Project CFB Top Ten: #6 Stanford Cardinal

If there was any question about how Stanford would do without Andrew Luck at quarterback, last year’s Cardinal Team answered with a resounding “Just fine.” David Shaw improved on his first season as head coach in 2011 with a final record of 12-2 and a Rose Bowl win in 2012, Stanford’s first since 1972. Looking forward to this college football season, it appears Stanford hasn’t lost any steam and is #6 in ProjectCFB’s preseason Top Ten.

Contributing to that ranking is the playmaking ability of Junior QB Kevin Hogan who took over the reigns for Josh Nunes in the middle of the season last year. Hogan has been named to the pre-season watch list for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation’s top player and is looking to build on his short resume after last year’s late season heroics that saw him lead Stanford to three victories against ranked opponents and a MVP award in the Pac-12 Championship before their win against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Several other Cardinal names have been appearing on pre-season watch lists. Safeties Eric Reynolds and Jordan Richards are being eyed as possible Jim Thorpe Award winners. Reynolds has also been listed on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy list. Also on the Nagurski watch list and the Bednarik watch lists are Ben Gardner, Trent Murphy and Shane Skov. Murphy, a semi-finalist for last year’s Butkis Award led the Cardinal with 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Standford leads the NCAA with the most pre-season selections for the Outland Trophy, presented to the best offensive lineman. Kevin Danser, Cameron Fleming and David Yankey are all on the list as well. If Stanford can live up to these pre-season accolades, the Cardinal could have college football’s best offensive line, making things very difficult for opposing defenses who attempt to get at Hogan and the Cardinal offense.

Coach David Shaw seems to be settling in nicely to his role as head coach after Jim Harbaugh’s defection to the NFL after the 2010 season. Shaw in his second year at Stanford was able to accomplish what Harbaugh could not, a conference championship. And if not for what some considered a controversial call to end the Notre Dame game, Shaw’s Cardinal team seemed to be on track for the BCS Title Game.

The Cardinal will have to deal with a stout schedule if they want to achieve what Coach Shaw says is their goal every year…winning the conference and the Rose Bowl “the only things they can control.” Stanford begins the season facing off with San Jose State, who almost upset the Cardinal last year in their route to a surprising 11-2 season. Stanford’s last half of the 2013 season is full of tough Pac-12 foes. The Oregon State, Oregon, USC and Cal games all lead up to the match-up with the Cardinal’s toughest non-conference opponent, Notre Dame. It is safe to say the Cardinal teams has had that game circled on their schedule, itching for the opportunity to take down the opponent who knocked them out of the BCS title dreams last year.

For many in the college football world, Stanford has the skills to do what no one else has been able to do for the past seven years: knock the SEC from the BCS title throne. They have the defense to take on the speed that typically defines teams in the Southeastern Conference and the Cardinal have the overwhelming offensive line to squelch the SEC’s hearty defensive lines. This 2013 Cardinal team is primed and ready to defend their Pac-12 Conference championship and possibly win their first BCS championship.

​​- Amy Norris
@amyjane72
amy.projectcfb@gmail.com

#13 Stanford Cardinal at #2 Oregon Ducks Preview

Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC, the #13 Stanford Cardinal travel to Eugene, Oregon to take on the #2 Oregon Ducks. Both teams are atop of the PAC-12 North, and although the Ducks look to have the division on lock, Stanford is still looking to pull the upset. Not only could Stanford shut down the Ducks' hope to play for a National Championship, but they could also shut down Kenjon Barner's campaign for the Heisman Trophy.

Kenjon Barner is looking to add to his Heisman Trophy
campaign tonight against the Stanford Cardinal.

Kenjon Barner has rushed for 1,360 yards this season, and scored 19 rushing touchdowns. He is definitely a Heisman hopeful, and looks to add on to his impressive stats tonight inside Autzen Stadium. Oregon's rushing game is ranked third in the nation, averaging 325.1 yards per game. Many of those yards are because of Kenjon.

Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota will also look to be apart of the Ducks beating Stanford and improving their record to 11-0 this season. Mariota has been rather impressive this season with 2,164 yards thrown and 28 touchdowns. He has worked for these stats, but he has two key receivers that have made it a little bit easier for him. De'Anthony Thomas and Josh Huff are those two receivers. Thomas has 378 receiving yards and four touchdowns while Huff has 355 yards and seven touchdowns.

Freshman QB Kevin Hogan wants to lead Stanford to
an upset over #2 ranked Oregon.

Stanford is led by freshman quarterback who just worked his way up to starting QB (Kevin Hogan). Although he hasn't started that many games for Stanford, he has been rather impressive, throwing 447 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. For a freshman, he isn't doing too bad. However, playing against another starting freshman QB in Marcus Mariota, is no small task.

Stanford's senior running back, Stepfan Taylor has a little over 1,000 yards rushing and nine rushing touchdowns. Taylor will look to have a dominant day in leading Stanford to pulling the upset in Eugene.

The key to this game for Stanford is going to be shutting down Oregon's running game. Definitely a tough task, if they can shut down Kenjon Barner, and maybe make freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota to make a couple of mistakes, the Stanford Cardinal could definitely pull this upset. However Oregon's offense has been insane, being able to score almost at will. Stanford is up for a tough task tonight at 8:00, but in college football you never say never.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#11 Oregon State Beavers at #14 Stanford Cardinal Preview

After two consecutive BCS appearances, the #14 ranked Stanford Cardinals now have a reputation to uphold. The University, the Fans, the Pundits, and everyone else, expect big things from the Cardinals. At 7-2, and after punting on the first two drives last week to 1-7 Colorado, Stanford Head Coach David Shaw benched starting QB Josh Nunes in favor of redshirt freshman Kevin Hogan. Hogan went on to lead 6 scoring drives and a rout of the Buffaloes, 48-0. While its easy for Stanford fans and players to get excited about this, they must be reminded that they were playing Colorado...and Colorado is no Oregon State. 

Saturday afternoon we are in for a treat with Oregon State vs Stanford

This feature match-up is taking place at "The Farm" at Stanford and will showcase the skills of young Stanford QB, Kevin Hogan. This game also features a battle between both of the teams sitting right behind Oregon in the PAC-12 and will more than likely be the odds on favorite to compete with Oregon for PAC-12 title. Additionally, the winner of this game could still be in line for a BCS birth, should Oregon play for the National Championship. The specifics of this game are really non-existent because the end result of the game is going to come down to the play of Hogan. While he looked great against Colorado, #11 ranked Oregon State is the 19th best team in the country for points allowed which means they will do their best to stifle the freshman QB. Conversely, Stanford could hold an advantage, because the only game tape that can be used for preparation against Hogan is last week's game against Colorado. Since he has played in no other games, this could pose a true challenge for the Beavers as they travel into Stanford. 

Either way, the fans all around are going to be treated to a great game and a true chess match as both teams need a victory in order to keep their hopes alive in both the BCS and PAC-12 contention. Stanford comes into this game holding a home field advantage and as a result Oddsmakers currently have them as a 4.5 point favorite (-4.5). With that being said, I honestly do not see any way that Oregon State finds a way to lose this game. They are tougher against the run which will put added pressure on the freshman QB. The score will remain low, but I definitely feel as though Vegas has this one wrong as Oregon State will leave the Farm with another victory.

The Sports Messiah's Prediction:  Oregon State wins and will cover (+4.5)

- The Sports Messiah