[lex24]

Six wins assumes a clean bill of health for the entire roster, a stellar performance for a first-year QB and all cylinders firing on offense. PLUS an overachieving defense and good fortune at every turn. More realistic: 4-8. Stanford's elite status in football began and ended with the advent of Andrew Luck and the exit of Christian McCaffrey. A good run, yes, but a unique one in the modern history of Cardinal football. Stanford is back where it belongs. Deal with it.

I think Stanford’s elite status began with a change in mentality and a commitment  to power football. That plus building a strong defense.  Complimentary football.  Run the ball and stop the run. Win up front.  They won 2 league championships after Luck.  And the mentality and philosophy was in place when they won the third with McCaffrey. Just look at the stats from 11-17. Compare to their record The better they ran (and the higher percentage of run vs pass) the better they did.  

I don’t know if they can get back to that formula.  To me it begins with a dominant o-line and defense.  The former is more easily acheived, recruiting wise, than the latter.

[lex24]

Six wins assumes a clean bill of health for the entire roster, a stellar performance for a first-year QB and all cylinders firing on offense. PLUS an overachieving defense and good fortune at every turn. More realistic: 4-8. Stanford's elite status in football began and ended with the advent of Andrew Luck and the exit of Christian McCaffrey. A good run, yes, but a unique one in the modern history of Cardinal football. Stanford is back where it belongs. Deal with it.

I think Stanford’s elite status began with a change in mentality and a commitment  to power football. That plus building a strong defense.  Complimentary football.  Run the ball and stop the run. Win up front.  They won 2 league championships after Luck.  And the mentality and philosophy was in place when they won the third with McCaffrey. Just look at the stats from 11-17. Compare to their record The better they ran (and the higher percentage of run vs pass) the better they did.  

I don’t know if they can get back to that formula.  To me it begins with a dominant o-line and defense.  The former is more easily acheived, recruiting wise, than the latter.