2011 Season

2011 Season Preview

The Stanford Cardinal take the field after a terrific 2010 season that saw them go 12-1, win the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl over Virginia Tech. Cardinal fans were delighted to hear that Andrew Luck, who threw for 3935 yards and 36 touchdowns last season and lost the Heisman by 1 vote, would return for his Junior season. Luck leads an offense that was one of the best in the country last season. Stepfan Taylor, the Junior running back who ran for 742 yards last year but became a huge threat in the passing game catching 60 passes, returns and will receive a bigger role in the rushing attack as Owen Marecic is now gone. Marecic will be replaced by Sophomore Ryan Hewitt, a 6'4 241 pound beast who excels in run blocking. The players catching the balls from Luck this season will be different than last, though Chris Owusu (8 touchdowns in 2010) returns. Stanford will rely on Griff Whalen to fill Ryan Whalen's spot while speedy DrewTerrell will take the slot position. At tight end, Coby Fleener returns and will take over for Konrad Reuland. Fleener only caught 6 passes last year but became a more viable target as the season progressed. He is joined by 6'8 Levine Toilolo, who could become a serious red zone target for Luck. The offensive line is big but inexperienced, and will need to open up holes for Taylor and keep Luck protected in order for this team to be successful.

On defense, there is question marks galore. Stanford will start a Sophomore and Freshman at the end positions. Though both are big, they are inexperienced. The line will be anchored by Terrence Stephens, a Junior who recorded 3 sacks and forced 2 fumbles last season. With no immediate backup in site, it is rumoured that Coach Joker has switched to a 34 defense. The linebacker position is the strong spot in the Cardinal defense as Thomas Keiser (29 tackles), Shayne Skov (101 tackles, 13 sacks, Bednarik winner) and Chase Thomas (44 tackles, 2 sacks) all return to their starting roles from a year ago. Stanford will need their linebackers to make a lot of tackles but also effectively cover in zones and man to man situations. Senior MLB Max Bergen will become the 4th linebacker in the 34 defense. The cornerback position is very shaky for Stanford as it was last season. Senior Johnson Bademosi returns, but that may not be a great thing as he was burned on numerous occasions last year. Stanford's starting four corners are all over 6 feet which should help them on deep passes and jump balls. FS Michael Thomas and SS Delano Howell both return and will have to be anchors in the secondary. If Thomas and Howell have big seasons, Stanford will be right in the running for the Pac-10 title again.

Stanford is the favourite to repeat as Pac-10 champions, though their conference has 5 ranked teams in it to start the season. That doesn't include USC who is looking to rebound after a difficult 4-8 season. Stanford will play them in Week 3 after two OOC opponents to start the season. One of those is rival San Jose State, and the other is LSU against Coach Blaze, who faced Stanford last season with Mississippi State but came up short in a hard fought game. The ultimate revenge game is fittingly the last of the season against California, the team that kept Stanford from the National Championship game last season.

In conclusion, while the average observer would say this team will go as far as Andrew Luck takes them, but that isn't true. Everyone knows what Luck brings to the table. If Shayne Skov and the Stanford defense, which fell apart at times last season, can thrive in a new system and keep opponents down, Stanford not only has an excellent shot at the Pac-10 title but also the National Championship game.

San Jose State Spartans (0-0) at #8 Stanford Cardinal (0-0) - Rivalry Game

Stanford Avoids Disaster Against Spartans

Get used to this Stanford fans, you may see a lot more games like it. The Cardinal defense gave up nearly 400 passing yards, over 140 rushing yards, 31 points and did not force a turnover to a weak San Jose State team. Luckily for them, Andrew Luck was able to put up 38 points as the Cardinal escaped with a 38-31 win. San Jose State jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before Stanford answered with ten points to close out the first quarter. Two touchdown passes by Matt Faulkner early in the second quarter gave the Spartans a 21-10 lead, but the Cardinal offense answered with two touchdowns of their own to take a 24-21 lead at halftime.

San Jose State showed they weren't going to quit and scored on their first possession to regain the lead, 28-24. Usua Amanam regained Stanford's lead with a 1 yard touchdown rush late in the third, his second on the day. This gave the Cardinal a 31-28 lead going into the fourth quarter. Despite missing two short field goals earlier in the game San Jose State kicker Harrison Waid connected on a 43 yard attempt to tie the game at 31 with 4:56 remaining in the game. It took Stanford all of 14 seconds to regain the lead, as Luck hit Drew Terrell on a quick slant which Terrell took 79 yards to the house. Despite struggling all game, the Stanford defense stepped up at the end and did not allow any more points as Stanford was able to hold on and win 38-31.

Although they won the game, Coach Joker was far from happy in the post game press conference. His main concern was with the defense, which struggled in all aspects of the game. "It's not good enough and we know that. We have to play better or we won't last much longer." The defense allowed relatively unknown QB Matt Faulkner to complete 31 passes for 397 yards, at the same time giving up 141 rushing yards to David Freeman, the Spartan tailback. On offense, Andrew Luck was his usual self, completing 20 of his 28 attempts for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns. Perhaps more impressively is the fact that 9 different players caught passes. Stanford has a bye week to fix the problems on defense before they travel to the Bayou to face a tough LSU team.

Final Score - Stanford 38, San Jose State 31

Stanford
Luck - 20-28, 364 yards, 3 td, int
Taylor - 21 carries, 83 yards, 2 catches, 10 yards, td
Amanam - 4 carries, 14 yards, 2 td
Owusu - 4 catches, 136 yards, td
Baldwin - 4 catches, 126 yards, td
Skov - 11 tackles, 3 sacks

San Jose State
Faulkner - 31-41, 397 yards, 2 td
Freeman - 21 carries, 141 yards, td
Nunn - 6 catches, 101 yards
Grigsby - 5 catches, 89 yards, td
Tuipulotu - 6 tackles, int

#8 Stanford Cardinal (1-0) at LSU Tigers (1-1)

Stanford Blows Lead in 4th, Wins in OT

Things were looking great for Stanford. They had just kicked a field goal with 6:18 remaining in the game to take a 27-10 lead. Everything kind of fell apart after that. Patrick Peterson returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to cut the lead to ten. A questionable coaching decision to attempt a fake field goal rather than take a two touchdown lead came back to bite the Cardinal as LSU scored again, this time with 1:03 to left, and they were only down 3. After recovering the onside kick, they were able to move into scoring position and kick a 37 yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.

Stanford won the toss and elected to play defense first, where they were able to hold LSU to only a field goal. This was huge, because 4 plays later, Stepfan Taylor walked into the end zone from 5 yards out to give Stanford the win. Stanford had two 17 point leads in the game, one of which in the fourth quarter, but LSU never quit. Jarrett Lee threw 3 critical interceptions in the first half that was ultimately the difference in the game. Stanford also put together a perfect offensive gameplan, choosing to stay away from Peterson and Morris Claiborne, LSU's two shut down cornerbacks. Instead, they elected to work the middle of the field and let their receivers make plays after the catch. It worked perfectly. Andrew Luck was an amazing 26-30 for 353 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding a 1 yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. He again connected with 9 different receivers, something we may see a lot of this season. Coby Fleener was his favourite target with 7 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Until the kick return touchdown, Peterson was not a factor. He recorded several tackles on defense but could not strip the ball from any Stanford player despite numerous attempts. Very few passes if any were thrown his way, which was the gameplan. He did have two nice kick returns, however, including the one for the touchdown. Stanford gets into PAC-10 play with a game against the USC Trojans next week.

Final Score - Stanford 33, LSU 30 (OT)

Stanford
Luck - 26-30, 353 yards, 2 td, rushing td
Taylor - 18 carries, 73 yards, td
Fleener - 7 catches, 78 yards, td
Owusu - 5 catches, 62 yards
Lueders - 3 tackles, 2 sacks

LSU
Jefferson - 8-10, 135 yards, td
Lee - 18-28, 191 yards, td, 3 int
Ridley - 12 carries, 48 yards
Randle - 9 catches, 166 yards, td
Tolliver - 8 catches, 93 yards
Minter - 13 tackles, sack