Recapping Stanford's Week 1 win over Colgate

The Cardinal got on the right side of the win column after struggling for all of last season

Stanford's skid of losses has finally ended, as the Cardinal were able to handle Patriot League foe, Colgate. 

The 41-10 Win gives them their first dub since last season when they beat Oregon in overtime. They would go on to lose every game after that, due to injuries, poor offensive line play, and putrid defense. That wasn't the case on Saturday as the Cardinal started off quickly, and in typical Stanford fashion it was thanks to the run game. E.J. Smith showed off his great speed, vision, elusiveness as he took the first offensive touch of the year, 87-yards to the house. 

This game wasn't close, but Stanford's self inflicted mistakes kept Colgate in it longer than they should have been. There was a flukey bounce on a punt that hit a blocker, an E.J. Smith fumble, and a questionable decision by Casey Filkins to try and catch a punt off the bounce which turned into Colgate's lone touchdown of the day. The Stanford offense also went the whole third quarter without scoring.

On the bright side, for all of the first half McKee and the passing attack looked as sharp as they could have, throwing for 234-yards. Michael Wilson had two touchdown grabs one of them being a catch of the year candidate, and Brycen Treymane was consistently making plays down field. McKee did have a mental lapse in the third quarter when he overthrew everyone and was picked off, but overall he was very efficient all game and had the deep ball working. 

McKee finished the day early, completing 22-of-27 passes for 308 yards and two touchdown, before backup Ari Patu was put into the game. 

The defense looked much better in the new 4-3 scheme, as they held the Raiders to just a little over 200 total yards and were very efficient in slowing down the run. They also showed flashes of getting to the quarterback, as Colgate's quarterback was uncomfortable all game even bringing him down twice. 

Stats Comparison:

Total Yards: Stanford 496, Colgate 218

Passing Yards: Stanford 328, Colgate 59

Rushing Yards: Stanford 168, Colgate 159

Penalties: Stanford 2-20, Colgate 6-30

Turnovers: Stanford 4, Colgate 1

Time of possession: Stanford 26:49 Colgate 32:06