Stanford begins its 127th season of football on Saturday when it takes on Kansas State in the Allstate Kickoff Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game is slated for an 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. PT kickoff on FS1.
Saturday’s game marks just the third true neutral-site opener for Stanford (1992 - Anaheim, Calif.; 2017 - Sydney, Australia) since WWII. The Cardinal also played road games at neutral sites in 1951 (at Oregon in Portland), 1960 and 1964 (Washington State in Spokane), 1967 (Oregon State in Portland) and 1970 (Arkansas in Little Rock).
Stanford is 78-43-5 all-time in season openers, including a record of 8-2 in season openers under David Shaw.
Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw enters his 11th season at the helm of the Cardinal. Shaw owns a 90-36 (.714) career record, making him the winningest coach in program history. Stanford finished with nine winning seasons in Shaw’s first decade.
The Cardinal finished the unprecedented 2020 season with four straight victories, all on the road. Stanford’s four-game winning streak is currently tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the country.
Stanford will begin the 2021 season with three straight games away from campus. The Cardinal is the only Power Five program to begin the season with even two straight games away from home.
The seven consecutive games away from home is the most in school history.
The Cardinal is scheduled to play 12 Power Five programs in 2021, becoming the first program since USC in 2011 to play only Power Five schools.
Stanford plays six teams in the AP Preseason Top 25, tied with UCLA and Colorado for most in the country.
Stanford and Kansas State will meet for the second time in series history on Saturday. The Cardinal defeated the Wildcats, 26-13, in the 2016 season opener.
Junior running back Austin Jones rushed for 550 yards and nine touchdowns during a breakout sophomore season. Jones’ nine rushing touchdowns led the Pac-12 in 2021 and were second-most nationally among players who played six games or fewer.
Stanford’s projected starting offensive line features four juniors and a sophomore who have combined to make 38 career starts.
Stanford flipped the script on third downs during its four-game winning streak to end the 2020 season. Compared to its two losses, the offense increased its third-down conversion rate by 26% in its four wins, while the defense improved its stop rate by 25%.
Another key development for Stanford on the offensive side of the ball in 2020 was the improvement in the red zone. In 2020, Stanford converted 21-of-27 red zone trips into touchdowns, compared to just 16-of-34 trips during the 2019 season.
Senior WR Brycen Tremayne began his career as a walk-on and earned a scholarship prior to the 2019 season. Entering his senior season he is listed as WR1. Tremayne, who started the final two games of the 2020 season, tallied 14 catches for 265 yards (18.9 ypr) on the year and for his career, Tremayne has 17 catches, 12 of which have gone for touchdowns or first downs.
