After a 31-10 win over No. 10 UCLA in the ’14 regular-season finale, QB Kevin Hogan said, “It would be a lie to say that this season hasn’t been disappointing.” Truth is, Stanford was so used to 11-win years and BCS bowls (four straight) that eight W’s felt like a bad dream—one that coach David Shaw plans to put to rest.
Offense
How the Cardinal will beat you: Over the first 10 games of ’14, Stanford’s offense (23.9 ppg for the season, last in the Pac-12) never settled in, failing to score more than 17 points in each of its five losses and losing three of those games by a field goal. But over the final three games, all double-digit wins, the Cardinal found their balance: The offense gained more than 200 rush yards and 200 pass yards and scored at least 31 points in each. “Our goal is to pick up the script where we left off,” Hogan says. Senior WR Devon Cajuste (team-high 6 TD catches) and four surehanded TEs, led by sophomore Austin Hooper (499 yards), give Hogan a host of big play-action targets, but the rush attack is key. Soph Christian McCaffrey (796 all-purpose yards in ’14) will lead a trio of RBs coming off a lackluster ’14 (158.8 ypg, No. 8 in the Pac-12).
How you beat the Cardinal: Without its typical power RB, Shaw’s offense was crippled in the red zone, converting just 54.4 percent of its opportunities into TDs (No. 85), leaving Hogan to create often without play-action. In losses to Notre Dame and Arizona State, Stanford was held under 100 yards rushing and Hogan failed to throw a TD pass, averaging just 4.9 yards per attempt combined. Unfortunately, the roster still appears to be lacking a Toby Gerhart clone.
Defense
How the Cardinal beat you: The Stanford D was once again the Pac-12’s model of efficiency, ranking No. 1 in every major category and holding opponents to just 16.4 ppg (No. 2 in the FBS). The formula for success: Block-gobbling linemen and linebackers enable DBs to aggressively smother the perimeter. While Shaw won’t tweak that approach in ’15, he is faced with the loss of four of last year’s top six tacklers and three new starting defensive linemen, including redshirt frosh Solomon Thomas. Meanwhile, the back eight also undergoes a makeover with four new starters, although leading tackler Blake Martinez is back to lead the group. “We lose some important guys, but we feel really good about the guys coming back,” says D-coordinator Lance Anderson. “We’ve got a chance to be good again.”
How you beat the Cardinal: The Pac-12’s top scoring defense over the past three seasons has shown very few cracks, but the run defense was vulnerable when departed NT David Parry missed time in ’14 (see the 267-yard performance by Oregon). With stalwart DEs Henry Anderson and Blake Lueders (20 TFL combined) also gone, there is real worry that Stanford’s untested line won’t generate the same push or pass rush (46 sacks at a 9.7 percent rate, No. 4 in the FBS).