Perhaps the biggest difference between the Stanford teams we've watched over the past few years as compared to what we had been used to during the previous decades has been that this team can play defense. In years past the offense took the field knowing it had to produce points each time it touched the ball, but that certainly wasn't the case in 2011, nor should it be in 2012.
So here's what I've written in this space so far over the course of this preview series:
About the quarterbacks:
College football teams develop indentities over time, but sometimes the perception does not match reality. Such is the case for Stanford Football, a team with a rich legacy at the quarterback position...
About the running backs:
Even with Andrew Luck leading the way as the best player in America over the past three seasons, Stanford has still been a run-first offense. During the three years of the the Andrew Luck Era, the offense produced the three most prolific rushing totals in school history and ranked 10th, 18th, and 20th in the nation. Quarterback U? Guess again.
About the tight ends:
I can't imagine that a college team has ever had a tight end rotation like that, and the three were so good that Stanford ran a variety of different three tight end sets in their offense.
Forget all that. All of it. Jim Harbaugh might've provided the spark necessary for the transformation and Andrew Luck might've been the genius at the helm, but Stanford Football -- today, tomorrow, and always -- is about the offensive line.
The biggest loss to the Stanford passing game in 2011, aside from the obvious one, was Coby Fleener. An absolute freak of nature, Fleener had the size of a tight end combined with the speed of an elite wide receiver, making him essentially uncoverable. The only thing that stopped him from running away with the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end was the fact that he shared the position at Stanford with two other NFL-ready tight ends, Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of last season was watching the development of true freshman wide receiver Ty Montgomery. Clearly overwhelmed by the transition to college football and hindered by his lack of understanding of the playbook, Montgomery was limited to only brief appearances during the first half of the season. He caught one ball in the opener against San Jose State, but didn't make another catch until six weeks later.
But even as he was struggling to catch up to what the offense was doing, he still managed to make an impact on special teams, as he averaged 25.2 yards per return, an average bolstered by his electric 96-yard touchdown return in Game 6 against Washington State.
Montgomery was a quick learner, however, and in the second half of the season he evolved into one of Andrew Luck's favorite targets. He had five catches for 87 yards in the epic victory at USC, notched his first touchdown reception against Notre Dame, and finished with seven receptions for 120 yards in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State.
During his sophomore campaign Montgomery won't have the benefit of receiving balls from the best quarterback in America, but he's certain to be the focal point of the passing game and should double his production from 2011. Fifty receptions and 700 yards for six or seven touchdowns certainly sounds reasonable.
College football teams develop indentities over time, but sometimes the perception does not match reality. Such is the case for Stanford Football, a team with a rich legacy at the quarterback position starting with the recently departed Andrew Luck and stretching back through John Elway, Jim Plunkett, Guy Benjamin, Mike Boryla, John Brodie, Bob Garrett, and Frankie Albert. All eight of those men earned first-team All-America honors, a claim few other universities can make.
But as great as those quarterbacks were, the list of running backs over the past thirty years is equally impressive. Darrin Nelson, Brad Muster, Tommy Vardell, Glyn Milburn, and Toby Gerhart were also listed on All-America teams, and the tradition they established lives on in today's Stanford Cardinal.
Even with Andrew Luck leading the way as the best player in America over the past three seasons, Stanford has still been a run-first offense. During the three years of the the Andrew Luck Era, the offense produced the three most prolific rushing totals in school history and ranked 10th, 18th, and 20th in the nation. Quarterback U? Guess again.
The first thing you're going to have to do is get used to the idea that Andrew Luck is no longer playing quarterback for the Cardinal. Luck graduated in June with a degree in architecture and more than a handful of Stanford passing records, most notably a 67% completion rate, a passing efficiency of 162.8, and 82 touchdowns.
As untouchable as those records are, those who watched closely know that they don't begin to tell the story of Andrew Luck. Quite simply, he eliminated mistakes, and not just the obvious ones, like interceptions and fumbles. His greatest talent was his peerless understanding of the game and unmatched ability to put his team in a position of strength on every play. Those of us in the stands would marvel at his 300-yard games or four-touchdown performances, but Luck often spoke of the 65-21 thrashing of Washington during his senior year as one of his greatest games. It was something of a Matrix Moment for Luck, as he looked at what you and I would've seen as green and black confusion and saw only wide open gaps. He stood at the line before each snap, and seemed to make the correct call on every play. His personal numbers were pedestrian on that night, but the offense was unstoppable.
We won't see quarterback play like that this season in Palo Alto, but neither will fans in any college town in America. Here's the good news, though. It'll be okay.
