2008 Stanford Cardinal football team

The 2008 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Jim Harbaugh, who entered his second year at Stanford. The team played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California and competed in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal improved on their 4–8 record from the 2007 season by going 5–7. After winning back the Stanford Axe from rival California in 2007 for the first time in five years, Stanford lost the Axe to Cal in the 2008 Big Game.

2008 Stanford Cardinal football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record5–7 (4–5 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDavid Shaw (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Co-defensive coordinatorAndy Buh (1st as coordinator 2nd overall season)
Co-defensive coordinatorRon Lynn (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
(Capacity: 50,000)
Uniform
2008 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 USC $  8 –1   12 –1  
No. 10 Oregon  7 –2   10 –3  
No. 19 Oregon State  7 –2   9 –4  
California  6 –3   9 –4  
Arizona  5 –4   8 –5  
Arizona State  4 –5   5 –7  
Stanford  4 –5   5 –7  
UCLA  3 –6   4 –8  
Washington State  1 –8   2 –11  
Washington  0 –9   0 –12  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 286:00 p.m.Oregon State
ESPN2W 36–2830,223
September 67:00 p.m.at No. 15 Arizona State
L 17–4159,441
September 1310:00 a.m.at TCU*
The Mtn.L 14–3125,531
September 206:00 p.m.San Jose State*
W 23–1033,293
September 277:00 p.m.at Washington
W 35–2861,968
October 411:30 a.m.at Notre Dame*
NBCL 21–2880,795
October 112:00 p.m.Arizonadagger
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 24–2330,689
October 181:00 p.m.at UCLA
CSNBAL 20–2364,883
November 12:00 p.m.Washington State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 58–026,662
November 812:30 p.m.at Oregon
FSNL 28–3558,013
November 154:00 p.m.No. 6 USC
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA (rivalry)
VersusL 23–4550,425
November 2212:30 p.m.at California
ABCL 16–3770,089
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time
Schedule Source: 2008 Stanford Cardinal football schedule

Coaches
Second-Year Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
NamePositionYear
at Stanford		Alma mater (year)
Jim HarbaughHead coach2ndMichigan (1986)
Ron LynnCo-defensive coordinator/assistant head coach1stMount Union (1966)
David ShawOffensive coordinator/wide receivers2ndStanford (1995)
Lance AndersonDefensive tackles/recruiting coordinator2ndIdaho State (1996)
Andy BuhCo – Defensive coordinator/Linebackers2ndNevada (1996)
Chris DalmanOffensive line2ndStanford (1992)
Tim DrevnoTight ends2ndCal State Fullerton (1992)
D. J. DurkinDefensive ends/special teams2ndBowling Green (2001)
Willie TaggartRunning backs2ndWestern Kentucky (1998)
Clayton WhiteDefensive backs2ndNorth Carolina State (2001)
Shannon TurleyStrength and conditioning2ndVirginia Tech (2000)

Game summaries

Oregon State
1 2 3 4 Total
Oregon State 0 17 3 8 28
Stanford 0 17 5 14 36
See also: 2008 Oregon State Beavers football team

[1]

Arizona State
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 7 3 7 0 17
Arizona State 3 17 7 14 41
See also: 2008 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

[2]

TCU
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 0 14 0 0 14
TCU 7 7 7 10 31
See also: 2008 TCU Horned Frogs football team

[3]

San Jose State
1 2 3 4 Total
San Jose State 3 7 0 0 10
Stanford 0 7 6 10 23
See also: 2008 San Jose State Spartans football team

[4]

Washington
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 7 14 7 7 35
Washington 7 7 7 7 28
See also: 2008 Washington Huskies football team

Notre Dame
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 0 7 0 14 21
Notre Dame 7 14 7 0 28
See also: 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame – Stanford rivalry

Arizona
1 2 3 4 Total
Arizona 3 14 0 6 23
Stanford 7 14 7 7 35
See also: 2008 Arizona Wildcats football team

UCLA
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 7 7 0 6 20
UCLA 0 6 7 10 23
See also: 2008 UCLA Bruins football team

The week before, the Cardinal beat Arizona 24–23 in an exciting conference game, while the Bruins lost a close game to the Ducks. UCLA had a record of 44–31–3 on the Cardinal before game time.

With ten seconds left in this UCLA's homecoming game and the Bruins behind by four points, Bruin quarterback Kevin Craft passed to freshman Cory Harkey for a 7-yard touchdown to win the game, 23–20, over the Stanford Cardinal in the northeast corner of the Rose Bowl Saturday afternoon. Two turnovers by the Bruins led to the 14 Stanford points in the first half.

In the game, Craft had 285 passing yards and Taylor Embree caught 72 yards, while Stanford's Toby Gerhart rushed for 138 yards.

Washington State
1 2 3 4 Total
Washington State 0 0 0 0 0
Stanford 10 21 20 7 58
See also: 2008 Washington State Cougars football team

Oregon
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 3 14 3 8 28
Oregon 17 3 7 8 35
See also: 2008 Oregon Ducks football team

USC
1 2 3 4 Total
USC 3 14 7 21 45
Stanford 10 7 0 6 23
See also: 2008 USC Trojans football team
The game marked the first sell out of the new Stanford Stadium since its opening in 2006.[5]

California
1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 0 3 0 13 16
California 3 7 20 7 37
Pritchard looks to pass
See also: 2008 California Golden Bears football team and Big Game (American football)

The Cardinal traveled up to Berkeley in an attempt to hold on to the Axe and earn a bowl berth with a sixth win. The Bears led 10–3 at the half and ran up 20 unanswered points in the third quarter. Stanford was able to score two quick back to back touchdowns in the fourth quarter but could not close a 21–point deficit. Tavita Pritchard threw for 306 yards and a score while Toby Gerhart rushed for 103 yards and a score. Although the loss relinquished the Axe to Cal and prevented Stanford from becoming bowl eligible, Harbaugh set the standards even higher for 2009 by declaring that "Bowl Championship Series eligible is what we’re aiming for."[6]

References
  1. "Oregon State vs Stanford (08/28/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  2. "Stanford vs Arizona State (Sep 06, 2008)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  3. "Stanford vs TCU (09/13/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  4. "SJSU vs Stanford (09/20/08)". Stanford University Sports Information. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  5. Wilner, Jon (November 16, 2008). "USC 45, Stanford 23: The tactics, the turnovers and that strange final sequence". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  6. "Stanford falls short of bowl berth once again". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
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