The 2018 Stanford Cardinal football team represented

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in the

2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018. The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended ...

. The Cardinal were led by eighth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. Stanford, coming off a 9–5 season and an appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, began the year ranked 13th in the preseason

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. They won their first four games of the year, including wins over No. 17

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and No. 20

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and rose to 7th in the polls. The Cardinal then lost four of their next five games, compiling losses to Notre Dame,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. After closing out the regular season with three straight wins, Stanford was third in the Pac-12 North with a conference record of 6–3. They were invited to the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

, where they defeated

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

runner-up

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

to end the year at 9–4 overall. Stanford's offense was led by junior quarterback

K. J. Costello Kevin Richard "K. J." Costello (born June 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford and the Mississippi State. He previously played for the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Sain ...

, who led the Pac-12 Conference in

passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...

and finished in second in passing yards and touchdowns. Wide receiver

J. J. Arcega-Whiteside José Joaquín Arcega-Whiteside ( ; born December 31, 1996) is a Spanish-born American football wide receiver, who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2 ...

finished with 1,059 receiving yards and a Pac-12-leading 14 receiving touchdowns. Offensive tackle

Walker Little Walker Douglas Little (born April 1, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford, and was drafted by the Jaguars in the second round o ...

was named first-team all-conference. On defense, cornerback

Paulson Adebo Saiid Paulson Adebo (born July 3, 1999) is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Saints in the third round of the 2021 NFL ...

led the team with four interceptions and 17 passes defended, and was also named first-team all-conference.

Recruiting

Position key

Recruits

The Cardinal signed a total of 14 recruits.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Pac-12 media days

The 2018 Pac-12 media days are set for July 25, 2018 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. David Shaw (HC),

(WR) &

Alijah Holder Alijah Holder (born January 26, 1996) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford. College career Holder played as a cornerback for the Stanford Cardinals. He did not play during his freshman year i ...

(CB) at Pac-12 media days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Cardinal predicted to finish in second place at Pac-12 North division.

Schedule

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Game summaries

San Diego State

USC

UC Davis

At Oregon

Late in the 3rd quarter, Oregon led 24–7 and had a 1st & Goal at the Stanford 1-yard line. An ensuing fumble returned for a touchdown by the Stanford defense sparked an epic comeback where the Cardinal were able to win in overtime.

At Notre Dame

Utah

Starting running back Bryce Love sat the game out due to an ankle injury.

At Arizona State

Washington State

At Washington

Oregon State

Stanford beat Oregon State on a smoky night caused by the

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

. The Air Quality Index was close to 150, which qualified as "Dangerous".

At UCLA

At California

The 121st installment of the Big Game was delayed due to unhealthy air quality caused by the Camp Fire. It was only the second time in 27 years that both teams had 7 or more wins. The Cardinal quickly jumped out to a 10–0 start and never looked back. From there, the game was mostly a defensive struggle as cornerback

intercepted two passes from Cal's

Chase Garbers Chase Garbers (born June 6, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears. Early years Garbers attended Corona del Mar Hig ...

. As a result of this game, Stanford extended its winning streak to 9 games, the longest by either team in the series.

Vs. Pittsburgh (Sun Bowl)

Rankings

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{Stanford Cardinal football navbox

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Stanford Cardinal football seasons Sun Bowl champion seasons

Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. The team is known as the Stanford Cardinal, Cardinal, adopted pri ...