The Stanford Cardinal are trying to re-establish themselves as a viable program. But it’s going to be a struggle.
Can this team, entering its second year in the ACC, score a season-opening win in the Hawaiian Islands?
It won’t be all fun and games when they meet up with the Hawaii Warriors on Saturday at 7:30 PM ET. It takes place at the Clarence TC Ching Athletic Complex in Honolulu.
Neither of these teams went bowling last season; Hawaii went 5-7 for coach Timmy Chang, while Stanford was 3-9 for Troy Taylor, who has since been replaced.
College football odds on the Stanford-Hawaii game
As posted by the people at BetOnline, the homestanding Warriors are favored:
Hawaii Warriors -2.5 (+100)
Stanford Cardinal +2.5 (-120)
Over 50 Points -120
Under 50 Points +100
About the Stanford Cardinal
On the heels of a bullying investigation that involved coach Troy Taylor, Andrew Luck, who became GM of the program, had to make a change. So he let Taylor go and replaced him, on an interim basis, with Frank Reich, who had been to four Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills, won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles (as an offensive coordinator) and was head coach at Carolina and Indianapolis. But he’s not had a coaching job at the collegiate level.
Reich made a quarterback decision that made some people unhappy, when he chose sixth-year senior Ron Gulbranson, who had won seven of the eight games he started at Oregon State back in 2022. That came at the expense of Elijah Brown, a five-star recruit and redshirt frosh who must now make some decisions about his career.
Stanford is bringing eight starters back on defense, including the entire secondary, as well as four out of five on the offensive line. The Cardinal won’t run that well (less than 3.7 ypc each of last four seasons), and tight end Sam Roush (40 catches last year) figures to be the focus of the passing attack.
They have gone 3-9 in each of the last four seasons, and haven’t been in a bowl game since the 2018 Sun Bowl.
About the Hawaii Warriors
Chang, a former Hawaii quarterback, employs the same Run ‘n Shoot attack who operated under coach June Jones. And he brings back 15 starters.
And among the transfers is sophomore wide receiver Jackson Harris, who scored 24 touchdowns in his senior year in high school, then spent last season with Stanford. He joins a very deep receiving corps, as you might expect.
The young man at the trigger of this attack is local product Micah Alejado, still a redshirt freshman, although he was the author of a game-changing performance against New Mexico in the season finale, with 469 yards and five touchdowns as the 38-30 Hawaii win kept the Lobos out of a bowl game.
Chang likes what he sees in his defense. There is more of a “veteran” look on the defensive line, all the linebackers have returned and there is actually some depth in the secondary. That last part is important, since Stanford is not likely to control things with a rushing attack.
Stanford at Hawaii – Who comes away with the cover?
Reich kind of starts things out behind the eight-ball, as he didn’t have a lot of time to make portal moves. The program lost 27 people who transferred out. And he’s using a quarterback that might not give Stanford the best chance to win.
Stanford’s trip to the islands is a preview of things to come, as they are going to travel over 26,000 miles because of their position in the ACC.
There is uncertainty with them, while Hawaii may be on the rise. And the Warriors have the most dynamic player in the game with the left-handed Alejado, who may be very small (5’10”, 170 pounds) but seems to be very sure of himself with this scheme.
We’ll back the more stable situation here and lay the points.
THE PLAY: HAWAII -2.5 (+100)
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