Stanford Cardinal: Offense Just Getting Started

The country and the Pac-12 only got an appetizer of what the Stanford Cardinal offense can unleash despite an anemic second-half performance against Kansas State in the season opener.

Ryan Burns, who had little playing experience serving as backup to Kevin Hogan, got his first career start at quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal, answering what was the main question facing head coach David Shaw during the summer. Burns effectively quashed the concerns, going 10-10 in passing during the first half. One throw included a 40-yard touchdown reception to Michael Rector on a nice play action setup. He finished the evening 14-18 with 156 yards passing.

Burns’ backup, Keller Chryst, got playing time in the second quarter for one series where he completed his only pass of the game, an 11-yard reception. Chryst made the most of his only series delivering a block for Christian McCaffrey’s 35-yard rushing touchdown.

McCaffrey re-introduced himself to the college football world, shaking off a few tackles and making a couple cuts in his 35-yard rushing touchdown to electrify Stanford Stadium. In the early stages of the gam,e McCaffrey returned a punt from inside the Stanford 10-yard line, thwarted a few tackles to scramble up the sideline for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the play was called back as Stanford was penalized for a block in the back.

The junior running back finished the evening with a 41-yard burst for his second touchdown. Stanford’s offensive line overloaded the left side of the Kansas State defense, creating a gap for McCaffrey to burst through and accelerate to the end zone.

Credit the Stanford defense for buckling down towards the end of the game when Kansas State was looking for an upset late. Wildcats’ quarterback Jesse Ertz kept his team alive through the option offense and used his feet to scramble. Despite being the only playmaker for the Wildcats, the Stanford defense got worn down at times from Ertz’s athleticism. However all chances of a comeback faded when Ertz was sacked on fourth down with under a minute to play.

This may have been the first game of the season but a real test comes in two weeks in the conference opener at home against USC. For Stanford, the offense cannot afford to go cold in the second half against a USC team who is certainly looking to get revenge from losses at home and the conference championship game last season.

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One thing for sure is McCaffrey can’t carry the Stanford offense on his shoulder. Even as versatile an athlete as he is, Stanford needs to mix up the play calling. Once that has been established effective can the offense unleash McCaffrey’s potential on the field. Overall, Stanford’s offensive performance was vanilla as coach Shaw is keeping the play book under wraps until conference play opens.

No concern should be needed considering McCaffrey’s backup, Bryce Love, was out with an injury. His presence against USC will make Stanford’s running game more dynamic, allowing them to wear down the Trojan defense.

However, the Stanford offense since the tenure of Jim Harbaugh has not been flashy. Smash mouth football has been the theme for the Cardinal offense, attempting to wear down the other team and occasionally show some pop with a play action throw or a running back making a few jukes for a big gain. Sure the fans want to see the ball in the air, but having a bruiser in McCaffrey will not leave them complaining.

Burns and Chryst left the question marks at quarterback during camp as both showed poised under center. Burns may have struggled to move the ball in the second half but did not look rattled or undeterred. The two will go into the bye week developing more chemistry with the offense.

Next: Stanford Cardinal Seek Another Pac-12 Title

The Stanford defense and the Stanford offense trust each other. The two groups rally and feed off each other through success or failure. After one game, the coaching staff know the Stanford offense is just starting to warm up.