Stanford football:
Huskies will test struggling O-line
With one of the best defenses in the country coming to Stanford Stadium on Friday night, the Cardinal need one group to improve its game: the offensive line.
It had four starters back this year and added the top recruit in the nation, Walker Little, at left tackle. Little was hurt against Washington State on Saturday and won’t play against No. 9 Washington. In fact, he’ll probably miss the Big Game against Cal on Nov. 18 as well.
But even with Little, the line has had an up-and-down season. Against the Cougars, it broke a gaping hole for Bryce Love to run 52 yards for a touchdown. Otherwise, even with the shifty running back, Stanford rushed for just 93 yards and a 3.4-yard average.
Head coach David Shaw assumed responsibility for the 24-21 loss because of his overly conservative play-calling. True, but the O-line got outplayed by a quick defensive front spearheaded by Hercules Mata’afa.
The Cougars had 11 tackles for loss. They sacked K.J. Costello just twice, but he attempted only 20 passes. They often put plenty of pressure on him
“I’m to completely not going react coming off a five-game win streak — one loss — and make a lot of lineup changes.” David Shaw, Stanford head coach
when he did throw.
“That’s this front,” Shaw said. “Nobody’s done a great job against them all year.”
On the other hand, it’s possible that the Stanford offensive line hasn’t been up to the task of handling topflight defensive fronts, at least in run blocking. The Cardinal are tied for second in the Pac-12 in giving up the fewest sacks (11), and they’re also third in rushing, averaging 220.6 yards per game.
Then there’s the Love Factor. The marvelous junior tailback has had 11 runs of more than 50 yards this season. But that’s more of a reflection of his breakaway speed — virtually unmatched in college football this season — than it is the line dominating the defense. Put someone in there without Love’s speed and those 50-plus runs might be 20-yard carries.
Aside from redshirt freshman Devery Hamilton starting in place of Little, Shaw said he wasn’t going to make any lineup changes in the line.
“This game, we got beat up front,” he said. “I’m not going to completely react coming off a five-game win streak — one loss — and make a lot of lineup changes. Our guys have been playing well for the last month. We ran into a group of guys that, honestly, it’s three years in a row that we’ve had a tough time with.
“We beat them up at Washington State (30-28) two years ago on the legs of Kevin Hogan because we couldn’t run or throw it the entire game. Last year, they really took it to us (42-16).”
Hercules Mata’afa “is aptly named” because he “wreaked havoc,” Shaw said. “In order to beat those guys, you have to handle that (pre-snap) movement, and we didn’t handle it.” Briefly: Costello will start again against Washington. He played well, considering the nature of the Cougars’ defense and the inclement weather, Shaw said . ... Love, still not 100 percent, has a short week to get ready for the Huskies. … Linebacker Curtis Robinson missed the WSU game because he “tweaked’’ something Friday but should be back for Friday’s game, Shaw said . ... Jake Bailey averaged 47 yards punting with four inside the 20 in what Shaw called “the best performance by a punter that I think we’ve had since I’ve been here.”