3 things to watch

1

Can’t throw it to the sidelines: But Trent Edwards wishes he could. Stanford’s two top receivers, Mark Bradford and Evan Moore, are both out for much of, if not all of, the rest of the season. Unfortunately for Cardinal quarterback Edwards, Bradford and Moore didn’t have much experience behind them in the lineup.

Stanford is starting a sophomore and a freshman at wideout, and behind them are two walk-ons. If none of those players can get open, Edwards has to hope his ground game bails out the passing game.

2

Experience wins: Edwards and Alex Brink are the two most experienced quarterbacks in the Pac-10, but neither has been considered a front-line star in the conference.

That said, one of these two signal-callers has to show why he’s been starting for so long, avoiding costly mistakes and erroneous throws. Whichever quarterback does so will have a good shot at getting another Pac-10 win for the resume.

3

Tempo: In wins against WSU in both of the last two seasons, Stanford has done a masterful job of controlling the pace of the game, slowing down the Cougars offensive attack. Look for the Cardinal to again try and run the play clock down into single digits from the early stages of the game, trying to shorten things up and frustrate a Cougars team that would love to play this game as a high-scoring affair.

If WSU can establish a quick offensive pace, a 1-0 start to the conference season seems likely. If Stanford manages to control the game with the run, things could get interesting.