Stanford’s trip to Duke comes with a brutal reminder of how far the program has fallen.
The last time the Cardinal played in Durham, they were No. 6 in the country and Andrew Luck was under center. Now Luck is Stanford’s football general manager, and the Cardinal are trying to snap a program-record 11-game losing streak on the road.
That drought has stretched all the way back two years, to Stanford’s win at Syracuse in its first ACC game. On Saturday, the Cardinal get another crack at an ACC road win, and the task is steep: Duke is 2-0, riding a six-game winning streak overall and coming in as the defending ACC champion. The Blue Devils are favored by 9 ½ points.
Stanford has opened the season 1-1 in Tavita Pritchard’s first year as head coach, beating Hawaii 37-27 before getting rolled by Miami 45-6. The extra week off since that Sept. 4 loss gave the Cardinal time to sort through what they’ve shown so far.
“You learn a lot about your team early in the season,” Pritchard said. “We’re just continuing to tighten down and drill down on, really, the details of our scheme and making sure that we’re playing with the right leverage, the right technique, the right foot placement and hand placement … making sure our eyes are in the right place.”
Duke’s identity starts with the run game, and it’s been powered by Nate Sheppard, who leads the nation in rushing yards per game at 187 and all-purpose yards per game at 215. He’s also tied for fourth nationally with five touchdowns after ripping off 227 yards against Tulane and 147 against Illinois.
Pritchard knows exactly what that looks like on film.
“This is a team and a program that obviously had the success that they’ve had because they know their identity,” Pritchard said about Duke. “On the defensive side, they do a great job of stopping the run.
They move. They switch coverages.
They switch looks a lot. They do so cohesively.”
Stanford’s run defense has held up well enough through two games, ranking tied for 33rd nationally at 83.5 yards allowed per game. Pritchard also pointed to Duke’s backup back, CJ Campbell, as another player the Cardinal have to account for.
“He has got great contact balance,” Pritchard said, adding that Duke’s backup running back, CJ Campbell, is productive as well. “Those are two guys that we know will run the football. They’re running play-action.”
If the game tilts through the air, Duke has another edge in Walker Eget. The San Jose State transfer is starting at quarterback for the Blue Devils and has already helped them to a 2-0 start.
Last season, he threw for 473 yards and three touchdowns in San Jose State’s 30-29 loss at Stanford. In his first two games with Duke, he has completed 28 of 47 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
“I wasn’t here when we played against him at San Jose State, but I know he had a good game against that Stanford team,” Pritchard said. “So you’ve got a quarterback that presents some real challenges with his ability to throw the ball.”
Cornerback Brandon Nicholson is among the Stanford players who already have firsthand experience against Eget.
“It’s good obviously having the film and experience of playing against him,” Nicholson said. “The primary focus now is just to see how he’s operating in this new system.”
There are some reasons Stanford can point to as it heads into the matchup. The Cardinal have protected the ball, posting zero turnovers so far. Davis Warren has thrown for 524 yards, Micah Ford has scored three rushing touchdowns, Benji Blackburn has 12 catches for 101 yards, and linebacker Matt Rose has piled up 21 tackles.
Now the question is whether those early-season flashes are enough to finally end the road skid.
In Other News...
Stanford Faces An Early ACC Test That Will Reveal A Lot
Stanford is getting an early read on where it stands in its new conference home, with Duke coming in for the Cardinals ACC opener after the Blue Devils opened 2-0 and arrive as the leagues defending champion. It is the kind of first step that can tell a lot about a team, especially for Stanford under Tavita Pritchard, with Duke coach Manny Diaz also offering his view of where his group is through the first part of the season.
The matchup brings a few familiar questions into sharper focus, starting with how Stanford handles Duke quarterback Walker Eget and running back Nate Sheppard, two pieces of a balanced attack that has helped the Blue Devils start fast. Stanford will lean on Davis Warren to steady its own offense, and with both coaches sounding measured about where their teams are, this opener already feels like more than just another conference game. [Read more 🡒]