It's pretty much a consensus among 2011 college football predictions experts that Standord Cardinal Quarterback Andrew Luck is the best NFL-ready player in college football let alone the Pac-12. Of course one great quarterback isn't enough to guarantee success for a program, but it helps. As the Cardinal end fall camp, success is expected of them or that's what pollsters say. The Cardinal occupied the No.6 ranking when the Preseason USA-Today/Coaches poll came out earlier in August and is ranked No. 7 by the AP Poll released Saturday (Aug. 20).
Top 10 rankings in both polls is pretty good considering new coach David Shaw's record as a head college football coach is 0-0, however; there probably wasn't a better hire out there. Shaw steps into the job vacated by Jim Harbaugh who built Stanford into a national power going 12-1 last year, including an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. The Cardinal didn't have to go far either, just down the hall to the offensive coordinator's office, a place Shaw's occupied since coming to Stanford four years ago with Harbaugh. There's always an adjustment period players face when a popular coach departs but with Shaw taking over; it keeps the program stable and business as usual.
The 2010 season was sort of an anomaly in the (then) Pac-10. How often does a team go 12-1 and not win a conference championship? It just so happens, the Oregon Ducks also had a nice year going 12-0 in conference play that included a win over Stanford. That alone was the difference. What makes matters worse; the Ducks return the bulk of their team that played in the BCS Championship game. So Shaw definitely has his work cut out for him. Fortunately he has some pretty good football players returning who will be hungry to surpass what the Cardinal did last year.
Stanford welcomes back five starters to an offensive unit that scored a school record 524 points and averaged 40.3 points a game last year. The returning starters include Luck; running back Stepfan Taylor; tight end Coby Fleener; right guard David DeCastro. While the Cardinal has a great nucleus, Shaw still has plenty of big shoes to fill.
On the defensive side, the Cardinal returns six starters from its record setting unit of 2010. The good news is that four of the six returning, Shayne Skov, Chase Thomas, Michael Thomas and Delano Howell were the team’s top tacklers.
Stanford opens its 2011 season with a home game against the San Jose State Spartans on Sept. 3.
Stanford Cardinal College Football Predictions 2011 and Odds:
Total Stanford wins odds: 9.0 Over (+120) Under (-150)
Stanford Pac-12 North Div. Odds: +130
Stanford Pac-12 Championship odds:+260
Stanford BCS Championship odds: +1800
Andrew Luck Heisman Trophy odds: +300
