Stanford's three down seasons have clouded a decade of success

Stanford's last few seasons have changed the way people see them in a major way

In the wake of all of the conference realignment moves that have been occurring over the last few weeks, something has been made abundantly clear when it pertains to Stanford.

Those around college football, whether it be the fans, analysts, and maybe even the remaining  conferences of what is left of the Power 5 have forgotten what Stanford's program was at its peak. Over a decade of success that saw the Cardinal run the West Coast going 102-32 from 2009-2018 has since been forgotten following their dry spell at the latter end of David Shaw's tenure.

From the 2019-2022 seasons which includes a 4-2 COVID year, Stanford went 14-28 after being one of the marvels of college football thanks to their academic pedigree and ability to compete at the highest level. Those 28 losses and severe downfall have led to people treating Stanford as if they are a program like Vanderbilt or Northwestern. Two academically inclined programs in major conferences that have been putrid in football for a decade, combining for nine seasons above .500 which is two less than Stanford in that same time period.

The point of this isn't to speak down on those two programs, but when considering the manner in which Stanford's brand has been diminished has been a revelation. One could argue that had Stanford been in the midst of their success during this wave of realignment they likely would have been swooped up already. Something will never truly be know, but since it appears that many have forgotten what Stanford once was I wanted to break down some interesting facts about just how successful they have been prior to these past few seasons. A level that they are hoping to reach again under Troy Taylor.

Viewership

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In an article by The Athletic following the departures of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, Stewart Mandel broke down where programs in the Pac-12 and Big 12 ranked in average TV ratings, from the 2015-19 and 2021 seasons excluding the data from matchups that featured USC, UCLA, Texas and Oklahoma. While many fans like to poke fun at Stanford for having an empty stadium during games these past few seasons people watch them, as Oregon was the only program that averaged more viewers than Stanford over this time. The Cardinal averaged 1.83 million viewers per game during this time. 

NFL Breeding Ground

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On top of finding success at the college level, Stanford has been a factory for NFL talent. Since 2012, the Cardinal have produced the most NFL Draft picks in the Pac-12 with 48.

Success at the highest level

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It has become far too apparent that people forgot just how good Stanford was when they were at their best. Since 2010, Stanford has appeared in the Orange, Fiesta, and three Rose Bowls winning three of the five games. They are also just one of the three Pac-12 teams to win a New Year's Six bowl game. They also have compiled six 10 or more win seasons from 2010-2016. In an article by 247Sports, they were revealed as one of the top-25 most successful programs of the past decade with Oregon being the only Pac-12 team ranking above them.