With no game to look forward to this Saturday, now seems like the perfect time to look at the Cardinal's 2015 schedule, released this week by the Pac-12. Far too many things will happen between now and next fall to predict outcomes of any of the games, but let's take a game-by-game trip through the schedule anyway, just for fun. Oh, and keep this in mind as we go -- the schedule sets up perfectly for a run to the playoffs.
September 5 at Northwestern
Stanford and Northwestern agreed to this series two years ago when the Big Ten and the Pac-12 joined forces in an odd (and since dissolved) agreement to schedule games against each other, and this is the first of six matchups between now and 2022. There's nothing too exciting about this game, and since Chicago will never be confused with the recruting hotbeds of California, Texas, and Florida (more on that later), it's hard to see a benefit to this series. Of course, an early-season win over a team from one of the power conferences will be a nice way to start the season -- even if Northwestern is one of the weaker teams in the weakest power conference.
September 12 vs. UCF
Some have criticized Stanford's recent home-and-home arrangement with Central Florida, but I think it was a great move. Though the Knights are currently 0-2 and hail from the not-so-powerful American conference, they won a BCS bowl game last year, beating #12 Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and finishing 12-1. That's quality. When placed alongside previous non-conference opponents like San Jose State, Sacramento State, and UC Davis, there is no comparison. (And remember the recruiting hotbed I mentioned earlier? Stanford will get to play at Central Florida in 2019. I guarantee you that every Florida high school player on Stanford's radar already knows that.)
September 19 at USC
Did the Cardinal offense fizzle against the Trojans this year because it hadn't yet faced a real test? We'll never know the answer to that, but we will know that won't be the case next year. When Stanford travels to Los Angeles looking to snap an unimaginable two-game losing streak to the Trojans, the Cardinal will already have two serious games under its belt. (USC, meanwhile, will have played those perennial powerhouses, Arkansas State and Idaho.) David Shaw's record against USC is now 2-2, the only conference team against which he doesn't have a winning record.
September 25 (Friday) at Oregon State
I still get flashbacks of Jacquizz Rodgers running wild every time I think of Oregon State, but that was a while ago, and since his graduation the Cardinal has beaten the Beavers four straight times. Quarterback Sean Mannion has made things interesting, but he'll be gone next year, and Oregon State will likely be no better than the fourth- or fifth-best team in the Pac-12 North. This Friday night game will likely bring out a rowdy crowd, but Stanford will survive. I promise.
October 3 vs. Arizona
The last time Stanford played Arizona and Arizona State in the same season was way back in 2010. That's about all I have to say about this game.
October 15 (Thursday) vs. UCLA
I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of the Pac-12's Thursday night games (or Friday nights, for that matter), but this will be a big game. The Bruins will have lost quarterback Brett Hundley to the NFL, but they're still a program on the rise, and this will be a marquee matchup worthy of a national television audience. A rabid crowd will surely work in Stanford's favor, and you can bet the house that the players will come out in their beloved black unis, adding to the excitement. Recently this series has been completely one-sided -- for one team or the other. After losing five straight, Stanford is currently riding a six-game winning streak over the Bruins.
October 24 vs. Washington
Remember the last time Stanford hosted the Huskies on Homecoming Weekend? It was 2011 and the Cardinal rolled up a school-record 446 yards rushing in a merciless display of domination. Coach Chris Petersen will be more than a year into his Husky tenure, so things will probably have begun to turn around for him. This game could be challenging. Stanford is 5-1 against the Huskies since 2008.
October 31 at Washington State
The only thing that would make this game interesting would be if WSU coach Mike Leach were to dress up as an actual pirate. Stanford has had more success against the Cougs than any other team on their schedule in the Harbaugh-Shaw Era. They've won six games in a row by a combined score of 258-89. Swing your sword at that.
November 7 at Colorado
Colorado is another team that's adrift, and there's no reason to believe that anything will change between now and next November. This will serve as a de facto bye week before...
November 14 vs. Oregon
Even though Marcus Mariota will finally be in the NFL after what seems like a seven-year college career, this will probably still be the game that decides the Pac-12 North and the conference championship. Still.
November 21 vs. Cal
There are finally some signs of life coming from the other side of the bay, so Cal football might be relevant again in 2015. But probably not.
November 28 vs. Notre Dame
It used to bother me when the regular season schedule ended with Notre Dame instead of Cal, but with Big Game feeling more and more like a Varsity-JV scrimmage, it's nice to close out the season with the Irish and a game that means something, even if it doesn't affect the conference standings.
The Early Analysis:
This is a schedule tailor-made for a national championship run. The only worrisome road game is at USC, and it's nice to see Oregon and Notre Dame at the end of the slate. Also, with non-conference games against Northwestern, UCF, and the Irish, the strength of schedule will perhaps be the strongest in the nation, good enough so that the Cardinal could even absorb a loss and still earn a spot in the Final Four. As I said above, it's dangerous to make predictions about next season when we're only a quarter of the way through the current schedule, but 2015 definitely promises to be an exciting one for Stanford football.
