Another Stanford Football season is upon us, but at this time, I’m still not ready to let go of the comforting glow of last season’s brilliant Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl blowout victory. I’m clinging to the last bit of off-season because we have no losses, no major injuries, and everything is still shiny with optimism, great possibilities and untapped potential in the face of another daunting schedule.
But us long-time Stanford fans have learned from past seasons that as soon as the first kickoff happens, reality can come crashing down all around us. When this happens, I typically begin pacing my living room, gnawing on my fingernail remains with intermittent outbursts of profanity-laced tirades. In truth it happens every year, and for me, it’s just part of being a fan.
I want to be calm and embrace the unknown, relish in this year’s question marks and be happy in this state of regular I-don’t-know shrugs, when asked what I’m expecting. I don’t know what’s going to happen this year or where we will end up at the end, and I’m perfectly fine with that….at least today…..
So with my (perhaps temporary) optimism, let’s review our mixed bag of the good and the "beat’s me" of Stanford football:
We will have a new quarterback (or two), but by game 5 or so we should know who will be taking the reins of the offense, and I’m certain it will be somebody big who possesses the talent to run the offense. The O-line will have enough new faces to cause worry, but even last year when we had several returning starters it took a few games before things really began working like a well-oiled tunnel making machine.
The team has a whole lot of pass-catching weapons for what-ever signal caller lines up behind center, but are any of them going to make the jump to the next level of excellence? Rector is going to be blazing up the sideline (good luck tracking him one-on-one), Irwin didn’t seem to miss a beat stepping from a high school field onto the farm’s grassy gridiron, and we will have to see who will be posterized by Owusu in 2016. Shultz appears more than ready for the spotlight, and the next surefire NFL draft pick from the Stanford TE pipeline.
Our backfield is packed with talent. McCaffrey is the living embodiment of the Bogeyman, tormenting Pac-12 defensive coordinators with endless nightmares, and along with the perfect counter-part, Bryce Love will make any team keying on #WildCaff pay dearly. It will be exciting to see them share a backfield, and flex out into the slot just to confuse linebackers and safeties alike. In addition, we finally get to see Cameron Scarlett do his impression of Toby Gerhart (maybe Tommy Vardell?) and move the pile. Still, I have to wonder, is this the year the rest of the Pac-12 catches up to the formidable Cardinal rushing attack?
The D-Line is going to be extremely thin again, and while the talent is there only Solomon Thomas has proven to be force, while we’ll have to hope for the development of the likes of Harrison Phillips and Luke Kaumatule. The linebackers seem pretty solid, but the middle spot is a giant question mark and we all have to wait and see if there is another Skov/Martinez gem waiting in the cupboard.
Our Defensive Backs are flat out scary, this is one position I have no concerns about at all. These guys will make a mess of the pass-happy Pac-12 offenses. Holder and Meeks had incredible first-year coming out parties (no doubt Coach Akina has transitioned to the West Coast flawlessly), we have yet another QB in the secondary (which should bring up happy memories of John Lynch and Michael Thomas), and Zach Hoffpauir is pulling a Gaffney by coming back to the Farm, thankfully. However, the question remains, will our pass-rush get there in time?
Nobody has these answers, and that’s the way it should be. It’s why they play the games, and it’s what makes college football exciting. Seems like the "experts" picked Stanford to win the conference by default, since nobody is sure if the other schools are ready to take over, and when anybody asks me I can only respond, "I don’t know but it’s gonna be fun to watch.". In my mind, Stanford usually plays better in the second half of the season, but this seasons schedule is packed with tough games early on, so I can only truthfully claim that we have some crazy skilled players, and that I trust the coaches implicitly. With that in mind, I can live with the results. This is my team, it always has been and always will be – I’ve been a lifelong fan and have been through so many seasons where making ANY bowl game was a huge deal, so let the chips, fumbles, bad calls and missed kicks fall where they may.
Of course it’s easy to keep this mind-set now, which will likely go right out the window half-way through the first quarter on Friday night.
GO CARDINAL!