Stanford football ready for a loud crowd in Syracuse

Dylan Grausz | Sep 16, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor looks on before a game against the Cal Poly Mustangs at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Stanford Cardinal (1-1) are coming off of a bye week, and after beating Cal Poly the last time that they stepped out onto the field, the team is locked in and focused on getting ACC play off to a fast start, with a big game on the road against the Syracuse Orange (2-0) next on the docket. As is the case during every game week, head coach Troy Taylor met with the media on Monday afternoon to discuss the upcoming matchup. Here are five takeaways from what coach Taylor had to say.

Team will not stay on East Coast during week prior to game

This season will bring about a lot of change and require a lot of adjusting, with one adjustment being the need to travel to the East Coast to play games. And while Stanford has two of those games in back to back weeks, having to fly to Syracuse this week with a game against Clemson next week, the team will opt to come back to Palo Alto during the week, to give the players and coaches the chance to still go about their routines.

“Comfort wise and not being home and for our players, the academic part of it is a huge part of it and then also our facilities are here, our ability to lift and train and eat and try to keep it as normal as possible,” Taylor said. “Also the fact we are playing on a Friday so that even though we are going to travel back and it’ll be late and throw our sleep schedule off a little bit, they will have all day Saturday to recover and then we’ll be able to get on a normal routine on Sunday.”

The travel will be a big adjustment this year and while it may take a little bit of time to fully get used to, being able to establish a consistent routine early on could help tremendously as the schedule starts to get even more difficult as the season progresses.

The Syracuse crowd will be a major factor in an indoor space

Playing on the road can be very tough, especially when college football crowds tend to be extremely large in a lot of areas. Not only will Stanford have to deal with the possibility of a large crowd to back Syracuse, but playing in a domed stadium could amplify the noise of an already loud crowd.

“It’s unique,” Taylor said. “I’ve never been there but speaking to Justin [Lamson] and a number of people that have played there or coached there, they say it’s really loud. So yeah, that’s a huge advantage for Syracuse, the crowd noise, for sure. So we’ve been preparing in the bye week and this week to deal with [that] on the offensive side of the ball specifically and being able to communicate and get off on the snap count and all that. So it’s a challenge, it’s definitely a home field advantage when you have that kind of environment and so we’ve prepped and we’ll see if we’re ready for it.”

Syracuse will provide a big test, but if the Cardinal are able to step up to the challenge and put together a solid effort and even a win, that will be able to really tell just how much this year’s team is capable of accomplishing.

Practice schedule did not change much during the bye week

During a bye week, it is very common for teams to veer away from their routines in order to give players a chance to rest, recover and regroup. But for a Stanford team that has a lot to prove and that is looking to make noise in its new conference this season, the effort levels were minimally changed, even if there was no game to prepare for last week.

“We came in the day after the game where we played Cal Poly and did our regular Sunday where we viewed the tape and lift and got all that in,” Taylor said. “And then we chose to practice right away, Monday through Thursday. They were padded practices but they were shorter and crisp and got a chance to improve our fundamentals. And then also get a jumpstart on Syracuse. I’m sure they had something very similar so they got a jump on us as well. And then as the bye week went on, near the end of the week, it was almost exclusively working on again, prepping for Syracuse. So then, a couple of days off, we gave them Friday and Saturday off and then yesterday, we had a regular kind of work day and preparation and all that.”

While it is always good to take breaks, keeping up the intensity during the early season bye week could potentially prove to be extra beneficial for Stanford. With momentum on its side from a win in its last game combined with keeping the energy high they could be in a prime position to land in New York not only extra prepared, but also extra confident that a win can be brought back home.

It is Stanford’s first ever ACC game, but it is just another game

This week will be a historic moment for Stanford, as it marks the official start of the ACC era as the game against Syracuse is the first conference game of the season. However, that is not changing the way that Taylor and Co. are approaching this game, seeing it as just another game on the schedule.

“I’ve always tried to, as a player and as a coach, I try to treat every game the same way,” Taylor said. “So I try not to focus on any outside elements other than really the preparation. And then to me, they become kind of a faceless opponent. You try not to have any emotion tied to it to just really focus in. Our guys will be ready to play, regardless of who we are playing, they’re really excited to play in the ACC. I guess gratitude is the best feeling I could say is just when you’re without a conference for the amount of time we were, 10 days or whatever, not knowing what’s going to happen and then all of a sudden to be welcomed into an incredible conference like the ACC, just feel a lot of gratitude. So people talk about the mileage and the travel, our guys are excited to be able to go to these different venues. Syracuse being one that is a great place and has a lot of history, and we’re very fortunate to be able to play there.”

Feeling the thrill of getting to join the realignment party and join a conference that is historic for how strong it is, the Cardinal want to make sure that they do everything they can to prove that they belong. With Syracuse being a very strong opponent, they're making sure to focus on what is really important; starting conference play off with a win.

Status of a couple key players still unknown

Improved depth has been a major storyline throughout training camp leading into the season, with the Cardinal making it a point in the offseason to address an issue that plagued them all of last season: the lack of consistent depth. Well now, it is possible that the depth will have to be tested this week, especially on the defensive side of the ball, as the status of defensive linemen Tobin Phillips and Clay Patterson are still to be determined for the game, with two players dealing with some unspecified ailments.

“They’ll be game time decisions,” Taylor said. “But we feel optimistic that they are doing everything they can to get ready for a Friday game.”

While the Cardinal will love to see just how good their depth is and see which players are able to step up and possibly add themselves to the mix, the team is also hoping that Phillips and Patterson are available so they can head into the JMA Dome with a full squad ready to go.