Stanford suffered its biggest defeat in 18 years last week when it lost 52-7 to Utah at Stanford Stadium. But while Washington and upcoming opponent Oregon State fired coordinators after disappointing losses that same weekend, Cardinal coach David Shaw didn’t make any staffing changes.
“It’s really easy to point the fingers at somebody as you push them out the door, but then what have you changed, right?” Shaw said. “So for me it’s about us getting back to the way that we played earlier in the year. We’re in a tough spot right now and when you’re in a tough spot, to me, you pull everybody closer, you don’t push people away.”
So Stanford (3-6, 2-5) will take less drastic measures as it looks to bounce back from last week’s humiliation and break its four-game losing streak Saturday at Oregon State (2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The Beavers (5-4, 3-3) fired fourth-year defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar on Sunday after losing for the third time in four games.
Shaw is potentially making one sizable change—if Tanner McKee is forced to miss a second straight week with an undisclosed injury, true freshman Ari Patu would make his first start. McKee was leaning against a crutch on the sidelines against Utah.
Shaw said the 6-foot-3 Patu has a quick release and a strong arm. The dual-threat QB played the final drive against Utah, his first game experience since he was a junior at Folsom High outside of Sacramento. Patu couldn’t play in the fall of his senior year because the season was postponed due to COVID restrictions, and then he enrolled early at Stanford.
Shaw said that option QB Isaiah Sanders would still play as well. Sanders split time with senior Jack West last week as the offense didn’t post 100 yards until the fourth quarter. Still, Shaw said he won’t rush McKee back.
“We’re not going to make short-sighted decisions that put guys in jeopardy,” Shaw said. “If he’s ready to protect himself and play at a high level then he’ll go out there. If there’s any indecision or whether or not, then he won’t play.”
Stanford’s other adjustments are more minor, like having the starters on offense and defense practice against each other more than in previous weeks. That’s because Shaw said it’s still the same team that handed Oregon its only loss of the season and dominated USC.
“We’ve played some really good football this year, so that’s still there. I’m not going to pretend that disappeared,” Shaw said. “I used to hate this saying but I understand it. Coaches didn’t forget how to coach and players didn’t forget how to play.”
Whoever the QB is would benefit from a better run game. Oregon State running back B.J. Baylor has rushed for 970 yards, which is 160 more than Stanford has as an entire team. And that gap might increase once Baylor gets to run against the Cardinal defense, which is 127th out of 130 teams in the FBS in rushing yards allowed.
The quarterback uncertainty and struggles on the line of scrimmage are a few of the reasons Stanford is almost a two-touchdown underdog against Oregon State despite having won 11 straight games in the series. But Shaw thinks his team is still capable of a turnaround.
“If we can get back to the way we were playing earlier in the year,” Shaw said. “We could have some fun these last three weeks of the regular season.”
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