Stanford Cardinal Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Stanford season with what you need to know and keys to the season.
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Stanford Cardinal Preview
Head Coach: David Shaw, 93-45, 12th year at Stanford
2021 Preview: Overall: 3-9, Conference: 2-7
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Stanford Top 10 Players | Stanford Schedule & Analysis
Stanford Cardinal Preview 2022
This doesn’t make any sense.
Then again, Stanford rolling to 82 wins in the first eight seasons of the David Shaw didn’t seem to add up, either.
How could a program with no recruiting base, the toughest possible academic requirements, and without all the trappings and fans of a college football powerhouse be as good as it was for so long under Shaw?
It won on the lines, it won because it had great quarterbacks, giant receivers, and amazing running games with a style that worked over and over and over again.
Everything crashed in 2019, but the 2020 team went 4-2 – making the 4-8 previous season seem like an aberration – and all seemed okay with a 3-2 start with acceptable losses to Kansas State and UCLA, and big wins over UCLA and Oregon to go along with a road victory over Vanderbilt.
And then …
Nothing.
No points, no running game, no run defense, and a disastrous seven game losing streak when nothing seemed to go right against a schedule of all Power Five teams.
It’s this simple in 2022 – the lines have to be better.
The skill guys are fine, the secondary should be strong, and it’s not like Shaw completely forgot how to coach, but the offensive line has to be a gajillion times better, the defensive front has to take over games again, and the program needs to get its groove back.
So is this going to be be the season everything pivots forward, or will this be yet another disaster that could signal a time for a change of direction that would’ve been unthinkable not all that long ago?
Give up trying to figure this out. One big season and it could all start to try making sense again in a positive way.
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Stanford Top 10 Players | Stanford Schedule & Analysis