Three observations about Stanford in their Week 8 win over Arizona State

Stanford has found themselves in a position that they quite frankly are unfamiliar with.

This of course being, coming off back to back wins both of which against FBS teams, and one of them against a Pac-12 foe. Coming off a victory, or even obtaining a victory alone have been two things that have eluded this program over the past few seasons. Now, the team that looked like they were bound to lose every game the rest of the year is playing with some momentum, and is three wins away from making a bowl game with five games remaining.

This past weekend, Stanford pulled off the narrow 15-14 victory over Arizona State in a game that they didn't score a single touchdown. That's right, place kicker Joshua Karty made a school record five field goals to give the Cardinal the win. While the vibes around the program are in a much better place than when Stanford was in the midst of their four game skid, I think there is still room to be concerned about this team's ceiling. It's not to say that they won't continue to turn things around, but they cannot always rely on Karty.

With that being said there were three main things I noticed in the game against Arizona State, so let's dive in!

Joshua Karty is the best kicker in the country

I certainly don't want to jinx Karty, but he has been as consistent as it gets at a position that is usually hit or miss at the college level. He is a perfect 12-of-12 on field goals, and 18-of-18 on extra points. He also shown great range hitting from as far as 53-yards, and even told me after the win told me he could hit from 60 on a good day. As long as Stanford can get into field goal range, it is almost a lock that they will score.

In a game where the offense couldn't finish drives, Karty came up clutch and was able to not only keep the team in the game, but win it. I imagine he will have a few more big kicks this season.

Ernest Cooper is a star and his debut was seven weeks too late

The Cardinal unfortunately had some issues with injury bug over the past few weeks, which struck players such as running back E.J. Smith, receiver Michael Wilson, and most recently EDGE David Bailey. The pass rush has been improved this season, but against Arizona State it was astounding to see the impact that former four-star Ernest Cooper had.

In his first registered appearance of the season, Cooper recored five total tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack. Even though players such as last week's hero Stephen Herron, freshman stud David Bailey, and veteran Levani Dumani have had their flashes, there is no reason that there wasn't a roll for Cooper on this defense. They will need him immensely in the coming weeks as the next three quarterbacks they face in Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cam Ward, and even Cam Rising are savvy passers with an ability to scoot out of the pocket. Something that plagued this defense against Oregon when Bo Nix ran all over them.

The offense is getting more and more limited

As each week goes on, my concerns about the offense continue to grow. The offense has been plagued by play calling and injuries all season, and those two things have only gotten worse. The Cardinal have lost Smith, Wilson, a couple offensive linemen, and in the win believed to have lost reserve running back Casey Filkins at least for this week's game against UCLA. Someone that was able to take on a major load after the loss of Smith, but is just not the same type of back as Smith.

It is no knock on Filkins, but Smith just offered so much more whether it be explosive plays or plays in the passing game. Now that the offense is down another back, this puts even more pressure on McKee to throw the ball more than he's accustomed to. He had a season high 57 attempts, completing 57% of them while accumulating a QBR of 37. When McKee is needed to throw the ball a lot, the offense in its current state is just not a positive entity. This again can be the play calling's fault, but Stanford is going to be asking a ton from him, until Filkins is back. This makes them even more one dimensional than they already were, which is something I didn't know was possible. I always worried about Filkins' work load, but now this offense has to rely on inexperienced running backs, and throw the ball more in a system that is not friendly to McKee. Just when the defense got hot, the offense is getting worse.