Junior quarterback Keller Chryst will start at Arizona on Saturday in an attempt to revitalize a stagnant offense, head coach David Shaw announced Tuesday. Chryst will take over for senior Ryan Burns, who threw three interceptions against Colorado this past weekend.

The Buffaloes’ offense rammed the Cardinal in a 10-5 loss, putting Stanford’s record at 4-3.

The game demonstrates a clear regression from the 42-10 victory over Colorado just under a year ago, in a season during which Kevin Hogan led the Cardinal to a Rose Bowl victory. While last season Hogan and McCaffrey put Stanford at the top of the Pac-12 in scoring, the team has sunk to 126th in the nation in points per game this year.

Stanford fell from a No. 15 position in the rankings after a loss to the Washington State Cougars three weeks ago. In spite of a recent last-minute win against Notre Dame, Saturday’s game against Colorado did little to reaffirm the team’s status as one to be reckoned with.

Now, given a choice between two less experienced quarterbacks, Shaw is changing the game plan mid-season to bring glory back to the Farm in time for the Big Game. The decision to start Chryst, a Palo Alto High School standout and the pre-season favorite for the position, seems to be a rethinking of Shaw’s earlier choice.

“We need more production from the position,” Shaw said. Despite the evident underperformance from Burns, Shaw acknowledged that no one player is to blame. “It would be really easy if it were just the quarterback.”

Contact Dhaval Gajiwala at gajiwala ‘at’ stanford.edu.