Stanford: Last year an aberration

Stanford knows it can’t escape what happened last year, but the Cardinal believe they can drastically change the outcome this time.

After an injuryriddled 48 season — Stanford’s worst showing since 2007 — the Cardinal are trying to flip the perception of their program back to what has been expected during the past decade.

“We’re not that team that showed up last year,” tight end Scooter Harrington said. “We know what’s being said about us, and we finally have an op

portunity to prove that last year’s team is over and done with. Now, we’re the 2020 Stanford football team. The 2019 Stanford football team, their time has ended. We’re ready to start a new era of Stanford football.”

If Stanford is to regain its form — one that has drawn Top 25 rankings every season since 2009 and finished among the top 12 six times during the time frame — it will have to reestablish its dominating offensive line and stalwart defense.

Or, as defensive coordinator Lance Anderson calls it: “violence.”

“The places that I see from last year where we need to make that jump:

Overall, we just need to play more physical,” Anderson said. “We have to tackle better. We need more disruptive plays.”

The Cardinal defense topped only UCLA’s five interceptions with seven in the conference and tied for the league low with four fumble recoveries in 2019. At 436.8 yards allowed per game last season, Stanford was 167.6 yards away from Pac12 leader Utah and just 34.6 yards away from Arizona in the conference’s basement.

A huge part of the dropoff on defense, which lost cornerback Paulson Adebo — a potential NFL firstround pick — to a coronavirus optout, was injuries. But health played an even more drastic role on offense.

Because of injuries, 21 true freshmen played last season — with 12 appearing in at least seven games. Four true freshmen combined to start 26 total games on the offensive line, including three true freshmen in each of the last six games of the season.

A program that has 98 wins in the past decade — second most in the conference and 10th most in the country — has been defined by its offensive line. But it could be defined as bad last season, as the Cardinal averaged just 103.5 rushing yards per game ( 11th in the Pac12) on a leaguelow 3.5 yards per carry.

“We need to be a better running team,” right tackle Foster Sarell said. “Stanford football, the foundation of this program is running the football. That’s something we hold to a high standard. We need to put dudes in the dirt and rush for a lot of yards.”

Stanford should also be able to fling the ball with a strong receiving corps and pro prospect quarterback Davis Mills.

Receiver Simi Fehoko set the school record for yards per reception at 23.58 last season, and only five schools in the nation return more than Stanford’s four pass catchers who had at least 250 yards in 2019. Michael Wilson, Connor Wedington and Osiris St. Brown fill out a group that is probably as good as the school has ever seen and should be great targets for Mills.

The former top quarterback recruit in the country out of Georgia went 158for241 for 1,960 yards and 11 touchdowns in six starts last season. With K. J. Costello having transferred to Mississippi State, Mills is on the Maxwell and Johnny Unitas watch lists as the unquestioned leader for the Cardinal this year.

“Point blank, we expect to win the Pac12,” said linebacker Spencer Jorgensen, who noted that media predicted the Cardinal will finish fourth in the conference’s sixteam North Division. “Coming off a rough season, we know people are going to look down on us. We know that the expectations from the outside don’t really matter.

“Our captains and just our whole squad, in general, expect to win. We expect to win consistently and expect to win big.”