Stanford Football Must do These Three Things the Rest of the Season

Now that the season is halfway done, we take a look at what the Cardinal must do if they want to right the ship and keep their bowl aspirations alive

Stanford cornerback Jshawn Frausto-Ramos (17) tackles Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Time to move on. After a 49-7 loss to No. 11 Notre Dame on Saturday, the Stanford Cardinal (2-4, 1-2 ACC) will return home this week where they will look to get their season back on track when they take on SMU. Suffering three straight losses and needing to win six games to earn bowl game consideration, time is now of the essence in terms of every game being that much more important.

As the second half of the season commences, here three things that the Stanford Cardinal must do the rest of way.

More consistent quarterback play

While there have been moments of very strong play from the quarterbacks, there have also been issues with turnovers, especially over the last three games. Starting quarterback Ashton Daniels turned the ball over again against the Irish, fumbling the ball in the third quarter as a result of a deflection. Notre Dame posed a tough challenge as the No. 11 ranked team, but head coach Troy Taylor admitted that it is hard to be in a position to win if turnovers keep happening, something that the Cardinal will keep working on.

“It’s tough when you’re turning the ball over,” head coach Troy Taylor said. “These are good enough defenses where if you don’t hurt yourself, it makes it difficult. We had the one on the option that was a tough play but there are other things [as well]. We have to improve in all areas to be honest.”

The offense has had moments of brilliance this year but if the turnovers keep occurring, the Cardinal will have a tough time being able to score enough points to win games.

Don't let losses like this affect them

Any loss can be tough, but the key to Stanford being able to keep things from really slipping away from them is the ability to regroup and rebound, and not letting a loss like the one they just endured against Notre Dame affect them the rest of the way.

“It's demoralizing for sure when you’re a competitor, and you’re gonna feel that way probably for another 24 hours,” Taylor said. “And then as a competitor, you focus your attention on the next opponent. So that’s just the way it works. If you lose, you gotta be able to move on. And so we got a long season ahead of us, lots of opportunities. This one hurts obviously, but we’ll be able to bounce back up and be ready to play next weekend.”

Teams lose, but it is how they are able to learn and respond from a loss that can really define the direction of a season.

Run defense is key

Entering this week, the Cardinal were the second ranked run defense in the ACC while being No. 12 in the nation, only allowing an average of about 88 yards per game. However, things were much different this week as the Irish had little trouble running the ball, amassing well over 100 yards while managing to score four times on the ground.

Before the Notre Dame game, the Cardinal’s run defense was the team’s most consistent phase, forcing teams to have to throw the ball while essentially eliminating team’s top ball carriers, with Clemson running back Phil Mafeh being held to 58 yards and Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten to 73 yards, two running backs that have been dominant all year long. But in struggling to contain the run against Notre Dame, the Irish quickly took control of the game and were able to score 49 points.

Each game will get progressively harder for the Cardinal as they get deeper and deeper into their ACC schedule but if they are able to keep their run defense how it's been for a majority of the year, they should be able to be competitive in every game.