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2009 Stanford College Football Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on July 6, 2009

stanford 7609 Jim Harbaugh has come in and created some buzz around the Stanford football program in just two seasons. In year one, he pulled off a shocking upset of USC. In year two, he had the Cardinal on the brink of bowl eligibility with a 5-7 campaign. Find out what’s in store for Harbaugh and Stanford in year three in this 2009 college football betting preview. Our readers are eligible for a special $500 match bonus at BetUS!

Offense – Harbaugh wanted to instill toughness in this program and he’s been successful in doing so behind a hard-nosed running attack. He gave opponents a heavy dose of running back Toby Gerhart last season and it worked out pretty well for the Cardinal. Gerhart rushed for a school-record 1,136 yards and added 15 touchdowns. It was the first time in 16 years a Stanford running back had eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark.

If Stanford can bring a consistent passing attack to the table, the running game will really be able to flourish. While Tavita Pritchard has been Stanford’s starting QB for most of the past two seasons, Harbaugh is big on freshman Andrew Luck so don’t be surprised if he starts the year under center for the Cardinal. The top two wideouts return in Ryan Whalen and Doug Baldwin. Whalen hauled in 41 passes for 508 yards. Chris Owusu and incoming freshman Jamal Rashad-Patterson should be healthy contributors as well.

Losing All-Pac-10 offensive linemen Ben Muth and Alex Fletcher hurts, but the blow was cushioned when left tackle Allen Smith was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA.

Defense – Harbaugh is putting an emphasis on rushing the passer and he feels that defensive ends Tom Keiser and Erik Long can get the job done. The duo combined for nine sacks last season. The line will be anchored on the interior by nosetackle Ekom Udofia, who is one of the best at the spot in the entire league. Middle linebacker Clinton Snyder returns to lead the linebacker unit. He figures to be joined by Will Powers and Chike Amajoyi on the outsides with highly touted freshman Shayne Skov giving them some depth. I really like the Stanford secondary, led by free safety Bo McNally. McNally is quite the player. He is the team’s top returning tackler with 76 stops last season and also led the Cardinal with four interceptions.

Prediction: 7th Pac-10 Conference – The offensive line is in a bit of a rebuilding year after losing a pair of all-conference performers, but Harbaugh has found a way to get the most out of his guys. If he is able to continue to do so, the running game should stay strong with Gerhart toting the pigskin. And if the passing game comes to life the Cardinal could be looking at a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Stanford is listed at +3300 to win the 2009 Pac-10 Championship.

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