Stanford Football: Does Familiarity with Bachmeier Bros Provide Advantage vs. BYU?

Stanford football is ready to roll for Week 2. Enduring a heartbreaking loss to Hawaii in Week Zero, the Stanford Cardinal (0-1, 0-0 ACC) are back to work and ready to get into the win column when they travel to Provo for a game against BYU. In for a tough road test, the Cardinal are hungry to prove the doubters wrong and gain major momentum ahead of the start of conference play.

As is the case every week, interim head coach Frank Reich met with media on Monday to discuss the team's upcoming game against the Cougars. Giving off a sense of confidence that the Cardinal can regroup after a tough opening night loss, here are the major takeaways from Reich's presser.

No Familiarity Advantage When It Comes to BYU

The Cardinal are facing a team that they may not see all the time, but this season, the connection between Stanford football and BYU football runs deep. Facing off against two former Cardinal in Bear and Tiger Bachmeier, the Cardinal want to be sure not to give away too many of their secrets so that their former players don't expect what is coming.

But Reich is not concerned about that, instead focused on creating a good gameplan that he hopes will bring success come gameday.

"I really don't think so," Reich said when asked if there's any advantage to having the Bachmeier brothers in camp this spring. "On what we know about Bear [Bachmeier] and Tiger [Bachmeier], but on what they know about us. My experience with that kind of thing is that it usually gets overrated.

"So, I'm not particularly worried about what they're telling them about what we do because honestly, we've changed a good bit from when they were here as well and they run a different scheme than we run. So I think right now, we're early in the season. I think both teams are focused, we're focused on our players and what we do more than anything else."

BYU is a momentum-shifting type game and if the Cardinal end up coming away with the upset and head back to The Farm with a win, it could go a long way towards dictating how the expectations for the rest of the season go.

Preparing for the BYU Conditions Was a Major Focus Over the Bye

Playing football in a place like Utah or Colorado, where altitude and mountain range conditions come into play, can be very difficult. But when teams face BYU in Provo, they also have to deal with the deafening noise and overall intimidating environment. But the Cardinal used the bye week to their advantage, using the extra practices they had to prepare for the environment that BYU has to offer.

"Having the bye week, we've had a few extra practices, we've been practicing in the noise," Reich said. "We know that it'll be a tough crowd there. We anticipate the noise, that'll be important for us to keep our poise.

"I believe our guys will do a good job with it, the way we've been practicing with it in practice has been good so far. And as far as altitude, I'm not saying it's not real, I've played in altitude, coached in altitude more than a couple of times, and you just can't worry. These guys are in shape [and] I don't find it to normally be a factor."

If Stanford truly wants to see what type of team it has this season, this week is the perfect opportunity. Even if they don't win, but they play the Cougars close and come prepared, the Cardinal will be able to answer a lot of the questions that they still need answered.

Stanford getting healthier for this week

Training camp is long and grueling and while no games are played, players are very susceptible to injury. Heading into the first game of the season, the Cardinal dealt with some injuries that majorly affected their game plan against Hawaii. But luckily, it appears that some of the team's injured players could soon be on their way back—with Reich confident that a lot can return for this week.

"They've continued to make good progress, they've continued to make good progress," Reich said of his injured players. "Obviously, we're not practicing yesterday or today so you know, we're not getting a sense yet. But yeah, I won't say a whole lot more about it, other than they continue to make good progress."

Injuries are a big part of football, but when a team does not have key players healthy, it impedes their chances of finding success and achieving their goals. That is why a big goal for Stanford this season is to stay as healthy as possible, and keep their stars on the field for all 12 games.