3. Stanford – Is Ryan Burns ready to take the next step?
While there has been some shakeup atop the Pac-12 North recently, the Stanford Cardinal have been the consistent giant in the conference. David Shaw has continued to put the program near the top of the conference every season and into a contender.
With Kevin Hogan departing before last season, the team had to take their lumps with Ryan Burns at quarterback. As Burns adjusted to the role, the Cardinal suffered some key losses that ultimately left them in the Sun Bowl.
He ultimately ended up splitting reps with Keller Chryst and it normally would have created competition at the quarterback position. Chryst would tear his ACL against North Carolina and that leaves plenty of questions about his future.
While the Cardinal should once again be the model of consistency in the conference, it’s going to take Burns being the man in the absence of Chryst, until he’s healthy. No one should rule out K.J. Costello either in this scenario. After being given a redshirt last year, Costello is going to look to take the helm as well.
The Cardinal have proven that being a 10-win team is no issue. That’s not what they’re after however. They want another one of those seasons that ends with the Cardinal playing in a major bowl game.