Stanford Cardinal football

Stanford Cardinal football
2016 Stanford Cardinal football team
First season	1891[1]
Athletic director	Bernard Muir
Head coach	David Shaw 5th year, 54–14 (.794)
Stadium	Stanford Stadium
Field	Foster Field
Year built	1921
Seating capacity	50,000
Field surface	Grass
Location	Stanford, California
Conference	Pac-12
Division	North
All-time record	625–447–49 (.579)
Bowl record	13–13–1 (.500)
Playoff appearances	0
Claimed nat'l titles	2 (1926, 1940)[2]
Conference titles	15
Division titles	3
Heisman winners	1
Consensus All-Americans	34
Current uniform
Colors	Cardinal and White
Fight song	"Come Join The Band" (official) "All Right Now" (de facto)
Mascot	Stanford Tree (unofficial)
Marching band	Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band
Rivals	California Golden Bears USC Trojans Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oregon Ducks
All-time record (including rugby)	719–467–52 (.602)[3]
Website	GoStanford.com

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with a FBS program,^[4] has a highly successful football tradition. The team is currently known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season.^[5] Stanford was known as the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972,^[6] and the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.^[6][7]

Stanford has fielded football teams every year since 1892 with a few exceptions. Like a number of other teams from the era concerned with violence in the sport, the school dropped football in favor of rugby from 1906 to 1917. The school also did not field a team in 1918 (due to World War I) or in 1943, 1944, and 1945 (due to World War II).

The school participated in the first-ever Rose Bowl against Michigan in 1902, in which they were routed 49-0. Its annual Big Game against California is the oldest and most storied rivalry in the Pac-12 and western United States. The Cardinal also compete for the Legends Trophy against independent rival Notre Dame.

The program has an all-time record of 625–447–49 for a winning percentage of .579 and has winning series records against all of its Pac-12 North rivals, except for the Washington Huskies, against whom they are 41–41–4.^[8] Led by legendary coach Glenn "Pop" Warner, who still has the most wins in Cardinal history, Stanford claimed National Championships in 1926 and 1940. In 1926, the team was undefeated in the regular season and tied Alabama in the 1927 Rose Bowl. The 1940 team went unbeaten and untied after defeating Nebraska 21–13 in the 1941 Rose Bowl, but the team ranked #2 in the final AP poll released before the game was played.

Pop Warner's era predated the AP poll, but Stanford has finished at least one season in the Top 10 in six different decades under seven different coaches: Claude E. Thornhill in 1934, Clark Shaughnessy in 1940, Chuck Taylor in 1951, John Ralston in 1970 and 1971, Bill Walsh in 1992, Jim Harbaugh in 2010, and David Shaw in 2011, 2012, and 2015. Stanford's most recent season finish in the top 5 was in 2015 after the #5 Cardinal dismantled Big Ten West Division Champion #6 Iowa Hawkeyes 45–16 in the 2016 Rose Bowl to finish with a record of 12–2 (Stanford's third 12-win season ever, after 2010 and 2012) and a final ranking of #3 in the final AP Poll and the final Coaches Poll (Stanford's highest AP Poll ranking since 1940 and its highest Coaches Poll ranking ever).

The Cardinal have played in 27 bowl games in their history, including 17 appearances in bowls now comprising the College Football Playoff, specifically 15 Rose Bowls (the third-most appearances of any team, behind only USC's 33 appearances and Michigan's 22), the 2011 Orange Bowl, and the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.

Quarterback Jim Plunkett is the only Stanford player to win the Heisman Trophy, doing so in 1970. Four Stanford players have finished second in Heisman voting: quarterback John Elway was second to Herschel Walker in 1982; running back Toby Gerhart was second to Mark Ingram in 2009; quarterback Andrew Luck finished second to Cam Newton in 2010 and to Robert Griffin III in 2011; and Christian McCaffrey finished second to Derrick Henry in 2015.^[9]

History

The early years

The early portion of Stanford's football history was largely successful, particularly in the 1920s under Warner and the 1930s under Claude E. Thornhill. During this time, the Indians appeared in six Rose Bowls and won a national championship. The team won a second championship in 1940 under the leadership of first year coach Clark Shaughnessy. Overall, from 1924 to 1941, Stanford totaled a 122-45-9 record and appeared in seven Rose Bowls. Stanford also enjoyed a fine parade of All-American running backs during this time, including Ernie Nevers, Bobby Grayson, and Hugh Gallarneau.

The struggles of the 40s, 50s, and 60s

Following 1941, Stanford football entered a period of regression. The team only reached two bowl games (a 1950 Pineapple Bowl win and a 1952 Rose Bowl loss) from 1941-1969. The team had 5 different head coaches over this span, and often finished near the bottom of the conference standings. It was during this time that Stanford moved from the Pacific Coast Conference to the Athletic Association of Western Universities (1959), then moved to the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968. Although the team struggled for the most part, there were a few individual bright spots, most notably quarterbacks John Brodie and Bobby Garrett.

The Plunkett and Elway years

The program experienced a turnaround with the arrival of QB Jim Plunkett. Plunkett and a stout defense led the team to a 9-3 record in 1970, an effort which resulted in a Rose Bowl victory, the program's 4th. Plunkett also won the Heisman trophy that season, and he remains the only Stanford player to receive the award. Stanford won the Rose Bowl again the following year, 13-12 over Michigan, as Stanford kicker Rod Garcia booted a 31-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the game.

Stanford would experience more limited success late in the 1970s, during Bill Walsh's short tenure as head coach. In 1979, future NFL hall of famer John Elway enrolled at Stanford. Elway became one of Stanford's most iconic and successful players; however, the team struggled during his tenure. Elway's career culminated in a 1982 Big Game loss to rival California, a game Stanford athletic director Andy Geiger said cost Elway the Heisman Trophy.^[10]

The 1990s and following regression

The Cardinal enjoyed moderate success in the final decade of the 20th century under Tyrone Willingham. The team finished 44-36-1 under Willingham's seven-year tenure (1995-2001), and appeared in the 2000 Rose Bowl, which they lost to Wisconsin. Troy Walters was arguably Stanford's best player during this time, receiving All-American honors and the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 1999, and setting school career records in receiving yards and receptions.

Resurgence under Harbaugh and conference titles under Shaw

After half a decade of heavy struggles, including a disastrous 1-11 campaign in 2006, the team returned to prominence in a big way with the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh turned the program from bottom-feeders into BCS contenders in four years, and ended his coaching career at Stanford with a blowout win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

After Harbaugh left to coach the San Francisco 49ers, the team's offensive coordinator David Shaw became head coach. Shaw led the team to three consecutive BCS bowl games, including two Rose Bowls. The team was led by its quarterback, Andrew Luck, and its dominating defense. After Luck departed for the NFL Draft, Kevin Hogan became the team's starting quarterback. Hogan led the team to a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. The team returned to the Rose Bowl again the following year in the 2013 season, but lost a heart-breaker to Michigan State. After a rebuilding season in 2014, the 2015 season saw Shaw and Hogan led Stanford to its third Pac-12 championship in four years, and consequently, its third Rose Bowl in four years. With the 2015 conference title, Shaw became the first Stanford coach in 80 years to win three conference titles and only the third ever in program history (after Tiny Thornhill from 1933–1935 and Pop Warner in 1924, 1926, and 1927).

Bowl game appearances and results

2007 offense lined up for a play

Coaches by number of victories

Individual honors

Award winners

Stanford Cardinal playing the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl Stadium

• Associated Press College Football Player of the Year

Christian McCaffrey – 2015

• Chic Harley Award

Jim Plunkett – 1970

• Doak Walker Award

Toby Gerhart – 2009

• Fred Biletnikoff Award

Troy Walters – 1999

• Heisman Trophy

Jim Plunkett – 1970

• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Andrew Luck – 2011

• Maxwell Award

Jim Plunkett – 1970

Andrew Luck – 2011

• Outland Trophy

Joshua Garnett – 2015

• Paul Hornung Award

Owen Marecic – 2010

Christian McCaffrey – 2015

• Sammy Baugh Trophy

Dick Norman – 1959

Guy Benjamin – 1977

Steve Dils – 1978

John Elway – 1982

• Walter Camp Award

Jim Plunkett – 1970

Andrew Luck – 2011

Retired numbers

College Football Hall of Fame

The following Stanford players and coaches are members of the College Football Hall of Fame:^[11]

Pro Football Hall of Famers

The following Stanford players are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame:^[12]

• John Elway
• James Lofton
• Ernie Nevers

Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame

The following Stanford players and coaches are members of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame:^[13]

Stanford's All-Century Team

Chosen by the Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, CA, November 18, 1999

Coach
Glenn "Pop" Warner (1924–32)

Current NFL players

The following Stanford players are currently playing in the NFL:^[14]

• Johnson Bademosi – Cleveland Browns
• Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks
• David DeCastro - Pittsburgh Steelers
• Jim Dray – Cleveland Browns
• Zach Ertz – Philadelphia Eagles
• Coby Fleener - Indianapolis Colts
• Cameron Fleming - New England Patriots
• Sione Fua - Cleveland Browns
• Tyler Gaffney – New England Patriots
• Toby Gerhart – Jacksonville Jaguars
• Delano Howell - Free agent
• Erik Lorig – New Orleans Saints
• Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts
• Matthew Masifilo – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Ty Montgomery – Green Bay Packers
• Trent Murphy - Washington Redskins
• Chris Owusu – New York Jets
• Andrus Peat – New Orleans Saints
• Konrad Reuland – Baltimore Ravens
• Richard Sherman – Seattle Seahawks
• Shayne Skov – San Francisco 49ers
• Alex Smith – Cincinnati Bengals
• Jeremy Stewart - Denver Broncos
• Stepfan Taylor – Arizona Cardinals
• Michael Thomas - Miami Dolphins
• Levine Toilolo – Atlanta Falcons
• Griff Whalen - Indianapolis Colts
• Henry Anderson - Indianapolis Colts
• David Parry - Indianapolis Colts
• Ed Reynolds - Philadelphia Eagles

Rivalries

California

Stanford's main rival is Cal. The rivalry between the two schools is one of the oldest in college football. The two teams play in the Big Game with the winner receiving the Stanford Axe. Currently, Stanford leads the series 59-46-11 and has won the last 5 meetings. The most famous moment of the rivalry occurred in the 1982 Big Game, when Cal used a series of laterals to defeat Stanford 25-20 as time expired.

USC

Stanford maintains an active rivalry with USC. USC currently leads the series 60-29-3, but Stanford has made the series more competitive since the hiring of Jim Harbaugh. In 2007, an unranked Stanford team upset a # 1 ranked USC team 24-23. Stanford was a 41-point underdog prior to the game, and many observers have called it the greatest upset in college football history. In 2009, Stanford defeated USC 55-21, resulting in a post-game verbal confrontation between Harbaugh and USC head coach Pete Carroll. In 2013, USC returned the favor by defeating # 5 Stanford 20-17. In 2015, un-ranked Stanford went into L.A. and left with a 41-31 win over #6 USC, with Stanford QB Kevin Hogan playing the majority of the second half with a sprained ankle.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame and Stanford have been rivals since 1925. The two teams have met every year since 1988, with the exception of 1995 and 1996. Notre Dame leads the series 19-10.

Oregon Ducks

Although a more recent development, Stanford has a growing rivalry with the Oregon Ducks. Since the 2010 expansion and the development of North and South divisions in the Pac-12, only Stanford or Oregon have: 1) won the North Division, and 2) won the Pac-12 Championship Game, with Stanford having having three conference championships, and Oregon with two. The annual meeting between the two teams often has profound potential impacts not only on the North Division, but the entire conference. Games between the two have been fierce and competitive, with either team frequently upsetting and upending the others' championship hopes (Stanford upsetting Oregon in '09, '12, and '13, and Oregon upsetting Stanford in '11 and '15). Through 2015, Stanford leads the series 43-32-1.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of October 14, 2015

^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stanford Cardinal football.

• Official website
• Official Facebook page
• Stanford Cardinal football on Twitter