Stanford ends season with three strong victories

STANFORD, Calif. – There was a time not so long ago at Stanford that going 8-5 and winning a bowl game would have been considered a successful season.

Now it’s viewed as a disappointment.

That’s the reality of the new Stanford standard, where Pac-12 titles and contending for national championships are how the program is measured. David Shaw has seen both sides of it, as a player and now the coach, and he prefers the high expectations – and all the scrutiny that comes with it.

“We want to be one of the best football programs in the nation,” Shaw said.

The Cardinal fell short of this season’s lofty goals. They failed to win a third straight Pac-12 championship and never came close to claiming a spot in the new College Football Playoff.

Almost as baffling as the way the season unfolded was the way it ended.

For the first half of the year, Stanford struggled to consistently impose its smash-mouth style on offense while its physical defense kept the team in most games. The Cardinal couldn’t break free for big runs, the line offered little protection for Kevin Hogan and the quarterback struggled to make the throws he had completed so often .

Shaw moved to more spread-heavy schemes late in the season, getting electric freshman Christian McCaffrey more involved and running plays outside the tackles just as frequently as between them. Everything finally came together the last three games, with the Cardinal crushing rival California 38-17, overwhelming UCLA 31-10 and dismantling Maryland 45-21 in the Foster Farms Bowl on Tuesday night.