Stanford Football: Can Cardinal defense return to dominance?

When Stanford football was a dominant force in the college landscape, its defense was one of the best in the country. Can that happen again?

When David Shaw’s teams were winning 10-plus games regularly (five times from 2011-16), Stanford’s defenses were near the top of the Pac-12 and even the nation.

In fact, in 2013 when the Cardinal won the conference title, it was third in the nation against the run, 16th in total defense and first in sacks. It was nowhere near that successful a season ago, ranking 78th in total defense, 45th against the run but a solid No. 23 in sacks. Sure, the team still gets after the quarterback, but that didn’t help the secondary much — surprisingly.

Just how bad was the defensive backfield a year ago? The Cardinal finished 11th in the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed with 264 per game and 115th in the nation. That type of nightmare against opposing passing attacks was the difference between a 9-4 record and 10-11 wins.

Stanford is one of the top contenders in the Pac-12 this season and could upend Oregon or Washington in the Pac-12 North but it needs a quality defense.

No, the No. 115 passing defense in the nation isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal, it’s losing its top two tacklers from last season as Bobby Okereke is gone and Sean Barton decided to retire with a year left. Only five players with starting experience are returning.

However, there are some bright spots in potential All-Pac-12 first-teamer Paulson Adebo will be a sophomore and he led the team in interceptions last year. Gabe Reid is back at outside linebacker after leading the team in sacks with 5.5 a year ago. Up front, Jovan Swann is also back and has major potential up front after recording 4.5 sacks in 2018.

There’s plenty of youth and inexperience on this side of the ball, but there’s also no shortage of talent.

Stanford may be a year or two away from having a top-tier defense again, but Shaw thrived when his teams ranked near the top of the Pac-12 on this side of the ball. The offense can’t do it all.