BYU (6-5) at Stanford (3-8)
Kickoff: 9 p.m. MST
Venue: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California (50,424)
TV: Fox Sports 1
Livestream: https://www.foxsports.com/live
Radio: 1160 AM/102.7 FM
Series: BYU and Stanford are meeting for just the third time, and first time since 2004, a 37-10 Cardinal win at Stanford. Stanford leads the series 2-0, and is the only Pac-12 team that BYU has never defeated.
- Weather: Partly cloudy skies with wind gusts up to 5 mph and temperatures in the high 50s at kickoff, dropping to the mid-50s later in the night. A 5% chance of rain showers.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars have won two straight games to get bowl eligible and quality for postseason play for the 17th time in the past 18 seasons. BYU is 0-1 against the Pac-12 this season, after going 5-0 against the league last year. Stanford is quite likely the last Power Five team BYU will face as a college football independent.
For Stanford: The Cardinal wrap up another disappointing season after going 3-9 last year. Having lost 27-20 to rival California last week, Stanford is in a “tough spot” according to coach David Shaw and is playing only for pride and for the seniors who will be playing at home for the final time.
What to watch for
BYU is playing well on offense and averaging 31.6 points per game for the season. The Cougars started slowly in last week’s 52-26 win over Utah Tech, but got rolling once they started huddling because they suspected Utah Tech was on to their signals. Defensively, the Cougars have struggled to stop the run this season, giving up 185 yards per game on the ground.
Stanford has struggled to protect quarterback Tanner McKee throughout the season, due to a makeshift offensive line and a steady rotation of running backs. Defensively, Stanford has shown some stoutness at times but is giving up 432.5 yards per game, including 212.3 yards on the ground an outing.
Key player
Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford: BYU has a habit of making opposing quarterbacks play like Joe Montana and post career days against them. McKee is entirely capable of doing this, despite having had a subpar season to date. Also, the Cardinal signal-caller grew up a BYU fan, served a church mission to Brazil, and will have some added motivation to beat the Cougars and send Stanford’s seniors out on a winning note.
Quotable
“I just have tons of respect for David Shaw, and the coach that he is. And I have had a lot of opportunities to be around him. I can tell you he is an individual that is all class. It has been really cool to see him as a leader and looking at the things he does in our coaching meetings and things, he has such a high level of respect from everybody in the football world. I am really impressed with the things he has done as a coach and the mentoring that he has done for young men.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“Yeah, (BYU is) a talented football team. They will take shots down the field on you now. These guys will throw it down the field, play-action pass wise. They have some variance in their offense to try to keep you off-balance. Defensively, every week they do something a little bit different — tweaking their front, going from a four down to a three down. … So good team, well-coached team, good players, good athletes. We have to be at our best to find a way to send our seniors out with a win.” — Stanford coach David Shaw
Next up
BYU is still awaiting its bowl destination and opponent, but might not learn it until after the final College Football Playoff rankings are released next Sunday. The Cougars’ next regular-season game is Sept. 2, 2023 in Provo against Sam Houston.
BYU schedule
Sept. 3 — BYU 50, South Florida 21
Sept. 10 — No. 25 BYU 26, No. 9 Baylor 20 (2OT)
Sept. 17 — No. 25 Oregon 41, No. 12 BYU 20
Sept. 24 — No. 19 BYU 38, Wyoming 24
Sept. 29 — No. 19 BYU 38, Utah State 26
Oct. 8 — Notre Dame 28, No. 16 BYU 20
Oct. 15 — Arkansas 52, BYU 35
Oct. 22 — Liberty 41, BYU 14
Oct. 28 — East Carolina 27, BYU 24
Nov. 5 — BYU 31, Boise State 28
Nov. 12 — Open date
Nov. 19 — BYU 52, Utah Tech 26
Nov. 26 — BYU at Stanford, 9 p.m. MST