Stanford Football

Flying high after a big win over Arizona State, Stanford will look to continue building its BCS title chase by beating Washington State.

Arizona State entered the bout ranked No. 23, but Stanford jumped to a 29-0 halftime lead, quickly putting the game out of reach with two Ty Montgomery receiving touchdowns and a blocked punt converted into a safety.

The Cardinal improved to 3-0 with the win and have outscored their opponents by a combined 49 points, but they remain stuck at No. 5 in the AP Top 25 poll. Could a decisive triumph over a Pac-12 adversary help them climb up a spot or two?

While that depends on how the other premier teams perform, Stanford must only concern itself with doing its job. The Cougars enter Saturday's showdown with three straight wins, most recently a 42-0 whooping over Idaho.

Here's what Stanford must do to emerge victorious.

Win Turnover Battle

Connor Halliday has done a commendable job under center for the Cougars, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,288 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, he also has been credited with eight interceptions in four games.

The turnovers haven't come back to bite him lately, but his three picks played a key role in Washington State's 31-24 loss to Auburn during Week 1. The Cougars compiled 70 more yards and 12 more first downs, but the giveaways cost them a potential 4-0 start.

Halliday has attempted 46 throws per game under Mike Leach's air-heavy scheme, which leads to more mistakes for a young quarterback. 

Stanford has only orchestrated four takeaways through three games, but it must force Washington State to commit errors to avoid a shootout scenario.

Keep Running the Ball

Junior Kevin Hogan is 9-0 as a starter and has averaged 8.8 yards per attempt. Yet he has only attempted 62 passed this season.

Hogan could handle a larger share of responsibility, but the matchup indicates that they should keep feeding the ball to Tyler Gaffney.

Washington State has limited opponents to a meager 118.2 passing yards per game, tossing six picks without a single touchdown. That bodes poorly for Hogan, but the rushing defense is far more exploitable.

The defense has allowed 146.5 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season, which has a lot to do with opponents running with regularity. Stanford should adapt a similar plan on Saturday behind Gaffney, who has averaged 5.6 yards per carry this season.

The Cardinal produce 211.3 rushing yards per contest, a number they must sustain to prevail.

Don't Look Ahead

The schedule gets tougher from here, with three ranked opponents on Stanford's slate after this week.

Stanford can't set its sights on No. 16 Washington next weekend, No. 13 UCLA on Oct. 19 or a pivotal matchup versus Oregon on Nov. 7 that could bear title implications.

In the end, those are the games that matter. A victory over Oregon especially provides Stanford with a realistic shot at stealing the No. 2 spot down the road, but it's all moot without a win on Saturday.

Washington State has a lot to prove at CenturyLink Field with ample talent to pull off a surprising upset. Stanford must control the game's tempo by keeping it at a snail's pace in order to frustrate its uptempo opponent.

The Cardinal should bruise their way to a victory over the Cougars this weekend as long as they don't fall for the trap game.

Stanford head coach and alumnus David Shaw takes pride in his alma mater. 

"I am an alum, and I'm unbelievably biased," he said at Pac-12 media day in July. "[Stanford] is just a phenomenal place."

Shaw is also committed to continuing to build on the already impressive reconstruction that grew Stanford from a conference bottom feeder to BCS championship contender. He reiterated this point speaking with MMQB.com's Peter King. 

Shaw has an NFL background. He spent nine seasons as a professional assistant with three different franchises before joining Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego in 2006. 

His efforts as offensive coordinator under Harbaugh produced two different Heisman Trophy finalists in Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck. Since Shaw became head coach, the Cardinal have boasted one of the best defenses in college football. 

With Harbaugh and former assistant Pep Hamilton in the NFL—Harbaugh thriving as head coach of the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, and Hamilton overseeing the Indianapolis Colts offense—Shaw following suit only seems logical. 

Stanford's impact on the NFL is undeniable. Along with the coaches, the program has produced several pro standouts, including cornerback Richard Sherman.

A fifth round selection, has quickly become one of the league's most celebrated young stars. 

The pipeline from Palo Alto to the pros should only grow in the coming years. Stanford's recent success on the field has translated to the recruiting trail, where the Cardinal scored the nation's No. 5 recruiting class in 2012 and has the No. 22 ranked crop of 2014 verbal commitments, according to Rivals.com. 

"We tried to build a program and build a team that year-to-year was going to be competitive," he said at media day. "The fact that we went to three BCS games, that's kind of our expectation."

First-year NFL coaches typically are offered vacancies because a franchise struggled. Recent college coaches to make the NFL jump inherited teams in disarray. 

- Tampa Bay went 4-12 before Greg Schiano was hired. 

- Chip Kelly inherited 4-12 Philadelphia.

- The Buffalo Bills were 6-10 before Doug Marrone was hired. 

- San Francisco was 6-10 the season prior to Harbaugh's arrival. 

Taking on an NFL job often means leading a rebuilding project. At Stanford, Shaw has a program competing for a championship. 

"We've been a contender. We've been there. We plan on being there...next year, and the next year, and the next year," Shaw said. 

Shaw may not be in the NFL, but he is influencing it. In a way, he is experiencing the best of both worlds. 

Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @kensing45.

When Stanford puts a full 60 minutes together, watch out. 

One week after a slow start in its 34-20 defeat of Army, the Cardinal came out like gangbusters against No. 23 Arizona State in a 42-28 win.

The final could have been much more lopsided. Really, it should have been.  

Arizona State's opening drive set the tone for Stanford's first three quarters of defensive dominance. Sun Devil offensive coordinator Mike Norvell had to watch as the quick and aggressive Cardinal defense snuffed out one play after another.

Stanford brought consistent pressure up the middle, both from its line and from linebacker blitz packages, but the Cardinal defense also did a fine job of setting the edge and not letting the Sun Devils exploit the perimeter.

Then, the fourth quarter happened.

Head coach David Shaw pulled off the throttle a bit after his team built a 39-7 lead, benching quarterback Kevin Hogan. The opening was all the Sun Devils needed to push through and make the game tighter than was necessary.

Arizona State's 21 unanswered points forced Hogan back into the lineup and had the typically even-keeled Shaw visibly heated on the sidelines. 

Hogan's return made the difference. His 27-yard rush on Stanford's final possession effectively sealed the win, as he converted a much-needed first down and slid inbounds to keep the clock running. Hogan's savvy play was indicative of how the Cardinal's built the huge early lead—and was in complete contrast to the 11 minutes preceding the run. 

Last season, Stanford won its first conference title since 1999, doing so with an imposing defense that proved to be the perfect counterweight to the high-tempo offenses now populating the league. 

And the first three quarters against the Sun Devils were representative of this punishing Stanford style. Arizona State was averaging 43.5 points on the young season but was held to seven points for much of the game by a Cardinal defense that successfully executed its game plan.

However, in the fourth quarter, the Cardinal gave up a number big plays.

The first of the Sun Devils' three touchdowns was a 45-yard strike from quarterback Taylor Kelly to tight end Chris Coyle. Kelly attacked the Stanford secondary with his favorite target, Jaelen Strong, who wound up repeatedly in single coverage. He caught one touchdown from 27 yards out and set up another score with a 34-yard reception. 

During Arizona State's scoring outburst, Stanford failed to apply the same pressure to Kelly that it had in the initial 45 minutes, when the Cardinal's "Party in the Backfield" repeatedly knocked Kelly to the turf. 

For much of the fourth quarter, Arizona State exploited Stanford's uncharacteristic mental errors. In addition to the poor coverage and faltering intensity, Stanford incurred a major penalty that will have a lingering impact on the Cardinal's contest next week against Washington State: All-American safety Ed Reynolds was flagged under the NCAA's new targeting rule and was thereby ejected. In addition to the disqualification, Reynolds will be forced to sit out the first half against the Cougars. 

A win over a Top 25 opponent and a Pac-12 foe is ultimately what matters. However, the Cardinal's defense of their conference title still goes through UCLA and Oregon—two teams with high-octane styles that will exploit defensive lapses.

Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @kensing45.

Choosing a replacement for Stanford's stalwart running back Stepfan Taylor from those remaining on the football field was never going to be an easy task for head coach David Shaw.

So he went to the baseball diamond. 

Okay, so it’s not as if Shaw was scouring minor league baseball games in the sticks for talent. Tyler Gaffney was the Cardinal’s second-leading rusher in 2011, but left the university to pursue a baseball career in 2012.

Gaffney was a 24th-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012. He pursued the opportunity and appeared in 38 games for the Pirates’ Short Season-A affiliate State College Spikes. Gaffney even recorded solid statistics, batting .297 with a 0.925 OPS.  

Good as he might have been there, he's been better at running back for Stanford. His reintegration into the Cardinal offense has been seamless, as he’s emerged as its primary rusher through each of the first two games this season.

Last Saturday at Army, Gaffney carried for 132 yards and a touchdown in Stanford's 34-20 win over Army. On the season, he's been good for 239 yards and three scores, demonstrating the same speed that resulted in 11 stolen bases last baseball season on his rushes this football campaign.

Exchanging a bat and glove for helmet and pads this fall has suited the San Diego native. He hasn’t just played well upon his return to the Cardinal football team. He’s played with passion.

“Stanford is something special and you can’t get that feeling anywhere else. I am blessed to be a part of it," Gaffney told reporters in his postgame press conference Saturday, per GoArmySports.com. 

His exuberance and acclimation back in the collegiate environment is evident to his coach, as Shaw detailed in his teleconference call on Tuesday. 

"I think he missed (football). He missed his teammates," Shaw said. “Pro locker rooms are not the same as college locker rooms. He’s got his buddies…He’s just loving football again.”

Happy as Gaffney is to be back, Shaw may be more so. The running back's presence gives Stanford a workhorse in the run game, something that the team's offense has had each of the last four seasons whether it was Taylor or Heisman Trophy finalist Toby Gerhart.

Such a back opens the field for quarterback Kevin Hogan not just by forcing defenses to adjust to the rush, but also as a blocker in pass protection. 

While a full-season layoff could have rusted Gaffney's game, he actually found the opposite to be true. 

“I was a little ahead of schedule (transitioning in the winter and spring as opposed to) coming from Stanford baseball and just showing up in the summer,” Gaffney said. 

His break from baseball afforded Gaffney the opportunity to hit the weight room especially hard.

“I knew when I saw him when he first came back (to Stanford), I could tell he’d gotten bigger,” Shaw said. “He didn’t look like a guy who was just going to be a baseball player.”

With 220 pounds on his 6’1” frame and an excited spring in his step, Gaffney has left no doubt that he’s the Cardinal’s feature back. Saturday he faces his first major test in Arizona State, a Pac-12 foe with some of the most talented players in any front seven around the conference.

His ability to establish a consistent rush against the stout Sun Devil defense will set the tone for the Cardinal offense. Gaffney will also be an important cog in the blocking scheme, picking up the frequent and tenacious blitzes on which head coach Todd Graham and defensive coordinator Paul Randolph have built the Sun Devil defense. 

On Saturday and throughout Stanford's pursuit of another Pac-12 championship, the joy Gaffney's expressed in returning to football will no doubt spread throughout the Cardinal fanbase. 

Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @kensing45.

Wide receiver Ty Montgomery ran his route to perfection. A few yards out from the line of scrimmage, sell the fake to the sideline, cut inward on a dime, and quarterback Kevin Hogan rewarded him with a brilliantly thrown ball that resulted in a Stanford touchdown. 

Montgomery's second quarter score Saturday against Army was the junior wideout's second touchdown catch of the season, already matching the career-high he set as a freshman in 2011. Montgomery has also rebounded nicely from a disappointing 2012.

His 211 yards receiving through two games are just two shy of his output for an entire, injury-plagued sophomore campaign. Montgomery missed three of the Cardinal’s 14 games, and when available, averaged just 19.4 yards per game.

He’s improved that number to over 100 thus far into 2013. Montgomery isn't limiting his work to the passing game, either. He rushed for 30 yards and returned for another 73 against Army, reaching a Cardinal milestone as Sports Information Director Alan George noted via Twitter: 

Healthy and motivated, Montgomery is a key piece to the Cardinal offense aiming to make strides to catch up with a stellar defense.

Stanford won its first conference championship since 1999 and first Rose Bowl since 1971 on the strength of a 17.2-point per game defensive yield, but losses to Washington and Notre Dame exposed the team’s Achilles’ heel. The Cardinal mustered just 13 points in each defeat.

Hogan was inserted into the starting lineup for the final three games of the regular season to inject life into the sometimes stagnant offense. Now a sophomore, he’s led Stanford to consecutive games of 34 points.

No one has benefited from Hogan’s ascent to starting quarterback as much as Montgomery. The two demonstrate a natural rhythm—Montgomery in his route-running, Hogan in his progressions—that should result in many more of those game-changing connections like Saturday. 

Montgomery has shown no ill effects from the knee injury that hindered him last year. His 46-yard scoring catch against Army is already the second play of over 40 he's completed through two games. Combining that deep threat ability with a 6'2", 215-pound frame, the junior is a handful for opposing secondaries. 

Hogan told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle during fall camp Montgomery “has it in his mind that he’s one of those elite wide receivers.”

An elite receiver is perhaps the one thing that has eluded the Stanford offense through its outstanding run from 2009 to now. The Cardinal have had outstanding running backs in Toby Gerhart and Stepfan Taylor, two first round NFL draftee linemen in Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback in Andrew Luck and a veritable assembly line of star tight ends with Levine Toilolo, Coby Fleener and Zach Ertz. 

Griff Whalen caught for 749 yards in 2011 and Ryan Whalen was a favorite target of Luck in 2009. But Stanford has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Troy Walters incredible 1,456 yards in 1999. 

Walters was integral in the Cardinal's run to the conference championship that season, in much the same way Montgomery will be to Stanford's pursuit of the crown this year. 

Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @kensing45.

After winning the Rose Bowl last season, Stanford didn't miss a beat this year, defeating San Jose State in its opener, 34-13.

Now, the No. 5 Cardinal take on Army in West Point.

Stanford held San Jose State to 251 yards of total offense in Week 1, sacking quarterback David Fales four times and limiting the Spartans to just 35 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Stanford's run defense will come in handy against Army. The Black Knights rank 10th in the nation in yards per game and 13th in yards per carry. They've run 106 rushing plays while throwing the ball just 28 times.

Who will win this battle of will power?

Read on.

*All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com

When: Saturday, Sept. 14 at 12 p.m. ET

Where: Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

Watch: CBS Sports Network

Betting Line (via Covers.com): Stanford -30

Stanford Injuries (via USA Today)

Out: No injuries to report

Questionable: RB Ryan Hewitt (Knee)

Probable: No injuries to report

Army Injuries (via USA Today)

Out: CB Marques Avery (Shoulder)

Questionable: LB Justin Trimble (Ankle)

Probable: No injuries to report

Top Storyline: Will Army's Rushing Attack Make a Dent in the Stanford Defense?

Army's offense revolves around its running game. The Black Knights are averaging 329 rushing yards per contest this season, led by junior running back Larry Dixon (220 yards, two touchdowns) and dual-threat quarterback Angel Santiago (157 yards, three touchdowns).

Unfortunately for Army, Stanford is a nightmare matchup for its offense. Under David Shaw, the Cardinal ranked ninth in the nation in yards per carry allowed last season. That included ranking first in tackles for loss (124).

That being said, Army coach Rich Ellerson likes his team's chances on the ground against the Cardinal, given Stanford hasn't seen Army's triple-option offense yet.

Ellerson noted, via ESPN.com:

They have not seen our style of play. Obviously, we have the advantage of reading and having finesse with some guys, but you have to block somebody. You still have to run, you still have to make some guys miss, throw the ball, catch and get open.

Look for Stanford's Ed Reynolds in this one. The senior safety racked up 12 tackles and one interception against San Jose State.

Prediction: Stanford 45, Army 13

While Army may have a dangerous rushing attack this season, David Shaw's men simply know how to defend the run. They are talented, physical and well-coached.

Army should be able to cut a little bit into Stanford's defense, but the Cardinal are too disciplined to get confused by the triple-option.

Meanwhile, given Army allowed 40 points to Ball State in Week 2, I find it hard to believe that the home team will be able to stop Stanford's offense in its tracks. 

Stanford will cruise to its second win of the season, while Army will fall to 1-2.