2010 Arkansas Razorbacks Preview Odds

Stanford Cardinal

8-5, 8-5 ATS, 4th Place in Pac-10

Odds to Win 2010 BCS Championship: +6000 at 5Dimes Sportsbook

The Jim Harbaugh era has shown marked improvement in just three years. The Stanford Cardinal have gone from seventh place in the Pac-10 in 2007 to being part of last year’s three-way tie for second place. Now, the Cardinal need to do some retooling on offense to keep up with their upper echelon conference foes.

Offensive Outlook: The most glaring loss on offense is Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart. Gerhart gained 1,871 yards and scored a jaw-dropping 28 times on 343 carries. There’s no doubt that the nation’s 11th ranked ground attack is going to take at least a small step back. That means the attention turns to sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck. As a freshman, Luck completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 2,575 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. He was the team’s second leading rusher, averaging 5.8 yards per scramble on 61 tries, scoring twice. On the receiving end of those passes, Luck will have last year’s leaders in Ryan Whalen and Chris Owusu. Whalen caught 57 balls for 926 yards and four touchdowns. Owusu averaged 18.4 yards per catch on 37 grabs, scoring five times.

Defensive Outlook: Last year’s passing defense was a real problem, giving up 264.8 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks were sacked just 21 times and teams converted 41% of third downs against the nation’s 85th overall defensive unit. The team returns six of its starters, but loses two starting linebackers. Senior free safety Bo McNally has also graduated, but the team returns strong safety Delano Howell, who made two picks last season.

The Final Word: The Cardinal offensive power should be enough to keep them from sliding back in the league, but the defense has a lot of work to do. The schedule does the team no favors either, with consecutive games against Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC. Stanford has also struggled in the Big Game against California, going 1-7 in the L/8 meetings. This year’s team may have to develop the ability to consistently win shootouts.

2010 Stanford Cardinal Prediction: 7-5, 6th place in Pac-10

2010 Stanford Cardinal Schedule
9/4 Sacramento State
9/11 @ UCLA
9/18 Wake Forest
9/25 @ Notre Dame
10/2 @ Oregon
10/9 USC
10/23 Washington State
10/30 @ Washington
11/6 Arizona
11/13 @ Arizona State
11/20 @ California
11/27 vs. Oregon State (N)