Cardinal question: Who will be QB?
Costello returned to practice this week and might be an option today against Arizona
PALO ALTO >> Stanford lost three straight games, won two in a row (including an upset of Washington), and then lost Oct, 17 to UCLA for the first time in 12 meetings.
Arizona opened the season with a shocking loss at Hawaii, won four straight, and then gave up 91 points to Washington and USC in its last two games.
So it’s anyone’s guess what will happen with the Cardinal (3-4, 2-3 Pac-12) and Wildcats (4-3, 2-2) face off today at Stanford Stadium (12:30 p.m., Pac12 Network). Stanford is a onepoint favorite at home.
“Our uneven play, versus their uneven play,” Cardinal coach David Shaw said. “It will be interesting.”
These will be the biggest factors:
WHO’S THE QB >> Stanford’s offense was sluggish under quarterbacks K.J. Costello and Davis Mills. It was catatonic under third-stringer Jack West, who was forced into action against UCLA and managed just three points until garbage time.
Mills is definitely out today, but Costello’s thumb has healed enough that he was able to split time with West in practice this week. The redshirt junior’s availability — Shaw said Wednesday that Costello was between questionable and probable — may be the biggest key to the outcome.
Costello is 53 of 94 for 471 yards and two TDs in two-plus games this season — far from last year’s output, when he finished with the second-most passing yards in school history, but enough to keep the Cardinal in the game.
West looked overwhelmed against the Bruins, going 15 of 32 for 143 yards and being sacked seven times. If Costello can’t go, Stanford is hoping its redshirt freshman gained a lot from his first experience.
CONTROLLING TATE >> Arizona also faces uncertainty at quarterback. Senior Khalil Tate was benched early in the third quarter last week against USC after being sacked six times and throwing for just 47 yards.
Still, Tate remains the starter as Arizona heads to The Farm. He threw for 404 yards against Colorado three weeks ago and ran for 129 yards against Texas Tech four weeks ago.
Stanford faced a similar dual-threat quarterback last week against UCLA, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 192 yards and ran for 66 yards, accounting for three touchdowns, in the 34-16 win.
“I’m happy that we faced an athletic QB that could run last week,” Stanford senior linebacker Casey Toohill said. “That was the fastest QB we faced all season, and now we’ll probably face a faster one. That was really helpful to get that taste in our mouth, understand where our breakdowns happened so we can do better this week.”
RUN GAME >> No matter who starts at quarterback, Stanford needs to re-establish the run game. Senior Cameron Scarlett ran for 151 yards on 33 carries against Washington in the Cardinal’s best game of the season, but was held to 34 yards on 13 carries last week against the Bruins.
“Most important for us, we have to be able to run the football,” Shaw said. “It’s part of our identity. When we play our best football we’re able to run it.”
Scarlett will be running behind three true freshmen on the offensive line. Overall, Stanford’s seven true freshmen starters are tied for the secondmost in the FBS behind Alabama.
ATTITUDE >> Part of the reason for the inconsistency has been injuries — to two quarterbacks, three different offensive linemen, and throughout the defense.
The latest season-ending injury was to preseason firstteam all-conference kicker Jet Toner, who was hurt covering a kickoff in the first quarter against UCLA. Freshman Ryan Sanborn, the team’s punter, will also handle placekicking against the Wildcats.
“Being upset about (injuries) doesn’t help,” Shaw said. “We have to continue to lean on our leadership, lean on our work ethic. It’s challenging to the coaches but hey, this is our job, it’s what we do. We have to accept and embrace (the) challenge.
“There’s no third column — win, loss, and the ‘it’s ok’ column. ‘Oh you’ve got injuries, it’s ok.’ Whoever’s healthy, they have to go out there and execute.”
Shaw is 4-0 against Arizona as Stanford coach, but he was also undefeated against UCLA until last week’s letdown.
“I’m not in the business of raising people’s spirits,” Shaw said. “These guys have a finite amount of time to play this game, and the high percentage of them understand that and play and practice with energy and passion. But at the same time that’s the bare minimum. We didn’t play well Thursday night, and those are hard things to put your finger on. I’m not in the business of asking for excuses. It’s on us to go out there and play well.”