Stanford Cardinal Preview 2024
It is possible to win football games at Stanford.
It seems like 92 years ago, but the program won nine games or more in every year but one from 2010 to 2018 and won eight or more ten seasons in a row. Since then, including the shortened 2020 season, Stanford has failed to win more than four games in each of the last five years and has gone 3-9 in the last three.
The narrative had to change. There needed to be a bit of a new focus, and the program just got it with the stunning move to the ACC.
It’s a good, strong conference - and great academically - but compared to the Pac-12 in 2023 life should be a whole lot easier.
Under second-year head man Troy Taylor - a good coach who should crank this back up with a little bit of time - Stanford was able to battle hard against Oregon State, stun Colorado, and come really, really close to beating Arizona.
And it lost to Sacramento State and got annihilated in five of the nine losses. Being more competitive is the first step, but the Cardinal might just be good enough to win a slew of games in the new league.
The distance will matter. There might be a few long trips early on to Syracuse and Clemson in back-to-back weeks, but Virginia Tech has to make the trip to Palo Alto. So does Wake Forest, and SMU, and Louisville.
It’s about to be a fun season with Stanford now becoming a coast-to-coast team. Don’t be shocked if the 2024 version becomes a winning one because …
Stanford Preview 2024: Offense
- Consistency was a massive problem, but Stanford has a few playmakers to rise up fast. Start with the pitch-and-catch combination of Ashton Daniels to Elic Ayomanor. Daniels got hot over the second half of the season, starting with the wild 396-yard day in the win over Colorado. 294 of those yards were to Ayomanor.
There’s a good young group of receivers around the No. 1. Tiger Bachmeier was second on the team with 409 yards, Sam Roush is a solid tight end, and while the group isn’t deep, it’ll produce. And now …
- The line has to be better. Long a hallmark of the Stanford attack, the problems over the last few years up front were part of the problems in the losing campaigns. The pass protection has to be far stronger and there needs to be more for the ground game than 119 yards an outing. All five starters are expected to be back.
- Can the running backs start to produce? Justin Lamson and Ashton Daniels are quarterbacks - they led the team in rushing. EJ Smith was the top back with just 218 yards - he’s at Texas A&M now - making Sedrick Irvin the likely main back. The O needs ore options, but the quarterbacks will still make most of the rushing noise.
Stanford Preview 2024: Defense
- The defense was a disaster. 129th in the nation in total defense and scoring D, it allowed 462 yards and 37 points per game with a minimal pass rush and not enough takeaways or third down stops.
Start with the secondary. It needs more help from the pass rush, but this should be a decent group with the corner combination of Collin Wright and Zahrain Manley back, and two of the top three safeties return led by 53-tackle junior Mitch Leigber.
- The linebackers might be the team’s biggest strength. This group has to do a little too much behind a leaky line, but the combination of Gaethan Bernadel and Tristan Sinclair should combine for close to 160 tackles again. David Bailey is a hybrid edge rusher who led the way with six sacks, but …
- The line has to be more disruptive. The edge rushers are deep - Bailey is part of a rotation with Tevarua Tafiti - and the tackles are back. The depth is a tad lacking, and they’re not huge, but Tobin Phillips and Anthony Franklin are veterans in the interior. They’re in the spotlight because …
Stanford Key To The Season
Stop the run.
The offense needs the line to be far stronger, and there has to be some sort of consistency to the attack, but at least last season, the difference between being competitive and getting walloped was the run defense.
The Cardinal were crushed in all five games they allowed 180 yards or more, went 3-1 when allowing fewer than 145, and were close in the the other three games when they got run on a bit. Stop the run, control the tempo.
Stanford Key Player
RB Sedrick Irvin, Soph.
Or SOME running back for the ground game.
Irvin - the son of former Michigan State star RB of the same name and cousin of Michael Irvin - was a nice get for Stanford last year. He got his feet wet with 26 carries for 113 yards and a score - he did the most work in the tough loss to Arizona - and now he’ll get the first look to handle the ground attack.
Stanford Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: LB Jahsiah Galvan, Soph.
The Stanford linebacking corps is already solid, but it’s getting a good tackler with range from Northern Iowa. He made 77 stops last year for the Panthers and should find a role somewhere in the rotation.
Top Transfer Out: TE Benjamin Yurosek
The Cardinal are okay with Sam Roush a decent tight end who stepped up last year when Yurosek was out, but he’s not the same talent. The 6-5, 235-pound Yurosek caught 108 passes in his three seasons with five scores, and now he’ll be a main main in the Georgia attack.
Stanford Key Game
at Syracuse, Sept. 20
Get off to a hot start. The Cardinal get two road games to start the season against TCU and Cal Poly, and then comes the opener in ACC play - 2,839 miles away. With at Clemson, Virginia Tech, and at Notre Dame up next, Stanford needs to pull off a win in the first ever meeting with the Orange.
Stanford 10 Best Players
1. Elic Ayomanor, WR Soph.
2. Tristan Sinclair, LB Sr.
3. Gaethan Bernadel, LB Sr.
4. Ashton Daniels, QB Jr.
5. Collin Wright, CB Soph.
6. Tiger Bachmeier, WR Soph.
7. Anthony Franklin, DT Jr.
8. Sam Roush, TE Jr.
9. Luke Baklenko, OT Soph.
10. Levi Rogers, C Sr.
Stanford 2023 Fun Stats
- 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 164, Stanford 56
- Field Goals: Stanford 23-of-27, Opponents 4-of-9
- Touchdowns Scored: Opponents 63, Stanford 26
Stanford 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Just how much will the travel matter?
Stanford should be able to handle the time changes a bit better than the teams from the Central and Eastern time zones will deal with playing in California - at least that’s Stanford’s hope.
As mentioned before, Stanford was either hot or cold last year. It was either in really tight games, or it was blown out in ugly fashion. However, none of the blastings came to anyone who didn’t win at least eight games. It’s not like there was a totally soft day against a mediocre team.
There aren’t a lot of killers on this year’s slate.
Last year the Cardinal dealt with Washington, and Oregon, and Arizona, USC, UCLA, and Notre Dame. This year they get Notre Dame and have to go to Clemson, but that’s about it for the games - maybe at NC State - they almost certainly have no shot in.
There’s no Florida State on the slate, and missing Miami and North Carolina helps, too.
There won’t be any big winning streaks, but they only leave the Bay Area once over the last seven weeks of the season - at NC State - and should be able to pull together enough wins to be in the mix for a bowl game.
Set The Stanford Win Total At … 5.5
Likely Wins: Cal Poly, at San Jose State
50/50 Games: at Cal, Louisville, SMU, at Syracuse, TCU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Likely Losses: at Clemson, at NC State, at Notre Dame
- 2024 Stanford Schedule: 3 Things To Know
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