Stanford Cardinal: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats
Stanford Cardinal: Key To The 2022 Offense
Get that running groove back.
Everything about the program’s style and success came from the ability to pound away and control the style and tempo of games.
Here’s the problem, though – 2017 is now a long time ago.. That’s when Bryce Young went off, and that’s coming off the huge run of production from Christian McCaffrey.
The Cardinal failed to hit four yards per carry in three of the last four years, and in 2020 it averaged just four yards a run.
After things seemed like they were turning around two years ago, last season the ground game failed to get to 90 yards eight times – lost all eight – and the 204 yards against Vanderbilt was the only time the ground game got to two bills since mid-November of 2018.
This doesn’t have to be 2016 again, but 100 yards per game and four yards per carry isn’t asking for the world.
And on the other side …
Stanford Cardinal: Key To The 2022 Defense
Stop … the … run.
What happened? Didn’t you used to be the Cardinal run D? The 2018 defense allowed fewer than four yards per carry and seemingly fell off a cliff allowing over 200 rushing yards three times.
Last year’s defense allowed 236 yards per game.
The front seven has been getting gashed. There’s size, and there’s toughness, but the line hasn’t done enough to get behind the line and ground games are working into the second level way too easily.
Utah ran for 441 yards against this D, but … Cal? Not exactly Wisconsin West, the Bears averaged over ten yards per carry with 352 yards in the 41-11 win.
This downward trend with the run defense has to stop immediately with USC, Washington, and Oregon coming up in the first four games.
Stanford Cardinal: Key Player To The 2022 Season
OT Walter Rouse, Sr.
The 6-6, 321-pounder wasn’t one of the five-star super-recruits Stanford occasionally gets for the offensive front, but he wasn’t too far off.
He was good right away in 2019, earned all-star honors in 2020, and had a ton of hype going into last year. He started every game at left tackle, but he was just okay.
He has to be the star of a veteran line that has to be night-and-day better. The Cardinal need to run block better, pass protect better, and generally just be better. That starts with a monster season out of 75.
Stanford Cardinal: Key Transfer
S Patrick Fields, Sr.
There might be a slew of problems with the Cardinal, but the talent and experience are there in the secondary. Things just got even better by getting a veteran Oklahoma safety to throw into the mix.
A two-time Honorable Mention All-Big 12 performer, made 201 tackles with three picks and ten broken up passes in his four seasons, rising up with his best season yet in 2021. He can make plays behind the line, too.
Stanford Key Game To The 2022 Season
USC, Sept. 10
Stanford came up with its best performance of the season, won 42-28 over USC, and that effectively turned out to be the end of the Clay Helton era.
The Trojans should be night-and-day stronger and more dangerous than it was when it hosted Stanford a year earlier on September 11th of 2021.
Whatever.
Win the Pac-12 opener, and all of a sudden Stanford might show that it’s night-and-day better than it was last year around the same time, too.
Stanford Cardinal: 2021 Fun Stats
– Sacks: Opponents 31 for 165 yards – Stanford 15 for 101 yards
– Fumbles: Stanford 11 (lost 7) – Opponents 8 (lost 3)
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 33 – Stanford 13
Stanford 2022 Preview
Offense, Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Stanford Top 10 Players | Stanford Schedule & Analysis