2009 Stanford Cardinal College Football Predictions

2009 Stanford Cardinal Predictions
2008 Record: (5-7, 4-5)
Coach: Jim Harbaugh, 3rd year (9-15 overall)
Off. Coordinator: David Shaw (3rd year)
Def. Coordinator: Andy Buh (1st year) and Ron Lynn (2nd year)
Returning Starters: 16 (8 offense, 7 defense, punter)
Ret. Starting Quarterback: No

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Offense: Jim Harbaugh enters his third season with some hope as he’s moved the program in the right direction. The big issue is at quarterback where freshman Andrew Luck (6-4, 225) takes over as the starter, after throwing for five TDs in the spring game. He takes over for Tavita Pritchard, who threw for 1,633 yards in 2008. The anchor of the offense is big senior RB Toby Gerhart (6-1, 237), who is also a baseball prospect. Gerhart is a bruiser with some speed, as he tallied 1,136 yards and 15 TDs last year. At receiver, junior Ryan Whalen (508 yards receiving) is reliable, while junior Doug Baldwin adds speed. Up front, Stanford has to replace three starters including all-league performers in center Alex Fletcher and tackle Ben Muth.

Defense: Stanford returns seven starters from a unit that allowed 27.4ppg and 379.6 yards per game. The pass defense has to improve after they allowed 226.7 yards per game and generated just seven pick. They do have a strong pass rush led by sophomore Tom Keiser (6-5, 253), who recorded six tackles in a part-time role last year. They are pretty solid up front led by senior Ekom Udofit (6-2, 322). At linebacker, they return just one starter-Clinton Snyder (6-4, 231), who moves to the middle from the outside. The secondary has some major issues, with questions at three of the four spots. Former receiver Delano Howell is projected as one of the starters at corner.

Outlook: The Cardinal open with a road conference game (Washington State), before taking on Wake Forest on the road. That’s a fairly tough start, but afterwards, they face San Jose State at home and end the season with Notre Dame at home. They also take on conference stalwarts California and Oregon at home, along with USC on the road. This is a team that is not close to a threat to win the Pac-10, but they have a bright young quarterback that could take them to a bowl game.

This PAC 10 conference prediction is courtesy of the ATS Sports Blog. If you are looking for winning college football betting picks be sure to choose ATS Consultants this year, A featured sports handicapping service on Touthouse.com