I'll have to admit that after spending eight months desperately looking forward to the 2023 version of Stanford Football, I felt surprisingly disconnected as I sat down to watch the Cardinal take on Hawai'i in their season opener last Friday night.
I was mourning the loss of the Pac-12. I'll allow others to debate the factors that led to the demise of the Conference of Champions and point fingers where they might, but without any insight into rights negotiations or the budget lines of university athletic departments, I can't begin to know where things went wrong or when the slope became too slippery for schools to retrace their steps. I only know that the conference I grew up with is no more.
I once hoped to spend the autumns of my retirement taking road trips to watch the Cardinal play in stadiums up and down the Pac-12, and I assumed that each September (or August) kickoff would always trigger thoughts of a season ending in Pasadena on January 1st. I'll always be grateful that I was able to watch Stanford play in the Rose Bowl four times, but it breaks my heart knowing that that will never happen again. Also -- and I say this with complete sincerity -- I feel for fans of our rival across the Bay, all of whom began each season with that same Rose Bowl dream but now know that it will never bloom.
As Stanford and Cal fans turned their eyes towards the ACC, it struck me how our perceptions of the landscape were so quickly skewed. Most reports viewed the deal as a positive, oblivious to the obvious -- it couldn't be farther from positive. It's roughly three thousand miles and three time zones away from positive. But when faced with a handful of awful options, the least awful choice can easily be spun to seem like a win. And here we are.
So I sat down late Friday night to watch the Cardinal with all this in mind, and it was difficult to focus on the game. In addition to my angst about what was happening off the field, I felt disconnected from what was happening on the field. For months I had looked forward to seeing what was new, but as it played out before me I found myself longing for the comfort of what we'd left behind.
Eleven years ago when our three children were getting too big for the small house we were living in, we found a new home with everything we wanted -- extra living space, an office, bedrooms for everyone, and a pool in the back. But only a few weeks after we moved in, my wife said something I'll never forget: "We should've stayed in our old house. There's too much empty space here." It wasn't second-guessing or buyer's remorse, it was a longing for something familiar. Something comfortable.
And so it was for me watching these new Stanford Cardinal. It wasn't just that there was a new head coach pacing the sidelines, the roster turnover was unprecedented. When I had perused the depth chart earlier in the week and noted that there were dozens of unfamiliar names, it made be uneasy simply because it reminded me how little I knew about this team. It wasn't just that I wasn't sure how these new players would perform, I wasn't even sure who these new players were.
Of course, I was being a bit dramatic. When I watched the game a second time later in the week, I was able to focus on the football, and there was a lot to be excited about.
First of all, there's Ashton Daniels. When I asked Coach Taylor back in July about how he would approach the quarterback competition, what struck me most was that he didn't seem overly concerned about it. So it wasn't that surprising that he never bothered to make a public announcement. Word leaked out on Thursday that Daniels would be the starter, but it wasn't until the sophomore jogged out onto the field for Stanford's first possession that anything was official.
We hadn't seen much from Daniels during his freshman season. The few times he was in the game he was rather one-dimensional, completing just five of six passes while running the ball 25 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns. That wasn't the player we saw against Hawai'i.
Daniels led a balanced offensive attack by completing 25 of 36 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns, but he also kept the Warriors defense on their toes by gaining 42 yards on nine carries, most of them designed runs.
All we heard about the Stanford offense during training camp was how versatile it would be, and the boxscore reflects that. Daniels's favorite target, naturally, was the Carrot Prince himself, Ben Yurosek. The tight end would finish with nine catches for 138 yards and a touchdown, but nine other Cardinal receivers and running backs would also catch passes from Daniels. It wasn't a surprise that senior John Humphreys caught three, one for a touchdown, but the name that jumps out is true freshman Tiger Bachmeier, who caught three balls himself, impressing as much with his early production as with his long flowing locks.
Another familiar name is Stanford's best overall player, linebacker David Bailey. (All-American Josh Karty could also make a claim for that title.) After an eye-opening freshman season in 2022, Bailey picked up right where he left off in the season opener. Stanford defensive players talked openly all summer about wanting to bring back the #PartyInTheBackfield, and Bailey led the way with a three-sack performance that earned him Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. He's one of the most dynamic players Stanford has had on the defensive side of the ball in years, and it will be great to watch him wreaking havoc this year and next.
It was a comfortable victory for the Cardinal, but one that was desperately needed. Things will likely look a bit different when they take the field against USC, but this opening win proves that the program is heading in the right direction.
