Stanford Football: Could a returning K.J. Costello save the Cardinal?

The Stanford football team is in disarray following a blowout loss to USC in Week 2. Can a returning K.J Costello save the Stanford Cardinal’s season?

The Stanford football team suffered a pretty bad beatdown at the hands of the USC Trojans on Saturday, but could K.J. Costello return and be the knight in shining armor that saves the Cardinal?

Stanford may only be 1-1, but their upcoming schedule looks as brutal as it did to begin the year. The Cardinal will travel to Orlando this week to take on the No. 17 ranked UCF Knights and follow that up with a home game against the No. 15 ranked Oregon Ducks.

We all knew that the early part of the Cardinal’s schedule was going to be difficult, but those games were made harder once their starting quarterback, Costello, and star left tackle, Walker Little, were injured in their season-opener.

Costello will return next week barring any setbacks but Little could miss up to six weeks, per FoxSports reporter Bruce Feldman. And with Little out, Costello will have to play superman to keep the Cardinal afloat against UCF and Oregon.

Following that, games against Washington, Colorado, Washington State, and finally Notre Dame look extremely challenging for a Stanford team struggling as a result of their departed talent.

Gone are J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Kaden Smith and the Cardinal don’t really have that go-to red-zone threat in the endzone. Tight end Colby Parkinson is solid and electric young wideout Connor Wedington had a good game, but neither is on the level of Arcega-Whiteside or Smith just yet.

And that remains an issue for a Stanford offense void of playmakers. Combine that with an offensive line struggling without their stalwart left tackle and you’re bound to lose your fair share of games.

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And even on defense, the secondary remains solid and Paulson Adebo is just as good, if not better, than he was last year, but the front-seven is primarily a weakness.

USC quarterback Kedon Slovis wasn’t pressured at all and was sacked just one time as he carved up Stanford’s defense. Only senior linebacker, and Week 1 hero, Casey Toohill was able to bring down Slovis — that coming early in the third quarter.

Stanford needs to get their pass rush figured out and fast before this defense loses them any more games. In two weeks they’ll play host to Justin Herbert and Oregon and if they can’t get any pressure on him, you might as well chalk up another tally in the loss column.

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Costello is a very good quarterback and he still could have a great season, but it’s going to be tough for him to lead Stanford to the eight or nine-win threshold they’ve set for themselves.

At this rate, even a bowl bid seems questionable.

Still, Costello has proven that he could pass the ball at a near-elite level. Last season, the Newport Beach native threw for 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns leading the Cardinal to a 9-4 record capped off by a Sun Bowl victory.

But with a diminished skill position group and an inexperienced offensive line, he’ll have his work cut out for him. But Costello could be the guy to put this Stanford team on his back and save their season.

Next week will be his first true test.