Stanford Cardinal: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Stanford season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Stanford season with what you need to know.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
Top Players | Keys To The Season
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
Stanford Schedule Analysis
– Stanford Cardinal Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

2020 Record: 4-2 overall, 4-2 in Pac-12
Head Coach: David Shaw, 11th year, 90-36
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 31
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 35
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 98

Stanford Cardinal College Football Preview 2021: Offense

Very. very quietly the Stanford offense had a nice comeback year. The team only played in six games, but it scored 24 or more in five of them after doing that just four times in the 12-game 2019 clunker.

The running game wasn’t special, but new Houston Texan Davis Mills and the passing attack were strong as the O led the Pac-12 in third down conversions and did a great job of controlling the clock. Eight starters should be back for what could be an even better year if …

The program can get a steady starting quarterback to replace Mills. It’s Stanford, so it has plenty of 6-4, 220ish-pound NFL-looking passing quarterbacks waiting in the wings, but it needs one with more experience.

Jack West is a 6-4, 215-pounder who threw 19 passes last year and was solid when he had his chances, and Tanner McKee is a 6-6, 228-pound former superstar recruit who spent a few years on an LDS Church mission and got his feet wet in the offense last season. McKee has the slightest of edges going into fall camp.

Leading receiver Simi Fehoko is gone to the Dallas Cowboys, but 6-4, 205-pond Brycen Tremayne is back after averaging close to 19 yards per catch and finishing second on the team in yards. Michael Wilson was the second-leading receiver with 19 catches in just four games, and Elijah Higgins makes it three of the top four targets back.

The offensive line doesn’t have Foster Sarell anymore at tackle and misses Drew Dalman at center, but the group that finished seven in the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed and was okay for the ground game gets back three starters. 6-6, 320-pound Walter Rouse is the main man for the line at left tackle.

The running game wasn’t amazing, but it got back over four yards per carry after a rough few years. Austin Jones worked his way into a team-high 550 yards and nine scores, and Nathaniel Peat averaged over seven yards per carry with 204 yards. The 1-2 punch is back along with 220-pound Justus Woods to add a little thump.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
Top Players | Keys To The Season
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
Stanford Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Stanford Cardinal College Football Preview 2021: Defense

CFN 1-130 Rankings: Where do Notre Dame, opponents fall?

Where does CFN rank Notre Dame and all their opponents ahead of the 2020 season? Find out here what the Irish are in store for this fall!

We’re in the time that we’re supposed to be counting down the days until college football kicks off.  Although we’re counting days, nobody has any clue what date we’ll actually see games since the pandemic doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

However, Pete Fiutak over at College Football News did his annual project where he puts together team previews of all 130 teams in Division 1 and ranks the teams 1-130.

Where does Notre Dame rank?  And where do the teams Notre Dame’s scheduled to play fall in?

We’ll give them to you in different categories that we determined on our own:

Great: Top 5
Really Good:  Top 20
Pretty Solid:  21-40
OK:  41-55
Meh:  56-75
Bad: 76-90
Awful:  91-130

Let’s start with the lowest and work to the highest:

College Football News Preview 2020: Stanford Cardinal

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Stanford Cardinal season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Stanford Cardinal season with what you need to know.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
Schedule Analysis
– Stanford Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-6 in Pac-12
Head Coach: David Shaw, 10th year, 86-34
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 59
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 98
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 35

Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: Stanford Cardinal Offense 3 Things To Know

The Cardinal were obliterated by injuries last year on the offensive side. QB KJ Costello – now with Mississippi State – was hurt throughout the season, the line was decimated from the start with star tackle Walker Little going out for the year in the opener, and it all fell apart from there.

Stanford couldn’t run a lick, struggled to score – coming up with 27 points or fewer in ten games – and missed the downfield passing attack that dominated the previous season.

With the caveat that everyone can get and stay healthy, everything changes if the line is back to normal.

When he’s 100%, Little is among the best offensive tackles in college football, but he’s got to get past his knee injury. Foster Sarrell is a talent at the other tackle spot, and Drew Dalman is an all-star caliber center. It didn’t help that three reserve linemen transferred out.


CFN in 60 Video: Stanford Cardinal Preview
[jwplayer NCN5Yh3o]


The transfer portal was an issue this offseason for both sides of the ball, but the biggest loss could be Costello if he’s healthy and rocks for Mike Leach at MSU. However, there’s no looking over the shoulder for Davis Mills, another high-end talent who’s had a problem staying healthy. Between him, Jack West and Tanner McKee, the quarterback situation is more than fine.

It’s Stanford – all the receivers are very big and very physical. TE Colby Parkinson took off early for the NFL, but leading receivers Michael Wilson and Simi Fehoko are back. In all, four of the top five targets are expected to return, and the running backs play roles in the receiving game.

The running game that was so dominant for years hit the skids in 2018 and crashed even further last season. The Cardinal – mostly due to a banged up O line – averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and ran for a mere 1,266 yards and eight scores. Seven of those touchdowns came from Cameron Scarlett, but he’s done.

Sophomore Austin Jones is back after finishing second on the team with just 227 yards and a score. Nathan Peat is a quick option – he only ran for 57 yards – and EJ Smith is a good-looking recruit who could take over right away.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Stanford Cardinal Defense 3 Things To Know