Stanford has toughest lineup for 2021 season
It took longer than expected and was made public later than ever, but the Pac-12 football schedule is here.
(Hopefully, this will be the only version necessary.)
Was it worth the wait? That’s for each fan base to decide, but we give the overall schedule high marks.
There are just two egregious assignments (to our way of thinking); the bye weeks are mostly packed into the middle of the season; and the conference schedule is mercifully devoid of Thursday games.
A few nuggets before we delve into each team’s lineup:
BIGGEST DAY >> Sept. 11. With Texas A&M, TCU, Ohio State and Michigan lined up, Week Two stands as the most important Saturday in what just might be the most important season in conference history.
FIVE TEAMS PLAY TWO FRIDAY GAMES >> Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Arizona and Utah
THREE TEAMS DON’T PLAY FRIDAY GAMES >> Oregon State, USC and UCLA
ONE TEAM DOES NOT PLAY BACK-TO-BACK ROAD GAMES >> Oregon
ROAD GAMES VS. TEAMS OFF A BYE >> Washington, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and UCLA (two)
TOUGHEST SEPTEMBER >> Stanford
TOUGHEST OCTOBER >> UCLA
TOUGHEST NOVEMBER >> Arizona
MOST MANAGEABLE SCHEDULE OVERALL >> Utah, followed by Arizona State
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE OVERALL >> Stanford, followed by Colorado
Cal
Sept. 4: vs. Nevada
Sept. 11: at TCU
Sept. 18: vs. Sacramento State
Sept. 25: at Washington
Oct. 2: vs. Washington State
Oct. 9: Bye
Oct. 15: at Oregon (Friday)
Oct. 23: vs. Colorado
Oct. 30: vs. Oregon State
Nov. 6: at Arizona
Nov. 13: vs. USC
Nov. 20: at Stanford
Nov. 27: at UCLA
COMMENT >> The early conference schedule is plenty manageable. (We like the Cal-UW series in September, especially if there are no lightning delays.) ... The Bears host WSU on the second leg of its back-to-back roadies, and the bye before a short-week trip to Eugene works well. (Oregon is also off ahead of Cal’s visit, so neither team has a competitive edge.) ... The USC showdown is ideally positioned, with the Trojans coming off what could be a huge game for the South title at ASU ... The back-to-back trips to end the season are hardly rigorous given that one is a short bus ride and the other a short flight ... Of note: The Bears are the only California team that finishes against the other three.
Stanford
Sept. 4: vs. Kansas State (in Arlington)
Sept. 11: at USC
Sept. 18: at Vanderbilt
Sept. 25: vs. UCLA
Oct. 2: vs. Oregon
Oct. 8: at Arizona State (Friday)
Oct. 16: at Washington State
Oct. 23: Bye
Oct. 30: vs. Washington
Nov. 5: vs Utah (Friday)
Nov. 13: at Oregon State
Nov. 20: vs. Cal
Nov. 27: vs. Notre Dame
COMMENT >> We won’t call this murderer’s row, but let’s just say the ’27 Yankees would want no part of it ... The Cardinal opens with three consecutive road/ neutral site games against Power Five opponents (who does that?) and plays five of its first seven on the road (with a new quarterback, by the way) ... Stanford is one of just two teams (with Arizona) that plays two Friday dates, neither of which is a season-ending rivalry game ... There’s also that mid-October back-to-back to Tempe and Pullman, which starts with the short-week date at ASU ... And who wouldn’t want to play Utah on short rest, especially after facing Washington. (Goodness, gracious.) ... Stanford brought some of this on itself (with the non-conference schedule), but not all of it.