Stanford beat Arizona State 20-13 in Week 8, holding on by taking advantage of some awful clock management by the Sun Devils. The Cardinal sit at 5-2, but it hasn’t been pretty, and yet they control their own destiny — for now, with impactful games left to go.
Despite not looking like Stanford at all, Stanford can still win the Pac-12
There’s still a long way to go, though.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Stanford’s out of the national title race, but the next two weeks will define their season.
They play both Washington and Washington State back to back, with WSU at home.
The Cardinal own the tiebreaker over Oregon, due to a bizarre comeback in Eugene, and the Pac-12 South appears to be in disarray. That means the Pac-12 is there for Stanford’s taking for the fourth time in seven years.
The Cardinal had a very timely bye week after getting thumped in two straight by Notre Dame and Utah. They rebounded nicely to beat the Sun Devils on the road, and now things are shaped up for Stanford to make their annual attempt at reaching the Rose Bowl.
Controlling your own destiny and meeting that destiny are two different things.
Stanford’s top 50 in offensive, defensive, and overall S&P+ rankings, but it ain’t by much.
This isn’t really a vintage David Shaw Stanford squad. It hasn’t been the road-grading unit we’ve come to expect. Superstar running back Bryce Love’s been in and out this year, and the running back is nowhere near the same, even when he’s in:
The overall rushing stats for the Cardinal are grim. Not including the Arizona State win, Stanford was 127th in rushing yards per game. One-hundred-and-twenty-seventh, out of 130 teams! It’s not like this is Washington State — which was one spot behind them at 128th. This is intellectual brutality Stanford that’s been about as brutal as a pillowfight on the ground this season.
I mean, this S&P+ rushing profile is bleak, and the ASU game in which they rushed for 127 yards on 43 carries isn’t gonna do much to improve any of these stats.
Stanford’s at least average throwing the ball, which is propping this whole offense up.
But Stanford’s got a long way to go.
They’ve so far struggled to find their identity, and are looking for a foothold on the season. The ASU win was big, and could be a building block for something later if Stanford makes a run, but it is still a big if.
There are attainable goals still to be met this season, but it’s not clear that this is the Stanford team that can meet them.
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