College Football Rankings 2018: Projected Top 25 after Week 8

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - OCTOBER 20: Rondale Moore #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the second quarter as Sevyn Banks #12 of the Ohio State Buckeyes falls at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 20, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3 of 26

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Following up a two-game losing streak that saw the Cardinal get beaten soundly at the hands of Notre Dame and Utah, Stanford was able to get back into the win column on Thursday night in Tempe.

Something still doesn’t feel quite right about Stanford this season as the impetus for their road victory was more about Arizona State’s miscues (the Sun Devils turned it over three times) than anything Stanford was doing.

The Cardinal defense made plays when it had to, but still allowed Arizona State to rack up 437 yards of offense on Thursday night. Stanford has been uncharacteristically bad for a David Shaw coached team defensively, ranking 84th in the nation in total defense so far this season.

They will need to shore up issues on the defensive side of the ball if they want to be serious players in the PAC-12 North race. They’ll also need to figure out their ground game as last season’s Heisman runner-up Bryce Love has been a total non-factor this season. He was held to just 21 yards on 11 carries on Thursday.

With back-to-back pivotal divisional games coming the next two weeks against Washington State and Washington, it was pivotal for the Cardinal to dig deep and find a way to get this win.

Home/College Football News