive unit.
Although this technically does mark the first scrimmage of Stanford's 2015 roster, keep in mind that the Cardinal will be without a few key players.
Three defensive ends in Nate Lohn, Aziz Shittu, and California-transfer Brennan Scarlett will all not be available. Cornerback Ronnie Harris, safety Zach Hoffpauir (who might not return next season depending on the outcome of the MLB draft), offensive guard Brendon Austin, and outside linebacker Kevin Anderson will also not be suiting up. If the defense performs poorly Saturday afternoon, the fans in attendance should know they will see a different unit come the start of the 2015 campaign.
Highlighted by the Cardinal and White game, the school is naming the free Stanford sports festival "Cardinalpalooza". Seven varsity sports will compete on campus Saturday, including the 10th ranked girls tennis team, the no. 38 men's tennis team, volleyball, football, track and field, and also a softball game to end the jam-packed day of Stanford athletics.
Of course, the best Stanford-related sporting event to watch tomorrow is the football scrimmage, and below we have you covered how you can get your first glimpse of the 2015 Cardinal roster.
HOW TO WATCH:
WHEN: Saturday, April 11, 1 PM (PT)
WHERE: Stanford Stadium, free admission
TV: Pac-12 Network
RADIO: KNBR 1050 AM
Social: Facebook, & Twitter