Stanford Cardinal 2022 College Football Preview
June 12, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 3-9
ATS – 3-9
Talk about an unexpected detour to TURD TOWN, yo.
The Cardinal started out 3-2 and SHOCKED the WORLD on two occasions by taking down USC and Oregon. What could possibly go wrong? Well, they lost their last seven games and were CREMATED on most of those occasions. They failed to crack the 14-point barrier in any of their final five games. Let’s check in with the program and see if there is any reason for optimism heading into 2022.
2022 Stanford Cardinal Outlook
OFFENSE
We’re old enough to remember when Stanford was actually able to move the ball on the ground but the last four years have been UGLY (87,133,106,108 rushing YPG). It’s unclear how much improvement we’ll see this season as they lose their top-two RBs and will rely on the unproven RB EJ Smith to work some magic. The OL returns five starters but they’ll need to be a LOT better if Stanford has a shot to be competitive in more than a small handful of games. Ok, enough doom and gloom. The good news is that QB Tanner McKee has the look of a REALLY good one if he can stay healthy. We are fans of the big man and note that he started out on a major HEEEETER (11-0 TD to INT) before missing some time due to injury. McKee has a collection of GIANTS at WR and TE that should give him plenty of support. TE Benjamin Yurosek led the team in receiving yards LY and had a fine campaign overall (43-658, 15.3, 3 TD) and note that the top-four WRs are all back in the fold. It’s a 5000 STAR TRIPLE MASK LOCK that Stanford scores more than the 20 PPG they booked LY but they’ll need the OL to step up in a big way if they plan on exceeding 2020’s mark of 29.3 PPG.
DEFENSE
The defense has been brutal the past two seasons. They’ve allowed 32.4, 31.7 PPG, and 236, 222 YPG on the ground. They were ranked #127 in run D LY, #77 in pass efficiency D, whilst tallying a mere 15 sacks in 12G. There are some GREEN SHOOTS of optimism as they bring back their top-two tacklers (LBs Levani Damuni, Ricky Miezan) and their experienced secondary adds Oklahoma safety Pat Fields to the mix. The Cardinal have a pair of highly-touted frosh that could make an impact up front, but overall, it’s an unproven and suspect-looking bunch. DC Lance Anderson has been in charge for quite a while and the recruiting has been decent. That makes us leery to call for anything more than mild improvement on this side of the football.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Things look good. The intrepid PHIL STEELE rated their special teams unit #30 overall in 2021 and they return solid contributors at PK, P, and PR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The scheduling Gods still appear to have a BLOOD VENDETTA vs Stanford. They draw all the big boys from the former South division, face Notre Dame and BYU in non-conference play, and have a stretch of six road games in nine weeks.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing particularly heinous noted. It’s just gonna be a tough sled.
Season Win Total
per 5Dimes June 12
Over 4.5 +115
Under 4.5 -145
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
Things don’t look too rosy but Colgate is a free square and they did beat USC and Oregon last year. That number looks about right. GUN TO THE HEAD small potatoes play would be ‘over 4’ if you can find that number somewhere.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Stanford is 11-19 over the past three seasons and haven’t been to a bowl game since 2018 when they took down Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
The Cardinal have an emerging star at QB and some interesting pieces to work with in the THROW GAME but we still have big concerns about the defense. We think that a 6-6 regular season record and bowl appearance is a legit “stretch” goal. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Want more Stanford Football ?
WEBSITE
https://gostanford.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://thecardboard.org/board/
https://247sports.com/college/stanford/board/cardinal-247-football-vip-102342/
https://247sports.com/college/stanford/board/stanford-football-and-basketball-103013/
NEWS
http://www.mercurynews.com/tag/stanford-cardinal/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/24/stanford-cardinal