From the outside looking in, Stanford football’s defense appeared nothing to write home about. During the Friday game against the TCU Horned Frogs, TCU quarterback Josh Hoover passed for over 350 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing any interceptions. Three receivers had over 85 yards receiving, and running back Cam Cook added 81 yards with a touchdown.
But for a defense that was perhaps the worst in the FBS last season, the Cardinal’s performance against TCU should provide confidence for fans. Stanford forced two turnovers: David Bailey getting the crown of his helmet on a ball to force a fumble and graduate defensive lineman Clay Patterson recovering a fumble on a botched snap. Plus, the Cardinal nearly capitalized on other opportunities to earn more possessions.
“The turnovers were good. We had a couple more we had a real shot at,” Stanford head football coach Troy Taylor said in a post-game press conference. “Obviously we gave up a lot of yards, but we had some crucial stops.”
The team also displayed its improved run defense, as the Horned Frogs averaged just 3.1 yards per rush and accumulated 104 yards on the ground. Last season, the Cardinal were the 91st in rush yards allowed, giving up 163.2 yards per game. Stanford’s run fits and pursuit looked better to the naked eye than they did last year.
Even when TCU started dicing up Stanford’s defense through the air, the Cardinal defense often did not break, tightening up in the red zone to force field goals.
“I thought it was a pretty solid day. We gave up a lot of points, but we came in and did what we needed to do in a lot of moments,” said linebacker Gaethan Bernadel. “We’re taking the right steps to move forward.”
TCU’s last two touchdown drives came in short field situations after the Stanford offense had failed 4th down tries in its own territory, which made it more difficult for the defense to stay firm.
Despite the turnovers and improved run defense, the Cardinal defense still has room for progress.
“We got to improve on third down,” Taylor said, referring to TCU going 8-15 on third down tries. “We got to be able to get off the field there. They had a lot of third down conversions that kept drives going.”
There were also plenty of times where the linebackers and safeties had big coverage breakdowns, which allowed TCU to get big chunk plays. Some of those could have stemmed from the scheme, as Stanford often used spot drops in situations where match coverage could have been more favorable.
Moreover, the Cardinal also failed to get home to the quarterback, only accumulating one sack in the entire game.
But Friday’s performance should still be considered a step forward in comparison to last season. Stanford’s defense appeared viable against an above-average Power Five offense, something that could not be said in 2023.