Where Stanford ranks among all 131 teams

The Cardinal are struggling this season and are still in the thick of things

We are officially a quarter of the way through the college football season, which means we are starting to get a feel of the landscape.

Powerhouses like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State  are right where we all assumed they would be at the top of the sport, while programs such as USC, Washington, and Tennessee continue to ascend. Unfortunately for some other programs, they are where we thought they would be as well, which is at the depths of the sport. Programs such as Hawaii, Colorado, and UConn are all near or at the bottom. 

The Athletic did the unthinkable, and ranked every single of the 131 FBS programs, which unfortunately for Stanford they are nowhere near the top. The Cardinal are now 1-2 after a not so close loss to Washington, that somehow looks better in the box score than it actually was. 

The Cardinal are only ranked higher than one Pac-12 program which is Colorado, who came in at No. 126 and holds the title for lowest ranked Power 5 program. Stanford came in at No. 78 above schools such as Virginia, Old Dominion, and Georgia Southern, but below schools such as Missouri, Memphis, and Western Kentucky.

The ranking and record should come as no surprise, as Stanford is in the toughest stretch of their schedule right now as they will end up playing three top-25 schools in three weeks with a very good Oregon State team being their first non-ranked Pac-12 opponent. The thing that I personally am surprised about is how poor Stanford has looked in these matchups. 

Stanford currently has 11 turnovers through three games, and the offense that is featuring a new look has been dreadful. I figured with all the returning players and health that the team has this season, that they would at least be able to compete. Stanford's current style of play is to essentially match the opponent by driving down the field to tie or take the lead only to turn the ball over and never come close again. 

David Shaw and company need to figure something out quickly, otherwise this season could make a turn for the worst.