Has the shine rubbed off Stanford?
Or, more appropriately, has the sap fallen from The Tree?
Stanford is just 3-4 this season — below .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2007, Jim Harbaugh’s first year on The Farm.
The Cardinal has not won 10 games since 2016 — after reaching double-figures in five of David Shaw’s first six seasons. Shaw, who led the program to three Rose Bowls in his first five years, has guided the team to two Sun Bowls and an Alamo Bowl the last three years.
My, how the mighty have fallen.
The question is: If a tree falls in Palo Alto, and no one is there to watch it, does it make a sound? Judging by last Thursday’s loss to lowly UCLA in front of a laughably small crowd, the answer is no.
As the Cardinal prepares to welcome the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, we take a look at what’s gone wrong.
1. Poor quarterback play: During Stanford’s halcyon days, it always had a dynamic quarterback, and, no, not just Andrew Luck. After Luck departed in 2011, Josh Nunes and Kevin Hogan combined to pass for nearly 2,800 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2012. Hogan seized the position in early November and went on to win Rose Bowl MVP honors before starting for the next three years. Hogan finished his career with 9,385 passing yards and 90 combined touchdowns and, more importantly, a 36-10 record.
Since that year, Stanford has topped 10 wins just once — and QB K.J. Costello has been good but not great.
This season, with Costello hurt for much of the year and junior Davis Mills assuming the reins, Stanford quarterbacks have thrown just eight touchdowns while being intercepted three times. Mills missed last week’s loss to UCLA because of a calf injury, and things got even worse: freshman Jack West completed just 15 of 32 passes for 143 yards.
“We’ve had a ton of injuries this year, and it’s been tough to find our rhythm as an offense especially,” tight end Tucker Fisk said by phone this week.
“What we’re doing right now is really trying to focus on ourselves. It’s about really being honest with ourselves. Coach Shaw has put so little focus on the adversity. He focuses on getting better each week. It doesn’t feel like were going through the adversity that the outside world sees.”
2. Less-than-imposing line: Gone are the days of 2012, when Stanford brought in one of the best offensive line recruiting classes the conference has ever seen. Kyle Murphy, Andrus Peat and Joshua Garnett — the second-rated tackle, fourth-rated tackle and second-rated guard recruits in the country — paved the way for the next few successful seasons.
Last year, the Cardinal was less power-oriented than in years prior, and this year, with hulking offensive tackle Walker Little out for the season with a knee injury, the team hasn’t been the same.
“I think it’s about getting back to the basics of what we’ve built the program on. The commitment to doing more, playing physical, tough football,” linebacker Casey Toohill said. “That’s been what we’ve hung our hat on.”
Stanford’s Malik Antoine struggled to get a handle on UCLA’s Joshua Kelley during last week’s game.
3. It starts up front: For the year, Stanford has just 17 sacks, or a little more than two per game. Only three players — Toohill (four), Thomas Booker (two) and Gabe Reid (two) — have registered multiple sacks.
Last year, the Cardinal had 34 sacks; the year before that, 31.5.
During the team’s heyday? How about these sack totals:
- 2015: 38
- 2014: 46
- 2013: 43
- 2012: 57
Can the Cardinal get back there?
Toohill and Fisk believe so, if they can rebuild the tough-minded mentality.
“I think it’s about getting back to the culture we’ve built,” Fisk said. “As a group, we’re intrinsically motivated rather than extrinsically. We’re not interested in what people on the outside say.”
