Stanford Cardinal 2-1 Overall (1-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Stanford 42 – San Jose State 17

Next Week’s Opponent: Washington

I was a little unsure of how Stanford would come out for this game given the disappointment of last week’s frustrating loss at Wake Forest. But Jim Harbaugh’s club played inspired football against San Jose State, and I don’t even think the final score was indicative of how thoroughly the Cardinal dominated in this one.

Chris Owusu’s 94-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff set the tone early. Owusu continues to show that he has the explosiveness and playmaking ability that has been missing in Palo Alto for a while. I also thought Toby Gerhart completely controlled the game offensively (24 carries for 113 yards, 2 TDs). He was way too physical for the over-matched Spartans D and he seems to be in mid-season form already. Jeremy Stewart is a good change of pace back, and his role in the offense will be critical during the Pac-10 season.

QB Andrew Luck was only asked to throw the ball 12 times, so it is difficult to fully assess where the passing game is right now. Still, I thought Luck looked very sharp for the majority of the game (9-12, 170 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). It has become clear that Luck’s favorite target is WR Ryan Whalen, but I would like to see more receivers involved in the offense. Owusu has made some plays, but I expect we will probably see players like Baldwin, Patterson, and possibly Sherman (as a two-way player) start to assert themselves more in the next few weeks (along with TE Dray and FB Marecic). Against San Jose State, the Cardinal needed to do nothing other than hand the ball to #7.

The defense had no trouble with SJSU, and I thought players like Gatewood (INT return for TD) and Powers (two sacks) had breakout games. This unit has exceeded my expectations to this point in the 2009 season, and now the real tests come in conference play.

This week’s home game against Washington is huge for the Cardinal. Obviously U-Dub is a confident team right now, but Stanford matches up well in the game. If Toby Gerhart keeps playing the way he is and Andrew Luck makes good decisions with the football, I think Stanford has a great shot to start off 2-0 in conference play.