College Football: Preseason Top 25 Projections
By Zach Bigalke
Stanford has high expectations of contending once again in the Pac-12 North. David Shaw‘s team will duel with Washington for the division crown this year, and whichever team emerges from the battle will be the favorite to take the conference title. But because of the loss of so much talent on defense, the Cardinal will be rated outside the top 10 in the preseason release of the AP Top 25.
Only three starters from last year’s group return this year. Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, safety Justin Reid, and edge rusher Peter Kalambayi all landed with teams in the 2018 NFL Draft. The other starting safety, Quenton Meeks, landed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even so, an upperclassman-heavy defense with as many as 12 seniors in the two-deep should miss few beats.
They should have little trouble keeping most opponents behind on the scoreboard, no matter what kind of night they are having. That is because this year’s Cardinal offense could break out as a strong vintage on the Farm. Not only does Heisman contender Bryce Love return for one more year at Stanford, but they have settled on KJ Costello as their full-time quarterback after he seized the reins from Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns last season. That should help improve the chances for the Pac-12 contender.