Stanford Football 2017: Cardinal peaking at the right time

After beating a pair of Top 10 teams in the last three weeks, Stanford football is heading to the Pac-12 title game and peaking at the right time.

Rewind to September 16. Stanford falls on the road to San Diego State. The Cardinal drop to 1-2 and fall off the national radar completely. However, just like they seem to do every season, Stanford pulled together and finished the season playing their best football.

The Cardinal defeated No. 22 Notre Dame 38-20 on Saturday. The Irish were in the College Football Playoff top four weeks ago, but Stanford did not back down from their highly regarded opponents. Despite trailing in the fourth quarter, the Cardinal rallied to close the 2017 regular season with yet another win.

Stanford has won eight of their last nine games with the lone loss coming to No. 25 Washington State on the road by a 3-point margin. They will take on USC in the Pac-12 title game. Three losses puts the College Football Playoff out of reach, but a win over the Trojans will put Stanford into a New Year’s Six Bowl.

That’s quite a turnaround. But it’s nothing new for coach David Shaw. His team finished last season on a five game winning streak. They won 10 of their final 11 games in 2015. Under Shaw, Stanford has never lost either of their final two games of the regular season.

Next: Latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft entering Week 13

There are dozens of teams that rise and fall throughout the duration of the college football season. Playing on the west coast, combined with the early losses, kept Stanford out of the national spotlight. They’ll be looking for revenge against USC next weekend. If they get it maybe people will start to pay attention to Stanford’s late season surges.