What the heck happened to Stanford this year?

The Stanford Cardinal used to be a perennial Pac-12 power but David Shaw’s program is in danger of missing a bowl game. How did this happen?

2019 hasn’t been kind to the Stanford Cardinal. For a program that was once the best example of consistent success in the Pac-12 through the 2010s, 2019 has been an abysmal season for David Shaw and the Cardinal. Why have things gone south for Stanford in a hurry this season?

To put in perspective just how much Stanford is struggling in 2019, some context is needed. So far, Stanford is 4-5 on the year and it’s very possible that it’ll miss a bowl game this season.

The last time that happened was 2008 in Jim Harbaugh‘s second season in Palo Alto. Since 2009, Stanford has won at least eight games a season every season, up to this year. Six times in that span, the Cardinal has claimed at least 10 wins. In the 10 seasons from 2009-2018, Stanford averaged 10.2 wins a season.

There’s a very real possibility that this team doesn’t get to six wins in 2019.

What led to these struggles?

Arguably the biggest factor to Stanford’s decline in 2019 is unforeseeable injury issues. It’s almost impossible to predict when a player will get hurt and oftentimes it’s incredibly difficult to overcome injuries at key positions.

Such as at quarterback.

Two different quarterbacks have the majority of snaps for the Cardinal in 2019, but technically three have seen a solid amount of playing time. KJ Costello and Davis Mills have each thrown at least 100 pass attempts this season, but both are currently injured. Mills has missed Stanford’s previous two games with a leg injury and Costello hasn’t exactly been healthy this season.

If the Cardinal is forced to turn to Jack West against Washington State, then Stanford might have a difficult time keeping up with the Cougars’ offense. West has completed 15 of his 32 attempts for the season and has yet to throw a touchdown.

But the injury bug has bit more than just quarterbacks this season. The offensive line was decimated by injury, the worst to All-American candidate Walker Little. Currently, nine Stanford players are listed as “out” on sports-reference.com. As injuries pile up, it’s not surprising to see losses do the same. Teams only have so much depth to be able to deal with this issue.

An uncharacteristically bad defense isn’t helping things

A key aspect of Stanford’s past success in the offense-happy conference that is the Pac-12 has been stout and solid defenses. Even in years when Stanford’s offense would struggle and falter, the Cardinal typically could rely on its defense over the past decade.

That is far from being the case in 2019.

This defense, which is historically known for being one of the better ones in the country each and every season, is giving up 26.7 points per game, which is admittedly bad, but it’s not awful. However, this defense is getting gashed for over 400 yards per game. That’s close to being awful.

When a team has an unsuccessful offense, which happens to be the case with the Cardinal this season, having a bad defense just makes winning all that more difficult.

Shaw is a great coach. He didn’t forget how to win. He’s proven that throughout his time leading the Cardinal. This is still a very solid program. But this season has been abysmal. Huge margins of defeat to USC, UCLA, and UCF has to hurt Stanford fans. Losing to Oregon and Colorado likely doesn’t make this season seem any better.

It seems like everything is falling apart for Shaw and his team this year. If the Cardinal could make it to a bowl game, things wouldn’t seem so bad. But given how this year is going, even that seems like a stretch for this team.

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