2008 Stanford Football
Jim Harbaugh’s first season as head coach last year would have to be looked at as an accomplishment. The Stanford Cardinal won 4 games, including a 24-23 win at USC, 21-20 win at Arizona and a 20-13 victory over California. All wins were huge upsets, and the win over the Trojans likely kept USC out of a national championship game. Harbaugh is one hell of a motivator, and he’ll have his work cut out for him again this season. See how Info Plays ranks this team among the Pac-10 with their 2008 Stanford football predictions below.
Offense:
Jim Harbaugh has made it clear that there is a quarterback controversy, despite Tavita Prichard starting seven games last season and beating USC. Five players competed for the job in the spring and three are expected to remain in competition through the fall. That’d be Prichard, Michigan transfer Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas. There are many questions at receiver, too. Mark Bradford and Evan Moore and their combined 90 catches last year are gone. Many underclassmen will join junior Richard Sherman in the rotation. Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen are frontrunners.
The most experienced units are at running back and on the offensive line. That means Stanford could feature more of a power running game than they have in recent years. Anthony Kimble and Toby Gerhard are the top two tailbacks, but Tyrone McGraw and Jeremy Stewart will be in the mix. This quartet rushed for more than 1,300 yards last year. Senior guard Alex Fletcher, a second-team all-conference performer last season, anchors the middle of the offensive line. The Cardinal is set at right tackle with Chris Marinelli, and left tackle Allen Smith is expected to be fully recovered from offseason knee injury.
Get more inside information on the Stanford quarterback situation here.
Defense:
Although the Cardinal returns nine starters on defense, they lost well-regarded coordinator Scott Shafer to Michigan. Shafer’s young defense gave up a ton of yards and points, but did a decent job of forcing turnovers and were respectable in the red zone. Harbaugh divided the coordinator job between linebackers coach Andy Buh and newcomer Ron Lynn, a proven NFL assistant. They’ll have plenty of experience on their hands and possibly the best defensive line at Stanford in years. Ends Pannel Egboh and Erik Lorig team with 310-pound tackle Ekom Udofia to dominate up front.
All of the starting linebackers return this season, including playmaker Clinton Snyder. He recorded eight sacks and forces four fumbles in ‘07. Pat Maynor and Chike Amajoyi are the others. The secondary has everyone back except for corner Nick Sanchez. Wopamo Osaisai fills in one corner spot, Austin Yancy is the strong safety and Bo McNally is an all-conference candidate at free safety. McNally led the team in tackles last year.
Stanford Football Predictions at Info Plays: 9th in the Pac-10
Jim Harbaugh removed Stanford from the gutter in his first year, but are the Cardinal ready to take the next step? Without a proven quarterback and with seven road games on the schedule, a bowl bid would seem to be out of the question. But with good health and a few more good breaks this season, the Cardinal could win five or six games.
Wins Expected in ‘08: WASHINGTON STATE
Potential Scares/Losses: OREGON STATE, at Arizona State, at Washington, ARIZONA, at UCLA, at Oregon, USC, at California
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