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Stanford Football: 5 bold predictions for 2017 season

By Connor Muldowney

PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 22: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal tries to run away from Chidobe Awuzie #4 of the Colorado Buffaloes at Stanford Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 22: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal tries to run away from Chidobe Awuzie #4 of the Colorado Buffaloes at Stanford Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, AZ – OCTOBER 29: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal watches from the sidelines during the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on October 29, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – OCTOBER 29: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal watches from the sidelines during the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on October 29, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

1. The Cardinal make a New Year’s Six bowl

After beating Washington to improve to 9-1 on the season, Stanford will then face California and Notre Dame at home. Even if the Cardinal lose one of those two games, they will finish the season with a 10-2 record and likely be second in the division.

Fortunately, I believe they beat Cal handily at home before facing an improved Notre Dame team. That will be a non-conference battle to end the year and even with a loss, they could tie for the division lead with Washington, but they would get the nod because of the head-to-head tie-breaker.

What does that mean? Well, Stanford would head to the conference title game to face USC, more than likely. I can’t see this team keeping up with a motivated USC team trying to make the playoff, so the Cardinal will drop for the second time of the year against the Trojans, but this game will be much closer than the first.

Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017

Following the loss, the Cardinal will be either 11-2 or 10-3, making them a prime candidate to represent the Pac-12 in a New Year’s Six bowl game. A successful season for the Cardinal.

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