This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Stanford's loss to Northwestern in last season's opener ultimately kept the Cardinal out of the College Football Playoff.
The Cardinal could have absorbed a two-point defeat vs. Oregon and earned a semifinal berth, but two losses were one too many. Northwestern is a respected Big Ten opponent, but that outcome also categorized Stanford with Northwestern — great academic school, decent football program.
That's underselling the Cardinal. Entering his sixth season, coach David Shaw is 54-14 since taking over for Jim Harbaugh. He's 36-9 in Pac-12 play — even while going 0-2 against Utah — and has appeared in three Rose Bowls and a Fiesta Bowl.
"When people mention football schools, our name doesn't come up," Shaw said during the Pac-12 Media Days. "We've won as many games as anybody. … but when you say football schools, you still talk about these other schools, so for us I think we're still establishing who we are. We haven't arrived yet."
The Cardinal will have to earn whatever they get in 2016, with trips to UCLA, Washington, Notre Dame and Oregon.
Stanford was picked to win the Pac-12 title in the official media poll, ahead of Washington in the North — and then beating UCLA in the conference championship game. The Cardinal are No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25.
So they're receiving considerable respect regionally and nationally, thanks mostly to running back Christian McCaffrey, who's a top candidate for the Heisman Trophy after he rushed for 2,019 yards as a sophomore. Asked about reducing McCaffrey's workload to preserve him, Shaw said, "Are you kidding me? I'm going to start giving him some of my responsibilities. The guy has handled everything else. … We're going to push him harder, push him further, and see if there's more he can do."
McCaffrey's presence will help the Cardinal break in a new quarterback, Ryan Burns, after Kevin Hogan started for most of four years. Burns is listed as a senior — at other schools, he would be considered a redshirt junior, athletically. He won the job over Kellen Chryst, who also was promised playing time in next Friday's opener vs. Kansas State.
Senior tight end Dalton Schultz, from Bingham High School, was among the players Shaw named in July as "the guys that are going to help the quarterback get established." Schultz caught 10 passes for 121 yards last season.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Stanford
Coach • David Shaw (sixth season, 54-14)
2015 record • 12-2 (8-1 Pac-12)
2016 media poll • First in North
Schedule
Sept. 2 • Kansas State
Sept. 17 • USC
Sept. 24 • at UCLA
Sept. 30 • at Washington
Oct. 8 • Washington State
Oct. 15 • at Notre Dame
Oct. 22 • Colorado
Oct. 29 • at Arizona
Nov. 5 • Oregon State
Nov. 12 • at Oregon
Nov. 19 • at California
Nov. 26 • Rice