The Stanford Cardinal come rolling into town this Saturday, primed to play the Fighting Irish after three weeks of astonishing production and lopsided scores. While their treatment of Sacramento State didn’t surprise anyone, Jim Harbaugh’s squad absolutely demolished UCLA and Wake Forest, with scores that certainly raised eyebrows around the country.
Harbaugh enters his fourth season atop the Stanford football program, and has completely transformed the football culture, bringing in a smash-mouth, pro-style system and a brash attitude that’s taking the Pac-10 by storm.
To get a better idea of what the Irish will be facing when the Cardinal come to town this Saturday, I caught up with Kabir Sawhney, the Managing Editor of Sports for the Stanford Daily. He was kind enough to give us all a sneak peak of what we can expect this Saturday.
Inside the Irish: This football team is obviously on a roll, putting up some pretty staggering numbers against one cupcake and two respectable teams. Is this football team for real?
Kabir Sawhney: I’m certainly convinced that this Stanford team is “for real.” On
offense, it all comes down to the play of its fantastic offensive
line, which has done a great job of protecting its quarterback,
Andrew Luck, while also bulldozing paths for the running game. Last
season, the line (or the “Tunnel Workers’ Union” as they’re known)
was a big part of Toby Gerhart’s success; even with the rotation of
backs the Cardinal is employing this season, the running game will
still have a lot of success.
ITI: The new defense has looked good after three games, putting
up some dynamic numbers through three games — especially
against the pass. Is this a product of playing some bad
quarterbacks or has something clicked with the Cardinal
defense?
KS: It’s still too early to tell with the defense, since it hasn’t
really faced a top-notch offense yet. In its new 3-4 scheme, the
defense certainly looks strong, significantly upgraded over last
year’s weak unit. The linebacking corps has lived up to
expectations, with Owen Marecic, Shayne Skov and Max Bergen shutting
down the running game up the middle and Chase Thomas and Thomas
Keiser coming off the ends. In the secondary, Michael Thomas has
emerged as the unit’s leader, something it was really lacking last
year.
I don’t think we’ll really know whether the whole defense can really
shut down opponents until the Cardinal’s trip to Oregon on Oct. 5.
ITI: Having watched Andrew Luck play for the past two seasons,
how good is he? The Pac-10 gets plenty of kudos for Jake
Locker and Matt Barkley, but Luck seems to be every bit as
good as those two. Obviously Harbaugh likes him, but is he one
of college football’s best kept secrets?
KS: Andrew Luck has shown a great deal of capability as a leader in the
past couple of seasons, and it’s pretty clear why NFL scouts are
projecting him as a first-round draft pick. Luck has done extremely
well in Stanford’s pro-style offense. However, I think we need to
see him tested against elite competition before rendering a final
judgment. Last year, this was Toby Gerhart’s offense; Luck was
rarely called upon to make big plays, and the few times he was, he
often came up short (Stanford fans still recall the pick he threw at
the end of last year’s Big Game against Cal). This season, he is the
unquestioned leader of the offense, but it is an open debate on
whether he can perform as well under pressure.
ITI: There’s no Toby Gerhart, yet Stanford’s running attack
hasn’t missed a beat. How are they doing it?
KS: See above. The best-kept secret in the Pac-10 isn’t Andrew Luck,
it’s how good Stanford’s O-line is. This year, Stanford’s running
attack isn’t built quite as much on the ground-and-pound; the line
opens up holes for Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Usua Amanam,
all of whom are excellent at bursting through those holes for chunks
of yardage.
ITI: Has Owen Marecic achieved legend status at Stanford yet?
KS: At least among those of us who follow Stanford football, Owen
Marecic has certainly achieved quite a following. He embodies the
old-school style that Jim Harbaugh has brought to Stanford: a
no-nonsense player that can play on both sides of the ball, who will
hit you hard regardless of which side he happens to be playing on.
ITI: The last few games these two teams have played have been
tight. How do you see this one playing out?
KS: I think Stanford will go out and beat Notre Dame this weekend. So
far, the Fighting Irish have not shown me that they’re much improved
over last year’s edition, even under the new spread attack employed
by Brian Kelly. Meanwhile, I think the Cardinal have improved to the
point that it has serious Rose Bowl aspirations. The fact that the
game is in South Bend will keep it close, but I think Stanford goes
out and wins this game, 38-28.
To read more of Kabir as he profiles the Cardinal as they head to South Bend, read him at the Stanford Daily here.
