Stanford predicted to finish at the bottom of the Pac-12 in 2023

The past half-decade of Stanford football has not been the most inspiring by any means.

We slowly watched as David Shaw's methods began to fizzle as the team began to lose its identity, while the sport itself passed up the program with the implementation of NIL and the transfer portal. Now, Stanford is essentially viewed as the Vanderbilt of the West, and all those years of being dominant in the Pac-12 seem like distant memories or even a fever dream.

Following what was the third losing season in four years, and the second straight season with a 3-9 record, Shaw stepped down. While he did so as the winningest coach in program history, the program was left hanging on by a couple threads for new head coach Troy Taylor to work with.

The offensive guru took the job very late into the process due to the fact Sacramento State was in the midst of a deep playoff run, which unfortunately for them came up short, and unfortunately hindered the Cardinal's chances on early signing day. Taylor wasn't able to assemble a staff quick enough, but he eventually put together what has the makings of a very impressive staff to help him turn the program around. The only issue being that they are not expected to turn the program around anytime soon according to 247Sports, who had them finishing in last place in their record predictions.

The Cardinal held just a 2-10 record in 247Sports' breakdown, with their lone wins coming over Hawaii and Taylor's former employer, Sacramento State. They did say the team will be competitive, but will lack the depth needed to compete saying:

Stanford’s offensive scheme should be miles better than last season, but unfortunately, Tanner McKee isn’t around to operate it. That isn’t a knock on Ari Patu, who we project will start, it’s just that in a conference filled with experienced quarterbacks, the Cardinal don’t have one. We expect Stanford to struggle in 2023 but not at the level of 2022 Colorado where the Buffaloes got thumped in nearly every game. We think Stanford will be competitive but won’t be able to close games due to inexperience and lack of depth.

This spring will be huge for Stanford, as there will be new starters all over the field who need as many reps as possible. It doesn't help that this severely inexperienced team is also playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. What many people overlook is the fact this roster was bound to lose a major chunk of players from this past season, due to the fact that it was majority seniors and graduate students, but if the Cardinal were able to retain some of the talent lost in the portal it likely could have helped some.

Regardless, coach Taylor has assembled a very experienced and proven staff, it will just be a process to rebuild this program.