Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Stanford Football: 3 things to watch vs. Rice Owls

By Terrance Singleton

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Bryce Love #20 and Christian McCaffrey #5 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates after Love scored on a fifty yard touchdown run against the Rice Owls in the third quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Bryce Love #20 and Christian McCaffrey #5 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates after Love scored on a fifty yard touchdown run against the Rice Owls in the third quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

2. An improved offense

Even though the Cardinal will not have Christian McCaffrey, they will have a better offense. Bryce Love will replace all of McCaffrey’s touches and if you are a Cardinal fan that should not sound that bad to you.

Last year, Love averaged 7.0 yards per carry on 112 attempts and found the end zone three times on the ground. He also caught eight balls for 83 yards on a 10.4 yards per catch average and found the end zone once. Both of those rushing and receiving averages were better than McCaffrey. Also, Love is actually faster than McCaffrey. At the combine, McCaffrey ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, while as a North Carolina prep star Love was recorded as fast as a 4.30.

And through the air is where the biggest improvement will come. With a healthy Keller Chryst and talent around him, look to see a Stanford offense that throws the ball just a touch more.

Last year, the Cardinals ran the ball around 63 percent expect to see that number to go down to around 56-58 percent. With emerging 6-foot-3, 224-pound junior receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside along fellow 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior receiver Trenton Irwin, Chryst has two really good targets ready to also have a breakthrough season.

During the Rice game, fans will get a taste of this better and more balanced Stanford Cardinal offense.

Home/Stanford Cardinal