The Cardinal is 10-1 following a loss under coach David Shaw…
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For two teams that are virtually mirror images of one another on the playing field, the objective on Saturday is simple: Execute better on offense. Coach George O’Leary said he’ll rotate several running backs against Stanford, including Will Stanback, Taj McGowan and Dontravious Wilson, who started last week but could be unavailable Saturday due to a leg injury. One play was a fumble.
Phillips was injured in the 16-6 loss to Northwestern that knocked Stanford (0-1) out of the AP Top 25 after just one game.
The Cardinal opened last season with three home games prior to the first day of school. The Cardinal will have to make adjustments very quickly, and if they don’t, they could find themselves 0-2, something they haven’t done since 2006 (!!!).
“Their roles will increase, ” Shaw said.
“We could have done so many things differently”, Hogan lamented.
However, a very understated UCF defense might prove to be a tricky obstacle to that endeavor. “He was just starting to show what he could do”.
Stanford has another key loss to deal with early in the season. The Cardinal suffered death by a dozen cuts on that side of the ball: Wobbly passes, poor routes, bad drops, inconsistent blocking, a pair of substitution penalties, and a punt from Northwestern’s 37-yard line while trailing in the second half all minimized Stanford’s scoring chances. “I love our seniors, particularly our captains”.
“It’s sad”, Shaw said.
“All the backs have practiced hard this week”, said Smith.
The UCF offense, meanwhile, will just try to get any semblance of a rushing attack going in order to balance out the efforts of promising quarterback Justin Holman.
UCF’s running game fell below expectations during week 1 of the college football season when they faced an unranked Florida worldwide.
STORYLINES: Both teams are coming off disappointing performances.
The lack of success on the ground has meant that opposing defenses have been able to stop the UCF run with just their front sevens for the most part, freeing up the safeties to help in pass coverage.
“We’re not going to force it, and we never have”, Shaw said. “Once again, not flawless”.
“He’s an athletic quarterback, we need him to get out and go”.
“There’s a ton of things to clean up”, Shaw said. “And we want to make the biggest jump there ever could be”.
Three days after dropping their opener at Northwestern, the Cardinal announced Tuesday that starting defensive lineman Harrison Phillips would miss the remainder of the season with a torn knee ligament.
Shaw said the injury will give more time inside to players like defensive ends Jordan Watkins and Nate Lohn, and outside linebacker Luke Kaumatule.
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Northwestern averaged more than 4 yards a carry, including a 42-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, the only time either team found the end zone. “We’re going to have to lean on some guys”. “Those guys are leaning on those experiences, because those seasons weren’t flawless”. He is trying to figure out what pieces go where, and how they will be successful. Stanford brings a 13-game nonconference home win streak into Saturday’s contest.2.
