2018 Stanford Cardinal football team explained

Year:	2018
Team:	Stanford Cardinal
Sport:	football
Conference:	Pac-12 Conference
Division:	North Division
Short Conf:	Pac-12
Record:	9–4
Conf Record:	6–3
Hc Year:	8th
Oc Year:	1st
Dc Year:	5th
Champion:	Sun Bowl champion
Bowl Result:	W 14–13 vs. Pittsburgh

The 2018 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by eighth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

Stanford, coming off a 9–5 season and an appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game in 2017, began the year ranked 13th in the preseason AP Poll. They won their first four games of the year, including wins over No. 17 USC and No. 20 Oregon, and rose to 7th in the polls. The Cardinal then lost four of their next five games, compiling losses to Notre Dame, Utah, Washington State, and Washington. After closing out the regular season with three straight wins, Stanford was third in the Pac-12 North with a conference record of 6–3. They were invited to the Sun Bowl, where they defeated ACC runner-up Pittsburgh to end the year at 9–4 overall.

Stanford's offense was led by junior quarterback K. J. Costello, who led the Pac-12 Conference in passer rating and finished in second in passing yards and touchdowns.^[1] Wide receiver J. J. Arcega-Whiteside finished with 1,059 receiving yards and a Pac-12-leading 14 receiving touchdowns. Offensive tackle Walker Little was named first-team all-conference. On defense, cornerback Paulson Adebo led the team with four interceptions and 17 passes defended, and was also named first-team all-conference.

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

The Cardinal signed a total of 14 recruits.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Lott Trophy^[2]	Bobby Okereke	LB	SR
Rimington Trophy^[3]	Jesse Burkett	C	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award^[4]	Alijah Holder	CB	SR
	Bobby Okereke	LB	SR
Maxwell Award^[5]	K. J. Costello	QB	SO
	Bryce Love	RB	SR
Doak Walker Award^[6]	Bryce Love	RB	JR
Fred Biletnikoff Award^[7]	J. J. Arcega-Whiteside	WR	SR
John Mackey Award^[8]	Kaden Smith	TE	SO
Butkus Award^[9]	Bobby Okereke	LB	SR
Outland Trophy^[10]	Jesse Burkett	C	SR
	Nate Herbig	G	JR
Lou Groza Award^[11]	Jet Toner	K	JR
Ray Guy Award^[12]	Jake Bailey	P	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[13]	Alameen Murphy	DB	SR
Walter Camp Award^[14]	Bryce Love	RB	SR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award^[15]	Kaden Smith	TE	JR

Pac-12 media days

The 2018 Pac-12 media days are set for July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. David Shaw (HC), J. J. Arcega-Whiteside (WR) & Alijah Holder (CB) at Pac-12 media days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Cardinal predicted to finish in second place at Pac-12 North division.^[16]

Media poll (North)
1	Washington	249 (40)
2	Stanford	198 (2)
3	Oregon	178 (2)
4	California	108
5	Washington State	98
6	Oregon State	45

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Stanford years	Alma mater
	Head coach	12th	Stanford (1994)
	Defensive coordinator / outside linebackers coach	12th	Idaho State (1996)
	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	6th	Stanford (2009)
Pete Alamar	Special teams coordinator	5th	Cal Lutheran (1983)
	Running backs coach	2nd	Oregon (1987)
Morgan Turner	Tight ends coach	6th	Illinois (2009)
Kevin Carberry	Offensive line coach	1st	Ohio (2005)
Bobby Kennedy	Wide receivers coach	1st	Northern Colorado (1989)
	Defensive backs coach	5th	Washington (1979)
	Inside linebackers coach	5th	Arizona (2001)
	Defensive linemen coach	2nd	Wake Forest (1994)

Roster

2018 Stanford Cardinal football
Quarterback  3 K. J. Costello – junior (6'5, 215) 10 Jack West – freshman (6'4, 210) 15 Davis Mills – sophomore (6'4, 220) 17 Dylan Plautz – freshman (6'2, 200) 18 Jack Richardson – junior (6'5, 213) Running back 20 Bryce Love – senior (5'10, 202) 22 Cameron Scarlett – senior (6'1, 216) 23 Trevor Speights – junior (5'11, 209) 25 Justus Woods – freshman (6'1, 211) 28 Dorian Maddox – junior (5'10, 202) 30 Cameron McFarlane – freshman (6'0, 200) Fullback  6 Reagan Williams – senior (6'3, 220) 24 Jay Symonds – freshman (6'3, 247) 34 Houston Heimuli – sophomore (5'11, 244) 87 Ben Snyder – senior (6'4, 249) Wide receiver  2 Trenton Irwin – senior (6'2, 204)  4 Michael Wilson – freshman (6'2, 200)  5 Connor Wedington – sophomore (6'0, 198)  8 Donald Stewart – junior (6'4, 200)  9 Osiris St. Brown – sophomore (6'2, 186) 11 Harry Schwartz – junior (6'0, 189) 13 Simi Fehoko – freshman (6'4, 210) 19 J. J. Arcega-Whiteside – senior (6'3, 225) 21 Isaiah Brandt-Sims – 5th Year Senior (5'11, 178) 81 Brycen Tremayne – freshman (6'4, 185) 83 Cameron Buzzell – sophomore (5'10, 170) 86 Sidhart Krishnamurthi – senior (5'11, 176) Tight end 44 TaeVeon Le – freshman (6'4, 230) 80 Scooter Harrington – junior (6'5, 250) 82 Kaden Smith – junior (6'5, 252) 84 Colby Parkinson – sophomore (6'7, 240) 87 Kyle McCombs – sophomore (6'5, 233) 88 Tucker Fisk – sophomore (6'4, 260) Placekicker 26 Jet Toner – junior (6'4, 201) 37 Collin Riccitelli – junior (6'0, 196)		Offensive lineman 50 Trey Stratford – OG/OT – freshman (6'4, 258) 51 Drew Dalman – C – sophomore (6'3, 279) 54 Nick Wilson – OG – senior (6'3, 273) 55 Dylan Powell – OG/-C – junior (6'3, 281) 63 Nate Herbig – OG – junior (6'4, 334) 71 Brandon Fanaika – OG – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 315) 65 Brian Chaffin – C – senior (6'2, 275) 72 Walker Little – OT – sophomore (6'7, 313) 73 Jesse Burkett – C – 5th Year Senior (6'4, 300) 74 Devery Hamilton – OT – junior (6'7, 287) 75 A.T. Hall – OT – 5th Year Senior (6'5, 299) 76 Grant Pease – OT – freshman (6'4, 250) 78 Henry Hattis – OT – junior (6'6, 291) 79 Foster Sarell – OT – sophomore (6'7, 314) Long snapper 49 Kyle Petrucci – freshman (6'6, 230) 53 Jack Chapman – freshman (6'2, 215) 69 Richard McNitzky – junior (6'1, 216) Punter 14 Jake Bailey – senior (6'2, 202) 27 Charlie Beall – junior (6'2, 206) 14 Alex Gracey – freshman (6'3, 195) Defensive linemen  6 Andres Fox – DE – freshman (6'4, 240) 23 Ryan Johnson – DE – sophomore (6'4, 262) 24 Dalyn Wade-Perry – DT – sophomore (6'4, 316) 34 Thomas Booker – DE – freshman (6'4, 279) 51 Jovan Swann – DE – junior (6'2, 271) 57 Michael Williams – DT – junior (6'2, 293) 58 Dylan Boles – DE – sophomore (6'4, 262) 91 Thomas Schaffer – DE – junior (6'7, 290) 93 Trey LaBounty – DE – freshman (6'7, 235) 97 Dylan Jackson – DE – senior (6'6, 264) 99 Bo Peek – DT – junior (6'3, 296)		Linebacker 10 Jordan Fox – OLB – sophomore (6'3, 227) 14 Jacob Mangum-Farrar – ILB – freshman (6'4, 223) 15 Jordan Perez – ILB – 5th Year Senior (6'2, 228) 20 Bobby Okereke – ILB – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 234) 21 Curtis Robinson – OLB – junior (6'3, 232) 25 Andrew Pryts - ILB – junior (6'1, 222) 27 Sean Barton – ILB – senior (6'3, 224) 31 Mustafa Branch – ILB – senior (5'11, 212) 32 Joey Alfieri – OLB – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 239) 35 Tobe Umerah – OLB – freshman (6'4, 239) 40 Anthony Trinh – OLB – junior (6'2, 239) 42 Caleb Phillips – OLB – sophomore (6'5, 215) 44 Caleb Kelly – OLB – freshman (6'3, 213) 43 Ryan Beecher – ILB – senior (6'1, 245) 45 Ricky Miezan – ILB – freshman (6'2, 248) 47 Tangaloa Kaufusi – OLB – freshman (6'3, 245) 49 Lewis Burik – ILB – senior (5'10, 205) 52 Casey Toohill – OLB – senior (6'4, 248) 56 Jake Lynch – OLB – freshman (6'2, 220) 77 Thunder Keck – OLB – sophomore (6'3, 230) 90 Gabe Reid – OLB – sophomore (6'2, 231) Cornerback  4 Alameen Murphy – 5th Year Senior (5'11, 198)  6 Treyjohn Butler – junior (5'11, 197) 11 Paulson Adebo – sophomore (6'1, 189) 13 Alijah Holder – 5th Year Senior (6'2, 188) 22 Obi Eboh – junior (6'2, 194) 26 J.J. Parson – junior (5'10, 175) 28 Donjae Logan – freshman (5'11, 178) 29 Kendall Williamson – freshman (6'1, 195) 30 Ethan Bonner – freshman (6'1, 181) Safety  2 Brandon Simmons – SS – 5th Year Senior (6'0, 199)  3 Malik Antoine – FS – junior (5'11, 192)  5 Frank Buncom – FS – senior (6'2, 206)  9 Ben Edwards – SS – senior (6'0, 199) 18 Stuart Head – SS – sophomore (6'4, 201) 19 Noah Williams – FS – sophomore (6'0, 191)

Game summaries

San Diego State

See also: 2018 San Diego State Aztecs football team.

USC

See also: 2018 USC Trojans football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry.

UC Davis

See also: 2018 UC Davis Aggies football team.

At Oregon

See also: 2018 Oregon Ducks football team.

Late in the 3rd quarter, Oregon led 24–7 and had a 1st & Goal at the Stanford 1-yard line. An ensuing fumble returned for a touchdown by the Stanford defense sparked an epic comeback where the Cardinal were able to win in overtime.

At Notre Dame

See also: 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry.

Utah

See also: 2018 Utah Utes football team.

Starting running back Bryce Love sat the game out due to an ankle injury.

At Arizona State

See also: 2018 Arizona State Sun Devils football team.

Washington State

See also: 2018 Washington State Cougars football team.

At Washington

See also: 2018 Washington Huskies football team.

Oregon State

See also: 2018 Oregon State Beavers football team.

Stanford beat Oregon State on a smoky night caused by the Camp Fire. The Air Quality Index was close to 150, which qualified as "Dangerous".

At UCLA

See also: 2018 UCLA Bruins football team.

At California

See also: 2018 California Golden Bears football team and Big Game (American football).

The 121st installment of the Big Game was delayed due to unhealthy air quality caused by the Camp Fire. It was only the second time in 27 years that both teams had 7 or more wins. The Cardinal quickly jumped out to a 10–0 start and never looked back. From there, the game was mostly a defensive struggle as cornerback Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes from Cal's Chase Garbers. As a result of this game, Stanford extended its winning streak to 9 games, the longest by either team in the series.

Vs. Pittsburgh (Sun Bowl)

See also: 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and 2018 Sun Bowl.

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2019 NFL draft.

2	57		WR	Philadelphia Eagles
3	89		LB	Indianapolis Colts
4	112		RB	Washington Redskins
5	163		P	New England Patriots
6	176		TE	San Francisco 49ers

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2018 Pac-12 Conference Year Summary. Sports-Reference.com. June 18, 2019.
2. Web site: 2018 Watch List Lott IMPACT Trophy Honoring College Football's Defensive Best. lottimpacttrophy.org. en-US. 2018-07-17.
3. Web site: Rimington Trophy Press Release. May 30, 2018. July 14, 2018.
4. News: 2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-17. en-US. 2018-07-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180716194921/https://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/2018-maxwell-bednarik-watch-list/. dead.
5. Web site: 2018 Maxwell Award Watch List. July 16, 2018. July 17, 2018. July 16, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180716194824/https://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/2018-maxwell-watch-list/. dead.
6. Web site: 2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates. July 18, 2018. July 18, 2018.
7. Web site: 2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List. July 19, 2018. July 19, 2018.
8. Web site: 2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released. July 20, 2018. July 20, 2018.
9. Web site: Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist . July 23, 2018 . The Butkus Award . July 23, 2018 . August 20, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100820080704/http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c . dead .
10. Web site: 22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED. July 24, 2018. July 24, 2018.
11. Web site: Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2018 Preseason Watch List. July 25, 2018. July 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20090817150753/http://www.lougrozaaward.com/Current_Watch_List.html. August 17, 2009. dead. mdy-all.
12. Web site: Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled. July 25, 2018. July 25, 2018.
13. Web site: Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List. July 26, 2018. July 26, 2018. July 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180726215108/https://www.wuerffeltrophy.org/news1/wuerffel-trophy-unveils-2018-watch-list. dead.
14. Web site: Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List". Carbone. Al. July 27, 2018. July 30, 2018.
15. Web site: 2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. August 16, 2018. August 17, 2018.
16. Web site: Washington picked as Pac-12 favorite in preseason media poll. July 25, 2018. July 25, 2018.