[Spiny_Norman]

I think every Stanford fan should be more concerned about the other side of the ball. The Stanford defense has been on a steady decline and has dropped from average to below average over the past 5 years. Last season the defense looked completely overmatched against multiple opponents (USC, UCF, WSU, Notre Dame) and failed to hold a 4th quarter lead against others (Colorado, Cal). There is little reason to expect much more than mediocrity either going forward. Stanford signed only one 4* defender for the class of 2020 but it was Ayden Hector who will never play for the Cardinal. There are no commits for 2021 from the front 7 at all yet. Even in 2022, I count 24 offers on offense, 10 on defense. Of those 10, none are defensive linemen.

Defensive yards per play (rank)
2012 - 4.7 (15th)
2013 - 4.9 (18th)
2014 - 4.2 (2nd)
2015 - 5.6 (70th)
2016 - 5.4 (48th)
2017 - 6.0 (93rd)
2018 - 5.7 (71st)
2019 - 6.3 (109th)

One notable change during this time - Randy Hart retired after the 2015 season.

[Spiny_Norman]

I think every Stanford fan should be more concerned about the other side of the ball. The Stanford defense has been on a steady decline and has dropped from average to below average over the past 5 years. Last season the defense looked completely overmatched against multiple opponents (USC, UCF, WSU, Notre Dame) and failed to hold a 4th quarter lead against others (Colorado, Cal). There is little reason to expect much more than mediocrity either going forward. Stanford signed only one 4* defender for the class of 2020 but it was Ayden Hector who will never play for the Cardinal. There are no commits for 2021 from the front 7 at all yet. Even in 2022, I count 24 offers on offense, 10 on defense. Of those 10, none are defensive linemen.

Defensive yards per play (rank)
2012 - 4.7 (15th)
2013 - 4.9 (18th)
2014 - 4.2 (2nd)
2015 - 5.6 (70th)
2016 - 5.4 (48th)
2017 - 6.0 (93rd)
2018 - 5.7 (71st)
2019 - 6.3 (109th)

One notable change during this time - Randy Hart retired after the 2015 season.