We met with Stanford Cardinal on SI to get Stanford’s view of Friday’s tilt.
The TCU Horned Frogs begin the 2024 season against the Stanford Cardinal on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. CT. TCU is 3-0 all-time against Stanford, with the most recent victory coming in 2017. In the wake of transitioning to the Atlantic Coast Conference after spending the last century in the Pacific Coast Conference, the Cardinal will battle TCU for their first contest in their new home. To brief the matchup, we caught up with Dylan Grausz of Stanford Cardinal on SI for more about Stanford’s move, their offseason, and how the Cardinal square up against the Horned Frogs.
Frogs O’ War: Division realignment has overtaken the College Football world. What was your initial reaction to the disbandment of the Pac-12? And how worried were you about Stanford’s future after USC and UCLA’s exit?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: Seeing a storied conference like the Pac-12 disappear before our eyes was a bittersweet moment. It was certainly sad to see a conference, one that was dubbed “the conference of champions,” have almost all of its members leave, leaving only two teams in what was once a major Power Five conference, especially in a season that saw one of its teams, Washington, make an appearance in the National Championship Game. But, in today’s day and age, it made perfect sense. For a conference that was as good as it was, viewing the games became extremely challenging, not only due to kickoff times but also because a lot of the games were shown on the Pac-12 Network, something that not everyone has access to. Now with those teams moving, games will be easier and better to watch, with Stanford having multiple games on networks such as NBC and ESPN. When UCLA and USC left the Pac-12, I was not worried about Stanford finding a home, given the rich history of success within the program, but with how recent the success was for the teams that went to the Big 10 and Big 12 conference, it made sense that Stanford was not part of that list.
Frogs O’ War: After Stanford’s move to the ACC, how confident do you feel in their ability to compete instead of remaining in the PAC 12?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: The one thing about Stanford’s move to the ACC is that it may hinder the rebuild. The Pac-12 was ironically one of the more talented conferences last year. Hence, the 3-9 record makes sense considering teams like Oregon, Washington, and Arizona finished the year ranked in the top 25. Still, now Stanford is in a conference with all new opponents that historically have been really good, such as Clemson, Miami, and Louisville, which could create some growing pains throughout the season. It may be difficult to see a whole lot of improvement in terms of record this year.
Frogs O’ War: Following bottom-of-the-division rankings in both total offense and defense, do you feel both units have improved? And if so, which unit improved more? The offense or defense?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: Depth was a big problem for the Cardinal in 2023, combined with the fact that a whole new coaching staff took over and implemented a new system. Now, not only does the core from last year return, including Elic Ayomanor and Ashton Daniels for the offense and Tristan Sinclair and Gaethan Bernadel on the defense but pieces have been added to improve the depth, such as the receiving core getting freshman Emmett Mosley V and the defense getting defensive back Jay Green from Washington, linebacker Jahsiah Galvan from Northern Iowa and defensive lineman Clay Patterson as a graduate transfer from Yale. I believe both sides of the ball have improved, not only due to having more experience in Taylor’s system while also managing to have a lot of guys return, but in adding depth, Stanford now has more pieces to work with.
Frogs O’ War: What’s to make of Stanford’s light transfer class? Was/Is there an emphasis on recruiting?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: A small transfer class is nothing to really worry about, considering that the Cardinal added a whopping 25 incoming freshmen, with players like Mosley, defensive lineman Benedict Umeh, quarterback Elijah Brown, and running backs Chris Davis and Cole Tabb being candidates to see meaningful game reps as true freshmen. The transfer portal is important, but in emphasizing signing players out of high school, it gives Stanford more of a chance to develop those guys for the future and create sustainable success in the coming years. However, the transfers that Stanford did add, Galvan, Green, and Patterson, should be expected to have big roles on this season’s team.
Frogs O’ War: What are your predictions for Stanford’s first season in the ACC? Record? Standout players?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: As it is the first year in the new conference, and with Stanford facing a tough stretch of conference games, I believe that the Cardinal will see some struggles and finish around 4-8. I do believe that they are able to win their first two games, with TCU still rebuilding two years after a National Championship game appearance and Cal Poly being an FCS team, therefore creating another game that Stanford should win. San Jose State is also another beatable team for Stanford, going through a rebuild of their own after longtime head coach Brent Brennan took the Arizona job, while Wake Forest’s 2023 struggles make people wonder how they will fare this season. But with games like Miami, Clemson, Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame on the docket, Stanford will have its work cut out for them. Putting together a record-breaking game last year, Ayomanor figures to be the biggest name on the roster this season, especially for the offense while linebackers Sinclair, Bernadel, and cornerback Collin Wright figure to be the marquee players on defense.
Frogs O’ War: What’s your prediction for the season opener? Can you foresee a Cardinals over Horned Frogs upset?
Stanford Cardinal on SI: TCU is a great program. After all, they came up just short against Georgia in the National Championship Game only two short seasons ago. But lately, things have been different down in Fort Worth as the 2023 season saw the Horned Frogs go from being 13-2 in 2022 to 5-7 last year and missing a bowl game for the second time since 2021 after losing a large part of their championship game core. Entering 2024 looking to rebound, the Horned Frogs face an uphill battle, having lost players like quarterback Chandler Morris and facing some uncertainty over their identity with the new-look roster. With Stanford returning a large percentage of its players from last year while also having experience in Taylor’s system could create a situation where the confidence is sky high and the team comes out firing. For that reason, I do believe that Stanford will pull out the upset and start the year off with a win, taking home a 31-24 victory over TCU.
Special thanks to Dylan for taking the time to prepare us Frog fans for the season’s first bout. Be sure to check out Stanford Cardinal on SI for everything Cardinal!