HEADING INTO SATURDAY'S home opener against UCLA, David Shaw joked how his players may need a map to find the locker room at Stanford Stadium, so rare have home games been for the Cardinal.
Stanford last played at home on Nov. 14, 2020, a 35-32 loss to Colorado in their only home contest of the season. It was played in front of trees – imported from a nursery – rather than fans.
This will mark Stanford's first ticketed home game in 664 days, since a Nov. 30, 2019, contest against Notre Dame.
"It's been a while," said junior cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly. "It's really exciting to come back, with all the students here and the fans. The last game, Colorado, it just felt like a scrimmage against another team. You lose that element of college football without the fans, without the noise. It brings fun to the game again."
In seven consecutive games played away from home, including three this season, Stanford assembled a 6-1 record. Yet, the Cardinal will be searching for its first home victory in a 14-game stretch overall. Such are the oddities of college football's recent history.
"I don't know if our guys will know what to do on a Friday afternoon," said Shaw, Stanford's Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "We're usually going towards the airport. It's good to be going back to our team hotel and getting some rest.
"It'll be great to get back to our stadium. I think there's some excitement building around this team."
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SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK Tanner McKee makes his first start at Stanford Stadium and has impressed in leading the Cardinal to victories over USC and Vanderbilt.
McKee leads the Pac-12 and is fourth nationally in completion percentage (.714) without an interception. His UCLA counterpart, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, leads the nation in passing yards per completion (20.24) and the Pac-12 in passing efficiency (183.69).
"We need to improve every single week," McKee said. "We can't be complacent, can't be happy with a 2-1 record or coming off two wins. We need to keep becoming the team that we can potentially become."
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THREE OF STANFORD'S four primary running backs – Austin Jones, E.J. Smith, and Casey Filkins – are out. That leaves Nathaniel Peat, the team's leading rusher with 169 yards on 14 carries, to carry the load. No other available running back has a carry this season.
Jones and Filkins could return by the Oregon game on Oct. 2, Shaw said, but Smith will most likely miss at least two games.
"We're going to miss those three guys," Shaw said. "But Nate Peat has also shown everybody what he has. He's got some juice, he's going to have explosion. He's going to carry a larger load, but we have other options too."
Sophomore Caleb Robinson, who could make his collegiate debut, is listed as Peat's backup.
"We're not going to play Nate every single play," Shaw said. "We think we have some guys that can really play. It'll be a challenge, but at the same time, an opportunity for those guys to step in and make some plays."
The most carries for Peat in a collegiate game is seven (for 44 yards and a TD), against Washington on Dec. 5 last season. Expect Stanford to use backup QB Isaiah Sanders as a run option and include new wrinkles in the offense.
Rushing stats of note: UCLA (2-1) has outgained its opponents this season, 571-189, including 210-49 in a 38-27 season-opening victory over LSU. Meanwhile, Stanford (2-1) has improved its rushing output from 39 to 141 to 204 in successive games.
Nathaniel Peat. Photo by Bob Drebin/ISIphotos.com.
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IN THE SECONDARY, Noah Williams is out and Zahran Manley and Ethan Bonner, who have manned the cornerback spot opposite Kelly, are questionable.
At free safety, sophomore Alaka'i Gilman or senior Donjae Logan will start. At corner, Manley, freshman Jaden Slocum, or junior Nicolas Toomer will start. Slocum and QB Ari Patu were the two freshmen to enroll early last spring.
Fortunately for Stanford, the Cardinal has a deep secondary. Kelly and strong safety Kendall Williamson have been the rocks the past two seasons, and freshman Jimmy Wyrick is making an impact at nickelback. He replaced incumbent starter Jonathan McGill, who was injured in preseason practice.
Last year, injuries forced the Stanford secondary to use eight different starters in a six-game season. Seven of those players returned, though five of them could miss Saturday's game. After this weekend, Stanford could have 10 players who have started in the secondary over the past two seasons. And that's in only 10 games.
"Next man up," Kelly said. "You're a backup, you're a scout team, you've always got to be ready. I know we're ready. I have no lack of confidence. Any guy who steps up in my DB room, they're always ready, always prepared."
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WYRICK HAS BEEN a revelation this season. A true freshman from South Oak Cliff High in Dallas, Wyrick had five tackles and a pass breakup in his first start, against USC, and an interception against Vanderbilt last week that help swing the game during a crucial stretch at the end of the first half.
The nickelback position was in limbo when McGill was injured. Kelly took those duties in the opener against Kansas State despite limited prior experience at that spot. With Wyrick entrenched in that spot, Kelly can focus fully on cornerback.
"Jimmy's really ahead of the game," Shaw said. "We knew we had something special during the recruiting process.
"He's got such a great feel. Playing defensive back is partially about your skills and partially about your eyes, your reaction time, and your feel for the game. We knew from watching him in high school that he had that. But how soon could he make this jump? We weren't anticipating him going this early."
Said Kelly, "He really dove into the playbook. You can have that athletic ability, but if you don't know the playbook, you can't be on the field. Since he's been here, he's been like a little gnat -- not annoying, but asking the older guys questions. Anything we do as far as extra work in the weight room or after practice, he's trying to get every single thing in that he can."
Duane Akina, the Couch Family Defensive Backs Coach, has streamlined Wyrick's role so he can play fast, go on instinct and not have to think too much, Shaw said.
"Jimmy's not the biggest guy (5-foot-11, 178 pounds), but he plays big," Shaw said. "He's physical, he's strong, he gets guys on the ground. I couldn't be more proud of him of how he's approached this beginning of the season and the beginning of his career. It's going to be a fun matchup for him against UCLA."
Jimmy Wyrick. Photo by Bob Drebin/ISIphotos.com.
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AFTER THREE GAMES, former walk-on Brycen Tremayne leads the Cardinal in catches, with 13 for 165 yards and three touchdowns. His score on a 5-yard pass from Tanner McKee with 40 seconds left in the first half gave the Cardinal some breathing room in a three-point game. It was part of a 20-point outburst within six minutes of game clock bridging halftime.
"He's got every aspect a quarterback can wish for from a receiver," McKee said. "He's got speed, he's got good hands, he's tall … he can do it all. He can locate the ball on the back shoulder. He can go deep. He runs great routes underneath as well.
"I know if there's a one-on-one matchup, he's going to win. We have that trust in each other. We've worked so many different routes at practice that I know when he's going to get out of his break."
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SHAW AND UCLA coach Chip Kelly are familiar rivals, dating back to Kelly's days at Oregon. Kelly's teams provide unique challenges.
"The bottom line is you know you're going to have to account for every single gap," Shaw said. "And they're going to pull guys and create more gaps. And he has the one thing that I hate a Chip Kelly team to have, and that's an athletic quarterback. That makes you not only account for all those gaps in the run game, now you've got to account for the quarterback away from all those gaps.
"The combination of Chip being a master tactician, finding your weak points in the running game and getting after you … to the athletic quarterback, to one of the best tight ends in America … That's a tough guy to slow down."
As opposing head coaches, Shaw is 3-2 against Kelly. Including years as coordinators, Kelly holds a 6-5 edge.
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McKEE MISSED TWO Stanford football seasons while on an LDS mission to Brazil, but he hasn't seemed rusty in his first extensive action in four years.
Shaw believes McKee benefited as a football player because of the growth that he gained in other areas.
"We've had quite a few young men coming back from missions," Shaw said. "I tell all of them the same thing: You went on a mission for a reason … spiritual, intellectual, just natural growth. Let the guys in the locker room feel that. Don't keep those lessons learned to yourself. You've been in the world, now you're in the locker room with a bunch of college kids who haven't really been in the world.
"That's what you get from Tanner, being out there in life, real-life experiences. Some gravity when he talks."
McKee felt detached from the game while in Brazil. He was only allowed to speak to his parents once a week and had no way of watching football. In those conversations, Tanner's father, Jeremie, passed along Stanford's scores.
It wasn't until Tanner got home that he learned about the exploits of quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes – guys Tanner had never heard of.
As for staying sharp, "American football isn't that big in Brazil, as you can imagine," McKee said. "I'd try to find whoever I could and try to play catch. A lot of them were interested in playing, but as far as running routes and things like that, it was a little difficult.
"We actually did find a semipro team down there, in Curitiba, that I got to play with a little bit. I did not suit up in pads and helmets. It was just a scrimmage against themselves. I just showed up for the practice and took a few reps at quarterback. They had their play card and ran their plays and things like that. It was a lot of fun."
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STANFORD AND UCLA will play each other for the 75th consecutive year, matching the length of Stanford's other longest uninterrupted series, against Cal. Stanford did not play an official football schedule from 1943-45 because of World War II, thus halting those series. Therefore, the 'uninterrupted' portion of the rivalries against Cal and UCLA began in 1946.
In the years that Stanford has played football, Cal has been Stanford's oldest annual opponent (since 1892). UCLA is next, playing Stanford each season since 1928.
Though Stanford has won 12 of the past 13 editions, last year's contest may have been the best in the rivalry. Stanford gave up a big first-half lead, and fell behind, 34-20, before rallying with two late touchdowns, including a 21-yard pass from Davis Mills to Simi Fehoko with 18 seconds left to force overtime.
In the second overtime, the Cardinal defense stuffed a Bruin two-point conversion try to come away with a 48-47 victory at the Rose Bowl, capping a pandemic-shortened season in which Stanford was forced to play its final four games on the road because of Santa Clara County COVID-19 protocols.
"I think it's up there because of the situation," said Shaw of his most memorable coaching victories. "It was an emotional game that showed the resilience and resolve of a football team that had been through a lot in the previous 6-8 months. That's one thing I'm proud of, how that team finished that year – not just with a victory, but fighting and scrapping all the way to the end, through all the difficulties.
"It was a heck of a college football game."
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KYU BLU KELLY owns one of the best names in sports. How did the name originate? His parents kind of figured it out as they went along.
It started with "Blue," a name his parents, Lisa and Brian, wanted to incorporate. Because he has a brother whose name starts with 'B' (Brilan) and a sister with a 'K' (Kiaran), they decided on a name that would include both letters.
"They said, What goes with Blue?," Kelly said. "And they thought of Kyu (KAI-you), but not like the TV show (the cartoon "Caillou," with the same pronunciation). And then Blu with no 'e.' That's how it was. Kyu Blu is my real name. But everybody calls me Kyu.
"The hardest thing was with substitute teachers, people who don't know me. It's hard for them to say my name. But it's made me have a personality to myself. With that type of name, I'm not the same as everybody else. With the name comes a different type of mindset and personality that I carry myself with.
"So, I really like the name. It's dope."