Stanford viewed as underdogs in every one of their games in 2023

There's a reason that Stanford brought in a new coach following what was their third losing season in four years.

The program that was once renowned for physicality and dominating the West coast had become a distant memory of sorts. Many believed that college football had left the program in the dust thanks to their struggles in recruiting, inability to use the portal, and the lack of development we had been seeing.

With Troy Taylor at the helm, he has already silenced critics about his ability to recruit as the Cardinal have put together a top-15 recruiting class that is expected to continue to ascend. He also has shown using the portal is possible, as he landed Syracuse quarterback transfer Justin Lamson among a few other transfers ahead of 2023.

However, while his recruiting efforts have been tremendous and impressive and the willingness to try the transfer portal is a revelation, Stanford will have one of the most inexperienced teams in the country next season. In fact, according to ESPN, Stanford is returning some of the lowest amount of production in the country ranking No. 129 of 133. Something that has many expecting them to struggle mightily in 2023.

A sentiment that was supported by Action Networks Collin Wilson, as he reportedly has Stanford as just one of two teams tabbed as an underdog for all 12 of their games.

Number of games projected as underdog in 2023 via @_Collin1 power ratings:

12-Stanford, Western Michigan

11-Charlotte, Colorado, FIU, Kent State, Nevada, ODU, UAB, UMass, Virginia Tech

10-Boston College, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Texas State, Tulsa, Vanderbilt…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 5, 2023

This comes as a surprise, as while many expect Stanford to struggle they do open the season with Hawaii and Sacramento State. Stanford's win total for the season is currently at three.

Troy Taylor is an offensive guru who found success at Folsom High school where he ended up coaching former Washington star quarterback Jake Browning. Under Taylor's tutelage and coaching which he experienced from fifth grade on, Browning went on to set the national touchdown record in a career with 229 TD passes, and also tying a record of 91 touchdown passes in a single season. The duo of Browning and Taylor helped Folsom go 16–0 and win the D1 state championship.

In 2016 he was hired as Eastern Washington's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was the play caller, and helped lead them to unheard of success, as the offense set 2 all-time FCS records for both passing (5,160 yards) and total offense (5,766 yards) in a season. He was then hired as Utah's offensive coordinator in 2017, where he spent two years before becoming the head coach at Sacramento State.

While at Sacramento State he compiled a 30-8 record and led the team to the FCS playoff in each of his three seasons. Stanford fans are extremely eager to see where Taylor is able to take the program, and the fact he is renowned for his offense makes it that much more exciting.