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It’s easy to point to a notable win during a head coach’s tenure at a program. It’s not as easy to count down a top 10 list of best wins through a coach who currently has a record of 86-34 as the lead man in charge of the Stanford Cardinal football team.
Well, that’s just what the Stanford Football Twitter account did, relishing in their quarantine time to give us something to debate. I bet you can pick No. 1, maybe even No. 2, but I also guarantee not everyone is going to agree with the exact list of the top 10. That’s the good-natured aspect to ranking anything like a top-10 list of best wins.
So, with that in mind, here’s their list of top 10 wins by David Shaw in his time as head coach:
No. 10 — November 7, 2013 vs No. 2 Oregon
(2011-present)
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
#️⃣
Nov. 7, 2013 vs. #2 Oregon@TyGaffney rushed for 157 yards on a school-record 45 carries in the 26-20 win over the Ducks!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/9CORMGRkeO
No. 9 — 2012 Pac-12 Championship vs No. 16 UCLA
#️⃣9️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
2012 Pac-12 Championship vs. #17 UCLA
Cardinal beats UCLA for the second time in as many weeks to clinch its first Rose Bowl berth since 2000!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/za1CAvWVTn
No. 8 — September 22, 2018 vs No. 20 Oregon
#️⃣8️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
Sept. 22, 2018 at #20 Oregon
A comeback for the ages at Autzen Stadium as the Cardinal overcame deficits of 24-7 at halftime and 31-21 with 4:39 remaining to win in OT!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/rZ8eBvP8Pn
No. 7 — September 15, 2012 vs No. 2 USC
#️⃣7️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
Sept. 15, 2012 vs. #2 USC
The defense dominated second-ranked USC in the Pac-12 opener, racking up four sacks, nine TFL and holding the Trojans to just 26 yards on the ground!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/IiSCASnYBJ
No. 6 — November 28, 2015 vs No. 4 Notre Dame
#️⃣6️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
Nov. 28, 2015 vs. #4 Notre Dame
A back-and-forth battle between two Top-10 teams went the way of the Cardinal as @ConradUkropina’s walk-off winner sealed an electric win!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/udEKlzmNVO
No. 5 — November 17, 2012 vs No. 1 Oregon
#️⃣5️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
Nov. 17, 2012 at #1 Oregon@J_Will_19’s 37-yard FG in overtime gave Stanford a win over top-ranked Oregon and propelled the Cardinal into the Pac-12 Championship!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/E9PBtbdEUv
No. 4 — 2015 Pac-12 Championship vs No. 20 USC
#️⃣4️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
2015 Pac-12 Championship vs. #24 USC@CMC_22’s 461 all-purpose yards broke Barry Sanders’ FBS record and led the Cardinal to another Pac-12 Championship! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/78W8eGRSGa
No 3 — October 29, 2011 vs No. 20 USC
#️⃣3️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
Oct. 29, 2011 at #20 USC
A 76-yard drive led by Andrew Luck in the final seconds forced OT, where @KULABAFI, @TerrenceSteph and @AJTarpley came up big in the 3OT thriller!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/3ghfatG5oi
No. 2 — 2013 Rose Bowl vs Wisconsin
#️⃣2️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
2013 Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin
A 20-14 win over Wisconsin gave the Cardinal its first Rose Bowl win since 1972 to cap a 12-2 season!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/JnZ9F5nY1s
No. 1 — 2016 Rose Bowl vs Iowa
#️⃣1️⃣
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 30, 2020
2016 @rosebowlgame vs. #6 Iowa
A memorable finish to an unforgettable campaign, the Cardinal jumped on Iowa early and often en route to a 45-16 win and #3 national ranking to end the season!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/hTFQ3ZZEBR
Important to note that the account also listed the following games as ‘memorable wins that didn’t quite make the top 10’ —
‣ 2013 Pac-12 Championship at #11 ASU
‣ Nov. 10, 2017 vs. #9 Washington
‣ Nov. 25, 2017 vs. #9 Notre Dame
‣ Oct. 5, 2019 vs. #15 Washington
So, do you agree? How’d you align the top 10 wins of the David Shaw era?