Stanford safety Alaka'i Gilman, left, intercepts a pass intended for Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter in the end zone in overtime of an NCAA college football game early Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Stanford has allowed more passing yards than any other FBS team so far this season, and on Saturday night at Washington State the Cardinal will face one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country.
Cameron Ward, the Cougars’ junior quarterback, ranks fifth nationally in passing yards (316.5) and fourth in total offense (337.2) heading into the game (6 p.m. kickoff on the Pac-12 Network.)
The Cardinal is allowing an average of 322.5 passing yards per game, the worst among all 130 FBS teams and 12 yards per game more than the second-worst team, Colorado.
A significant chunk of those passing yards have come in the past month, as Stanford (2-6, 1-5 Pac-12) has allowed more than 40 points in each of its last four games. But the Cardinal did win one of those games — the 46-43 double-overtime thriller at Colorado on Oct. 13. WSU, after 4-0 start, has lost four in a row, including three losses against unranked teams,
“The goal for the week is to go 1-0,” Stanford safety Mitch Leigber said. “Put the previous week behind you, whether it’s a win or a loss, just learning from some of the mistakes we made, trying to build off the positives. So just keeping that mindset of trying to get to 1-0 each week, perfecting your preparation, trusting the coaching and trusting the scheme.”
Stanford’s defense may gain confidence from the fourth quarter of last week’s 42-33 loss to No. 5 Washington. After forcing just three turnovers all season, the Cardinal recovered its first fumble of the season at the Washington 10, and then intercepted a pass in the end zone to give its offense a chance to score a go-ahead touchdown.
The five turnovers forced this season is still third-worst among FBS programs, ahead of only Florida and Temple.
Their next challenge will be against Ward, the first Power-5 quarterback to start the season with 1,300 pass yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception in the first four games since Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa in 2019.
“He obviously has great vision,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said. “When he’s extending plays, he has the ability to run and he’s great on the move. Seems like every week we play against another outstanding quarterback.”
For the most part, those encounters haven’t gone well for the Cardinal, whether it was USC’s Caleb Williams (281 yards and three TDs in one half), Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (400 yards and five TDs), Oregon’s Bo Nix (290 yards and four TDs) or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (369 yards and four TDs).
The key to disrupting Ward will be generating pressure and making third-down stops.
“Third down is something that we’re mindful of, and we have to improve on it,” Taylor said. “But I feel great about the guys that we have in the room and how prepared they are and how focused and how hard they play and their ability.”
If that fails, Stanford can always hope to win a shootout. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels accounted for the second-most yards in program history against Washington. He threw for 367 yards and ran for 81, with three combined TDs, to keep Stanford in the game until the final minutes. It was the second-most yards of total offense in one game in program history.
“He makes good decisions,” Taylor said. “He’s got a lot of arm talent. He does a good job of throwing the ball away under pressure. He’s a good enough athlete he can get himself out of trouble and obviously ran the ball well for us. So yeah, he’s doing a great job.”
SIGN STEALING SOLUTION
Taylor said he was hopeful that the NCAA would allow coaches to communicate with the QB and one defensive player through microphones in their helmets to combat sign stealing, which has been a hot topic due to an NCAA investigation into Michigan.
“I think that’s a no-brainer,” Taylor said. “You don’t want to reward people that are cheating.”
Colorado coach Deion Sanders downplayed the impact of sign stealing because “you could have someone’s whole game plan (but) you still have to stop it,” but Taylor said it has a much bigger impact.
“It’s a huge advantage if they’re scoped into your signals,” Taylor said. “There’s no question about it. There’s tons of proof of that.”
Originally published at Harold Gutmann