Where Stanford Football Stands During Spring Workouts

It will be an interesting season on the gridiron for Stanford football. With a new head coach in place and many questions still left to be answered, the Cardinal find themselves scrambling to figure out an identity in the hopes of being competitive in a season that is expected to be pivotal for the future of the program.

As spring practice goes full force and preparations for the fall begin, it will soon be time to get excited for real games, as the Cardinal will be eager to show that they are ready to dominate even in their current situation.

With a tough schedule, wins will not come easy. But if there is one thing about Stanford, it's that it is never afraid to steer away from a challenge. So how do they stack up against their opponents?

This first two games of the season are on the road, with opening week set to take place in Honolulu when Stanford faces Hawaii. A program that has been rebuilding under head coach Timmy Chang, Hawaii could be ready to compete in the Mountain West this season.

Following a tilt in Hawaii, the Cardinal travel to Provo for a matchup against BYU, who despite losing a lot of talent, put together a strong recruiting and portal class and will also see the return of quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

Stanford then plays its first home game of the season in week three, with Boston College coming into town. In Bill O'Brien's first season as the head coach last season, the Eagles finished 7-6 and are expected to be better in 2025, with notable players such as quarterback Dylan Lonergan and tight end Ty Lockwood from Alabama transferring in to add firepower to the offense.

Following the home opener against Boston College, the Cardinal then travel to face Virginia in week four before returning home to face San Jose State in week five. Both of these teams will look vastly different from the 2024 season, having lost a lot of key players, with Nick Nash from San Jose State heading to the NFL and Virginia losing stars such as Chris Tyree and Malachi Fields.

After a bye week, the Cardinal will play three tough matchups in October, hitting the road to take on SMU on Oct. 11 before returning home to face Florida State on Oct. 18.

To close out the month, the Cardinal will hit the road to face Miami. SMU will retain a lot of key players, most notably quarterback Kevin Jennings, from its 11-3 season in 2024 and could very well be the toughest matchup of the season for Stanford.

Florida State is coming off its worst record since 1974, finishing 2-10 last season, and will be going through an overhaul. Miami will look different as well, with star quarterback Cam Ward heading to the NFL, potentially as the No. 1 pick, and will have Carson Beck taking over.

In November, the Cardinal close out the season with a home game against Pittsburgh, a road game against North Carolina and then will face Notre Dame and Cal at home in back-to-back weeks to close out the regular season.

The final three games are a gauntlet, with North Carolina expected to get a lot of attention with New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick taking over as the head coach, Notre Dame being the reigning national runner-ups and Cal being a historic rivalry.

This season wil be a tough one no doubt, but if the Cardinal buy into Frank Reich's regime and continue to stay focused on the task at hand, things may trend upwards on The Farm and have the Stanford football program inching ever so closer to being back in the national spotlight.