Pac-12 Preview: Stanford braces itself for a major rebuild project
As June starts to roll into July, and July eventually leads us to the start of fall camps at the beginning of August, the 2023 college football season will be here before we know it. What a season it projects to be in the Pac-12 Conference, as well. With a handful of College Football Playoff contenders, and a group of Heisman Trophy candidates leading their prospective teams, we could be set up for one of the best football seasons out west that we’ve seen in decades. To help get us prepared, we at Ducks Wire wanted to go through each team in the conference and give a comprehensive breakdown of each school, breaking down their 2023 outlook. Welcome to our Pac-12 Previews. New editions will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to the start of fall camp.
Check out our previously published previews: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears — Colorado Buffaloes — Oregon State Beavers
Stanford was once the class of the Pac-12 and competed for Rose Bowl on an annual basis.
Those days are long gone.
Head Coach David Shaw retired after the program went downhill for a variety of reasons and this was even before the pandemic, which set the Cardinal behind the proverbial 8-ball and then some.
After 12 seasons, Stanford was on the market for a new head coach when it finally settled on Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor. Before helming the Hornets, he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah for two seasons.
Stanford also hired Wisconsin defensive coordinator Bobby April where he led one of the top defenses in the country. But again, the talent has to be there and at this very moment, talent is on short supply.
If you think attendance is a problem in Palo Alto when the Cardinal are good, Stanford Stadium could be a graveyard for the next couple of seasons as the rebuild goes on.
Here’s our complete preview for the Cardinal in 2023.
Toughest Games on the Schedule
Toughest Games
Week 2 at USC (Sept. 9)
Week 5 Oregon (Sept. 30)
Week 9 Washington (Oct. 28)
Week 13 Notre Dame (Nov. 25)
Analysis: This isn’t the year to have one of the toughest schedules in the country, but the Cardinal have a very bumpy road ahead of them even with the so-called toughest games at home. That could be their only saving grace here.
Stanford will get a rude awakening right away by going to the Los Angeles Coliseum and playing Pac-12 favorite USC in early September. They open the season at Hawai’i and although the beaches and ocean will be nice, there’s no guarantee that will be a victory.
Easiest Games on the Schedule
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Easiest Games on the Schedule
Week 3 Sacramento State (Sept. 9)
Week 12 California (Nov. 18)
Analysis: Perhaps this section should be called “Games Stanford has a CHANCE at winning” because none of these games, not even Sac State, will be easy. With the Hornets’ former coach on the other sideline, they’ll have even more incentive than the paycheck to win this game.
We also included California because the Golden Bears are projected to be mediocre in 2023 and since it’s a rivalry game and the game is at Stanford, the Cardinal should be close in the second half.
Record Projection
DucksWire Projection: 3-9 (1-8)
Analysis: We’ll be generous and say Stanford goes to Hawai’i and squeaks out a win and defeats Sac State. It would actually be 2-1 headed into a home game against Arizona, but this is where the Cardinal drop off, and reality sets in hard.
But a nice reward for first-year coach Taylor would be to win The Big Game against California and get ready for an important off-season, even with a loss to Notre Dame to officially end 2023. A win over Cal would and should end Justin Wilcox’s tenure in Berkeley, however.
Bowl Projection
DucksWire Bowl Projection: No Bowl
Analysis: We can feel secure in saying Stanford will be missing the 2023 bowl season as six wins won’t be found on the schedule. Should the Cardinal do manage a half-dozen victories, Troy Taylor will no doubt be the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. But that won’t be in the Cards.
Key Players to Know
Offensive Players to Know
Ari Patu, Quarterback
EJ Smith, Running Back
John Humphries, Wide Receiver
Joshua Karty, Kicker
Defensive Players to Know
David Bailey, Defensive Lineman
Gaethan Bernadel, Linebacker
Tobin Phillips. Defensive Lineman
Notable Offseason Additions and Departures
Notable Additions
Gaethan Bernadel, Linebacker (FIU)
Trevor Mayberry, Offensive Lineman (Penn)
Alec Bank, Offensive Lineman (Harvard)
Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, Cornerback (Incoming freshman)
Notable Departures
Drake Nugent, Offensive Lineman (Michigan)
Myles Hinton, Offensive Lineman (Michigan)
Walter Rouse, Offensive Lineman (Oklahoma)
Levani Damuni, Linebacker (Utah)
Recruiting/Transfer Portal Outlook
Recruiting has always been a tricky thing at Stanford with the academic component being very stringent. The coaching staff can’t go for just anyone, so the ranking as compared with other programs probably won’t ever be near the top.
But once they get their guy, the previous two staffs under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw have been great at developing the talent they do get and win fairly consistently. Only time will tell if new coach Troy Taylor can do the same.
In the last year, the Cardinal have been decimated by the transfer portal. Understandable with a brand new staff coming in, but Stanford’s entire starting offensive line quite literally took their books and went elsewhere. The rebuild needs to start up front and in the secondary where Stanford will throw out players with little-to-no experience. In a conference that has opposing quarterbacks such as Michael Penix, Bo Nix and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, the back end of the Cardinal defense is going to be torched time and time again.
Not many came to Stanford via the portal, but linebacker Gaethan Bernadel was Florida International’s leading tackler and should be an immediate impact player.
The recruiting angle under Coach Taylor has been incredibly encouraging, though. The Cardinal currently has the No. 3 ranked class in the Pac-12 during the 2024 cycle, and the No. 11 class in the nation. If they can keep that up, then Stanford could get back to relevancy in the near future.
Recent History
Under David Shaw, Stanford enjoyed unprecedented success with three conference championships and three Rose Bowls. But in the last two seasons, the Cardinal dropped to 3-9 in 2021 and 2022. The pandemic and the restrictions that came with it took their toll on Shaw and the program which led to his retirement.
Coaching Hot Seat Temperature Check
Troy Taylor has been successful in his previous stops at Sacramento State as head coach and an assistant coach at Utah, but Stanford is a different animal that has its own unique challenges. The Cardinal need to rebuild and at an institution such as Stanford, that rebuild might take a little longer than most.
Hopefully, everyone involved is patient enough because the past has proven the Cardinal can be a national power on the gridiron. But it won’t be in 2023, 2024, or even 2025. This is a long-term deal.
Five Year Outlook for the Program
It’s going to be a while and this rebuild could go in either direction, so only time will tell. Stanford believes it has the right guy at the helm in Taylor, but this won’t be an overnight success story. It’s going to take time.
Taylor is off to a good start without even coaching one day. According to 247Sports.com, the Cardinal is ranked third in Pac-12 recruiting with 24 commits, five 4-stars, and 17 three-stars, including perhaps the quarterback of the future in Elijah Brown from Mater Dei. If the Cardinal can get talent around him, the offense will be exciting to watch.
