This past Saturday represented Stanford’s last home game of the 2014-15 season. It was the last tailgate, the last walk for the seniors, and the last opportunity for this group of players to win together in front of their home crowd. It was a beautiful sunny Palo Alto day with temperatures in the 60s and the tailgating lots were buzzing with anticipation. It felt like it might be Stanford’s day. Their day to get a revenge win over a very good ranked Utah team. Their day to win for the group of seniors who have given so much to this program. Their day to become bowl eligible
Like this season, the game started with a lot of promise. Stanford scored a touchdown in the first four minutes; a nice drive that featured three complete Kevin Hogan passes and four runs from three different players. But then, the offense returned to the sloppy mess it’s been for much of the year, and Stanford wouldn’t find the end zone again in regulation. In the end, the defense, which has been nearly flawless for most of the year, couldn’t hold on in overrtime, and Stanford fell to Utah 20-17. Stanford is 5-5 on the year and has a losing record in the PAC-12. It’s beyond frustrating. This is not how anyone wanted this season to go, particularly A.J. Tarpley, Ty Montgomery, Henry Anderson, and the rest of the gang.
I know that Stanford can’t win the PAC-12 every year, and that four straight BCS bowls is amazing, but an anomaly. I understand that coaches and players leave and new ones come in, and that there is a rebuilding process that takes time. I know all of this, but it doesn’t make the fact that Stanford is no longer ranked, and might not make a bowl game this year any easier to swallow. I’ve only been a Stanford fan since 2009, so I’ve only ever known good Stanford teams. Bowl-eligible Stanford teams. Predictable Stanford teams. Stanford teams who knew exactly who they were.
At the core of Stanford’s woes is the fact that this group seems to have lost its identity, or the one that they had is no longer relevant. Gone are the remnants of a Jim Harbaugh coached team that played with a chip the size of the grand canyon on their collective shoulders. Harbaugh no longer coaches this team and these are not his players. David Shaw needs to determine what he wants his team’s identity to be. With only two games remaining, I think it’s unfortunately too late for this group of guys. Establishing an identity is far more difficult than teaching a young running back how to block, building up a kicker’s confidence, or training your quarterback not to stare down his receivers.
So how can Stanford salvage this season? In two words: Beat Cal.
Stanford can hold onto The Axe with a win in Berkeley next weekend. In addition, the winner of the game becomes bowl eligible. Frankly, with a road game against UCLA looming, this might be Stanford’s last shot. The Bears have been all over the place this season too, so this might be one of the best Big Games in a while. Cal’s offense is as good as their defense is god-awful, which makes them pretty much the mirror image of Stanford.
The following week, the Cardinal will head south to take on UCLA, currently ranked #11. Before the season started, I predicted that Stanford would lose this game, and that was before I realized how average Stanford would actually be this year. That’s a nice way of saying that I’m not so optimistic about this matchup. Still, UCLA has played some odd games this year (beating Colorado in 2OT, for example), so anything can happen. By winning out, Stanford can finish 7-5 overall with a winning record in the PAC-12. Not great, but certainly respectable. (Steve Sarkisian thinks that’s a fantastic season.) Finishing with two strong performances against Cal and ranked UCLA would give the Cardinal something to build on in the offseason while establishing their David Shaw era identity.
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