Stanford Cardinal College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
One question, Stanford … why?
Why would you put together this schedule when the program is trying to push its way back into the glory it enjoyed up until 2018.
The program had a phenomenal stretch from 2009 to 2018 with eight wins or more in each season, and while last season was a bounce-back from the injury-plagued 2019 run, it was shaky.
But 4-2 is 4-2, and after going 4-8, it was a slide-stopping campaign in the weirdest of weird years.
Not only did Stanford have to deal with a global pandemic like everyone else, but five of its six games were on the road. Even so, it managed to come through with tight win after tight win.
2020 was half full – the Cardinal went 4-1 in games decided by five points or fewer.
2020 was half empty – the Cardinal were ten points away from being winless. But that’s obviously pushing the extreme, and the team deserves a ton of credit for getting through last season under the most trying of circumstances and succeeding.
So, again … why?
Set The Stanford Cardinal Regular Season Win Total At … 6.5
Why would a Power Five program willingly chose to play a full 12 game season of Power Five games?
As if the Pac-12 schedule isn’t tough enough, it misses Arizona and Colorado from the South – likely the two lightest teams in the division this season. But the program didn’t have any say about that.
It plays Kansas State in Arlington, Texas, goes to Vanderbilt, and just for fun, plays Notre Dame. If that’s not bad enough, the first home game isn’t until the end of September.
However, the dates with Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Utah and Cal are at home, and give Stanford credit for being one of those programs that doesn’t shy away from competition.
Now the lines have to be back up to the normal Stanford standards after slipping a bit. The running game has to be better, the run D has to be stronger, and the team has to keep winning those close games like it did last year.
Why? Because playing a good game every week might just make this the mentally-sharpest team in the Pac-12.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Stanford Schedule Analysis