Go Mighty Card

Stanford 50, Duke 13

During the week following Stanford's opening day win over San Jose State, observers close to the program and college football analysts across the country were in near unanimous agreement on the state of the program.

Several things were clear. The void left at the quarterback position was too great to fill, and it was affecting the overall performance of the offense. Of equal concern was the conservative nature of the playcalling, and there were some who even wondered if perhaps Coach David Shaw was in over his head a bit.

There were physical issues, as well. Though acknowledged to be a work in progress, the offensive line did little to instill any faith in the future with their performance in week one. If they couldn't establish themselves against San Jose State, how could they hope to protect a quarterback or lead a rushing attack against USC or Oregon or Notre Dame?

And what about the defense, with its supposedly dominant front seven and improved secondary? As the Spartans were marching up and down the field during that forgettable third quarter, it wasn't hard to imagine Pac-12 offensive coordinators salivating.

And then everything changed.

Stanford-Duke Video Highlights

We'll have a full recap and the usual analysis a bit later today, but for now you can check out these video highlights, courtesy of the Pac-12 Networks. I'm not sure how I feel about the Pac-12 Networks, but that's a topic for another day. Right now, maybe we should just bask in the glory of the Cardinal victory.

 

Blogging With the Enemy: Duke Blue Devils

In the second game of the season last year the Stanford Cardinal travelled 2,000 miles and three time zones to visit Duke University. That Stanford team featured the presumptive Heisman Trophy winner and had designs on a Pac-12 Championship and an appearance in the BCS Championship game. While there were a few hiccups early on, most notably a pick-six thrown by Andrew Luck, but everything went as planned in the end as the Mighty Card cruised to a 44-14 win.

How things have changed.

Regardless of how worried some in the Cardinal camp might be, last week's narrow win over San Jose State did not signify the coming of the apolocalypse. This week's game against the Blue Devils, though, has become an important measuring stick.

Can the offensive line live up to the legacy of those who blocked before them? Can Josh Nunes look to be a bit more aggressive? Or, more importantly, will Coach David Shaw let him?

We'll get the answers to these questions in only a few days as Stanford takes on Duke in the back end of a home and home series. In many ways Duke looks a lot like the Stanford Cardinal. Hailing from a small, private institution with a strong academic reputation, the Blue Devils are trying to compete in a power conference against teams with far more lenient admission standards. Only five years ago those aspirations would have been seen as foolish, but then Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw arrived in Palo Alto and changed the world. Some Duke fans have wondered aloud why the Blue Devils would agree to fly across the country for a game that will be televised to only a handful of small pockets across the country, none of them in ACC country. Here's why: Coach Shaw's program is what Duke Football wants to be when it grows up.

What really matters, though, is what happens between the lines this Saturday. For a closer look at this year's Duke squad, I sent a few questions to Patrick Cacchio of Blue Devil Nation, and he was kind enough to respond with some incredibly thorough answers. (You can check out my side of the conversation over at his site.) Enjoy...

Forecasting Stanford Football in 2012, One Game at a Time

Remember in Back to the Future II when Biff stole Marty's copy of Grays Sports Almanac and used the DeLorean to give it to his 1955 self so that he could win every sports bet for the next fifty years? Well, here's the next best thing.

We here at Go Mighty Card have never condoned gambling, but we noticed something recently that caught our attention. Sure, it might be fun to put down some cash on an individual game, then bite your nails to the nubs for three hours before hopefully claiming your winnings, but we've always been more intrigued by the long-term bet, especially because it always looks so easy to make a fistful of money.

One of the earliest reports from Las Vegas has the over/under for the 2012 Stanford Cardinal set at 7.5 wins. On the surface, eight wins seems like a gimme, so I thought I'd take a look at things game by game, putting each match-up into one of three categories: Guaranteed Lock, Toss Up, or Likely Loss.

This is hardly scientific, and by no means a recommendation on how to spend your hard-earned money, but it gives us an excuse to analyze the schedule a bit. As always, feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section. Could it be possible that Stanford could win only seven games this fall? Let's take a look...

Stanford 44, Duke 14

Andrew Luck dropped back to pass with 2:28 remaining in the first half and the Cardinal holding a modest 10-0 lead. He was looking for Chris Owusu, who working on the left side against tight coverage by Duke cornerback Johnny Williams. Luck tried to force the ball in to his receiver, but Owusu and Williams were locked in an intense battle for position and the pass was tipped out into space where it was picked out of the air by safety Lee Butler. Butler raced seventy-six yards down the sideline for a touchdown, and suddenly Stanford hearts were beating a bit faster. 

Moments later things got even stickier when Duke head coach David Cutcliffe called for a surprise onside kick, and the Blue Devils executed it perfectly. The home crowd was going crazy (perhaps not Cameron Crazy, but crazy nonetheless), and thoughts of an upset must've crept into the minds of even the most level-headed Cardinal fans.

Blogging With the Enemy: Duke Blue Devils

If you say the words "Blue Devils" to anyone in any context, only one thing will come to mind: Duke Basketball. Few collegiate athletic programs have had such an enduring impact on the national sports psyche as Duke, both because of their consistent success and larger than life personalities. Coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure has stretched back three decades and been highlighted by such players as Johnny Dawkins, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Shane Battier, and J.J. Redick, just to name a few. During that time the Blue Devils have won three national championships and played in eleven Final Fours.

All of this underlines what we already know: Duke University is a basketball school. The football team struggles to emerge from Coach K's shadow, but last weekend it took a huge step back when they lost to the Richmond Spiders, a Football Championship Subdivision team.

The Stanford Cardinal will take on the Blue Devils this Saturday, and Patrick Cacchio of Blue Devil Nation stopped by to answer a few of my questions about the team. I returned the favor for him, and you can read my side of the interview over at BDN, but first take a look at what he has to say about his Blue Devils...

The Devil is in the Details

Proving that it's never too early to start thinking about this fall's schedule, the good folks over at Blue Devil Nation are already starting to preview Duke's football match-ups, and Patrick Cacchio asked me to help them out by answering a few questions about their Week 2 opponent, the Stanford Cardinal. Here's a quick sampling:

BDN: Many Duke fans point to Stanford’s success as proof that top academic schools can produce championship football programs. It’s hard to believe that the Cardinal were 1-11 just five seasons ago; to what do you attribute Stanford’s meteoric rise and success? How much confidence do fans have in new Head Coach David Shaw’s ability to continue that success?

I remember reading an article from a Duke perspective that made this same point some time around the Orange Bowl last January. The funny thing is that twenty years ago Stanford fans looked at Duke as proof that a university with a strong academic reputation could also field a competitive basketball team. When the Stanford football program was lost in the darkness of Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris, there were many who followed the team who felt as if the University had given up on the idea of fielding a winning football team. Even Bill Walsh felt that the stiff admissions requirements were too much to overcome. The arrival of Jim Harbaugh changed all that. That’s no deep analysis, but I don’t think it can be understated. Harbaugh took the job in 2006 because he believed he could win, and then he convinced everyone around him — the players, the coaches, the fans, and the athletic department — that it was possible. Belief is fine, but Harbaugh and his staff also did a great job bringing in players that could compete — and dominate — in the Pac-10. Harbaugh’s departure was a disappointment, but it wasn’t unexpected. David Shaw, I think, is the perfect man to replace him. A Stanford graduate himself, Shaw actually sees the University’s academic reputation as an advantage in recruiting, and the football department recently send a letter to all recruits detailing the financial returns of a Stanford degree as compared to other schools whose football teams are in the top 25. The media has made much of the idea that Stanford won’t be able to win without Harbaugh’s personality to drive the bus, but what they’re forgetting is that the 2011 roster is clearly – clearly — more talented than the team that we last saw running roughshod over Virginia Tech. Confidence is high.

I'll hold off on our usual full preview of the Blue Devils until September, but I encourage you to check out the rest of my conversation with Patrick over at their site. It's good stuff.