The Stanford Cardinal won the Pac-12 for the thrid time in four years last season, but losses to Northwestern and Oregon ultimately kept them from making the College Football Playoff. However, Stanford will not fall victim to the same fate this time around. Here are three reasons why Stanford will make the College Football Playoff this season:
3) David Shaw's defense
A dominant defense is something Stanford has always been under head coach David Shaw, and it will be the case again this year. Five starters return on that side of the ball, and while that may not seem like a lot, they only returned two starters last year and they finished with one of the best defenses in the country. Several good recruiting classes have Stanford's roster full of capable talent, all of whom know Shaw's system. Don't expect there to be any drop off this year.
2) Christian McCaffery's greatness
McCaffrey obliterated Barry Sanders' all-purpose yardage record in 2015, racking up 3,903 so far. No player in the nation does more in all three facets of the game (offense, defense and special teams) than McCaffrey. Even with a new quarterback set to take over after Kevin Hogan's graduation, McCaffrey will be the best player on every field he plays on and has the ability to carry this offense. He'll have the Cardinal in the CFP chase next year.
1) Who's going to stop them in the Pac-12?
Seriously, who in the Pac-12 can challenge these guys? Oregon will be starting their third quarterback in three years and have a terrible defense, USC is switching from a spread offense to a power running system and have numeorus key starters to replace on defense, and UCLA is trying to replace six players who will be drafted in the NFL.
It's a rebuilding year for all of the Pac-12 powers - except for Stanford. They'll use that to win the conference easily and earn a CFP berth.
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