Stanford football in for tough test this week against high octane San Jose State

Ahead of Stanford's final contest of 2024, Troy Taylor met with the media to discuss the upcoming game against San Jose State and what to expect from the Bill Walsh Legacy Game

Nov 23, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) rushes for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

It all comes down to this. After a long season, the Stanford Cardinal will play one final contest in 2024 as they hit the road to take on the San Jose State Spartans, in a battle between two South Bay programs. Coming off of a loss to Cal, the Cardinal will go into this game as hungry as ever, hoping to go into the offseason on a positive note and finish a season with at least four wins for the first time since 2019. Playing on a Friday this week, the Cardinal have wasted no time and have immediately begun preparing for the Spartans, ensuring that they have the perfect game plan.

Head coach Troy Taylor, along with players Zach Buckey and Jake Maikkula, met with the media on Monday to talk about the upcoming game. Here are five takeaways from the press conference.

San Jose State’s passing game will keep Stanford on its toes

Despite the last couple of weeks being a struggle, the Spartans have put up a lot of points in a majority of their games this season, with their high powered offense arguably being the backbone of their team. But when the Cardinal take the field on Friday, San Jose State’s passing game will need to be the thing that they are most ready to defend, as the Spartans have evolved into a strong passing team.

“They throw it as well as anybody,” Taylor said. “They throw it a lot, more than anybody. I know last week, they had quite a storm so it affected their ability to throw the ball. Very familiar with what they do on offense. Their offensive coordinator is really good. We played him when I was at Sacramento State and he was at Dixie State (now known as Utah Tech). He does a great job of spreading the field and really threatening you all over… it’s a challenging team and we’re excited for the opportunity. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Currently ranked as the 126th passing defense in the country, allowing 271.1 passing yards per game, the Spartans will surely attack Stanford hard in the air, but if the Cardinal go in expecting a pass-heavy game, they should see some success this week.

Elijah Brown could be in the cards to see action this week

While it was originally expected that freshman quarterback Elijah Brown would be more of an impact player in his first season on The Farm, an injury sustained in his college debut in week two kept him out of action for weeks, also keeping him eligible to redshirt.

While the young signal caller has since made his return, playing a majority of the game against SMU while getting some reps against Wake Forest, the team has been selective with his appearances, as a player can only play in four games if they wish to still redshirt. And since he has only played in three and this week being the last game, it is possible that Brown could be in the mix to get some reps on Black Friday.

“He hasn’t recovered as fast as we would have liked him too, but he is 100% right now,” Taylor said. “Now it’s just a comfort level for him to feel confident. But there is definitely a possibility for him to play on Friday if we need him.”

Showing immense promise while also being highly touted out of high school, it is likely that Brown will be the future of the program and regardless of what they decide to do with him against the Spartans, he will certainly be in next year’s plans as the program continues its quest to return to national prominence.

Containing Nick Nash will be the focal point for this week’s game

Originally committing to San Jose State back in 2019 as a quarterback, Nash has since made the switch to receiver, becoming a full time wide receiver at the start of 2023.

Since then, Nash has not only become San Jose State’s most electric player, but has also developed into one of the best wide receivers in the country, putting together his best career season this year having caught 96 passes for 1,291 yards and 14 touchdowns and being named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and at one point leading the nation in five receiving categories. A real threat, the Cardinal will need to slow him down if they want any chance at winning.

“He’s got an incredible feel for the game,” Taylor said. “So, obviously really talented. He throws the ball really well and they’ve utilized that. I would say just his overall feel for the game is off the charts. You can tell the quarterbacks usually are paying attention to everything in the offense, and then he has just a nice feel. He’s got great ball skills, especially in traffic. He’s hard to get his hands on, he’s a physical guy [and] he’s a really, really special player.”

Listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Nash has size and length, and with his athleticism being off the charts, he fits the mold of a perfect college football wideout and figures to be a major part of SJSU’s game plan once again this week.

A Stanford RB is yet to score a rushing touchdown this year, but there is no worry there

Lately, it seems that the Cardinal have been able to run the ball really well, having scored nine rushing touchdowns as a team and having over 1,400 rushing yards. But none of those rushing touchdowns have come from a running back as out of those nine touchdowns scored on the ground, seven of them were scored by Lamson and two have been scored by Ashton Daniels, both quarterbacks. And while that may be a cause for concern in some situations, the Cardinal are not fazed with that stat.

“When we get into short yardage and goal line [situations], we’re a heavy QB run team with Justin Lamson. There’s just an advantage you have when you utilize the quarterback run. Now, not everybody does that, because they don’t have a quarterback necessarily that they feel comfortable running the ball. We do favor the QB runs down on the short yardage and goal line. We’ve been pretty successful at it. Those will come for sure, but we’ve had so many plays where we’re on the one where it just makes a lot of sense to utilize the running back as a blocker.”

The Cardinal have plenty of talent in the running back room, most of them being freshmen, who have all gotten opportunities to gain experience this year. And while they may not have found the end zone, having running backs who are able to perform multiple jobs that do not involve carrying the ball is a good thing to have.

Defense will be what wins Stanford this game

San Jose State is strong and stout both ways, but with how good the offense is, the Cardinal know that if they want to win, their defense has to show out and put together a performance of a lifetime type game.

“They’re a very good team,” defensive lineman Zach Buckey said. “They’ve put some great numbers up this year. I know the wide receiver Nash is one of the most prolific receivers in the country, and they’ve played some very good teams and some very good defenses, and they played well. So they’ll be a challenge for us, but I think we’ve made some great strides recently, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can put on tape this upcoming Friday.”

This week will be another big test, but the motivation and hunger is at an all-time high for a Cardinal team that needs a win to not only improve off their record from three straight years, but that also is riding high into the offseason.