Stanford Football: 3 keys for bounce-back victory vs. UCF in Week 3

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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 10: Tight end Colby Parkinson #84 of the Stanford Cardinal catches a pass for a touchdown in front of safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. #15 of the Oregon State Beavers during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

1. Embrace the underdog role

Last season, the Stanford Cardinal won nine games, and very smart people who write about sports said that it was a down year for David Shaw. Imagine a world where winning nine games is a down year for Stanford.

Shaw inherited a team that went to the Orange Bowl and took them eleven wins and the Fiesta Bowl. In fact in the nine seasons Shaw has been at Stanford, he’s won fewer than 10 games just three times. That is this Stanford team. This team flat out isn’t as good as UCF and they don’t have the athletes.

They don’t have a Bryce Love or Christian McCafferey in the backfield. Their offensive line isn’t as physical as it used to be. Other than Colby Parkinson, they don’t even have the great tight end play they used to have.

If they want to have an opportunity to go across the country and win this game, they need to embrace what they are: underdogs. No one is giving them a shot to win this game. They were embarrassed in Los Angeles last week. They were up two touchdowns and were out scored 42-3 the rest of the game.

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They should listen to what everyone is saying, and then go to Orlando and play as if they have nothing to lose because they don’t; they’re the underdogs.

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