Stanford tabbed a team that can wreak havoc on the playoff race

With the difficulty of Stanford's schedule there is a belief that they might be able to cause chaos

Seemingly every year of college football there are teams that are not projected to do much in the offseason, but end up becoming the talk of the sport after pulling off major upsets. 

These upsets can impact who will win the conference, or in some cases, can be the difference between a team making the College Football Playoff or not. CBS Sports ranked the five teams that they viewed as having a chance to wreak havoc on the playoff race in 2022, and Stanford was among those teams. 

Here is why as explained by Tom Fornell:

While the Pac-12 isn't considered near the level of the SEC or Big Ten these days, it's still a Power Five conference, and it's a Power Five conference without a clear and defined alpha dog. Going through the league, you could make compelling arguments for Utah, USC, Oregon and Washington to win it. And if you win a Power Five conference, you have a shot at the playoff. Well, guess what? Stanford plays all four of those teams this year.

In their first four games, the Cardinal will play USC at home and then hit the road for Washington and Oregon in back-to-back weeks. In other words, Stanford is a team that could play a significant role in who wins the Pac-12 before we reach Oct. 2. It could even destroy the Pac-12's playoff hopes. A couple of weeks later, on Oct. 15, the Cardinal will make the short flight (at least that's what the Big Ten tells me) to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame. Then things ease up slightly until Nov. 12 when Stanford makes another road trip to Utah to take on the Utes.

The Cardinal could potentially help thrash the playoff hopes of three teams in the conference in USC, Utah, and Oregon, and maybe even two non-conference opponents in Notre Dame and long shot BYU. 

While their schedule is quite daunting, it also means that Stanford could have some huge wins on their resume. Most outlets and experts are counting them out with countless predictions of a sub .500 season, but the Cardinal are going into the season with health that they haven't had in years past and are hoping for a major turnaround.