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Stanford season preview: Best and worst-case scenario

By Charles Rahrig V

PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw leads his team out of the locker room before the second half of an NCAA Pac-12 football game against the Arizona State University Sun Devils on September 30, 2017 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. Visible players include Harrison Phillips
PALO ALTO, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw leads his team out of the locker room before the second half of an NCAA Pac-12 football game against the Arizona State University Sun Devils on September 30, 2017 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. Visible players include Harrison Phillips /
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The Stanford Cardinal will look to remain on top in the Pac-12 North in 2018.

Under David Shaw’s rule, the Stanford Cardinal have been the consistent giant in the Pac-12 Conference. They’ve been in the mix for conference supremacy each season and have been the top dog in the conference.

The Pac-12 North has become the best division in the conference and Shaw will look to have his program competing with Washington and Oregon for the division once again in 2018. In 2017, the Cardinal were able to take the North after finishing with a 9-3 record. They would finish 9-5 after losing in the Pac-12 title game to USC and losing to TCU in the Alamo Bowl, 39-37.

The biggest win of the season for the Cardinal was their 30-22 victory over No. 9 Washington at home. The big move that propelled the Stanford offense was inserting K.J. Costello at quarterback over Keller Chryst.

Costello helped lead the program to victories over Washington and Notre Dame. The quarterback will be without a big weapon on offense this season, after Dalton Schultz left for the NFL. However, while the quarterback will continue to form chemistry with Trent Irwin, Kaden Smith and others, he might have the best running back in the country to help him.

Bryce Love was one of the most dynamic running backs in the nation last season and he chose to return for another season with Stanford. He could very well be a Heisman favorite this season and being able to rely on him will make Costello’s job that much easier.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinal will have to replace some pieces. Safety Justin Reid was an impact player for the Cardinal during his time in Palo Alto. They’re also losing first-team All Pac-12 defensive lineman Harrison Phillips.

The Cardinal are essentially going to have a new defensive front having lost depth along the defensive line and linebacker spots. Jovan Swann, Michael Williams and Dylan Jackson should make up the new defensive line for Stanford. Bobby Okereke is slated to be one of those players the Cardinal will look to rely upon to make strides from the inside linebacker spot. It could take the defense a little bit of time to gel early on, but with some dynamic offensive pieces they should be just fine.

The best-case scenario for the Stanford Cardinal is that they reach the 10-win mark once again. They just barely missed it last season and if they are able to achieve it again this year, it will be the sixth time they have done so in eight seasons with Shaw as the head coach of the program. They have their annual tough Week 2 test against USC, but with the Trojans going through some change at the quarterback spot, that’s where Stanford should get the beat on them early. Their toughest tests will be road contests against Oregon, Washington and Notre Dame. Even if they drop a couple of those, they could win out and finish at the double-digit win mark and represent possibly in the conference title game again.

Best-Case Scenario

  • Aug. 31 vs. San Diego State – W
  • Sept. 8 vs. USC – W
  • Sept. 15 vs. UC Davis – W
  • Sept. 22 at Oregon – W
  • Sept. 29 at Notre Dame – L
  • Oct. 6 vs. Utah – W
  • Oct. 18 at Arizona State – W
  • Oct. 27 vs. Washington State – W
  • Nov. 3 at Washington – L
  • Nov. 10 vs. Oregon State – W
  • Nov. 17 at California – W
  • Nov. 24 at UCLA – W

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The worst-case scenario here is that USC is primed for that Week 2 contest and the Cardinal start the season with a conference loss by the second week. To make matters worse, dropping a tough game at Oregon after that with Notre Dame following, would mean the Cardinal stumble early and then drop a couple more along the way.

Worst-Case Scenario

  • Aug. 31 vs. San Diego State – W
  • Sept. 8 vs. USC – L
  • Sept. 15 vs. UC Davis – W
  • Sept. 22 at Oregon – L
  • Sept. 29 at Notre Dame – L
  • Oct. 6 vs. Utah – W
  • Oct. 18 at Arizona State – W
  • Oct. 27 vs. Washington State – W
  • Nov. 3 at Washington – L
  • Nov. 10 vs. Oregon State – W
  • Nov. 17 at California – L
  • Nov. 24 at UCLA – W

Stanford has a chance to be great this season and Love should have a special season. Still, they got three tough road tests and some home games that could be traps for them. This will be an interesting season for the Cardinal.