Stanford, Boston College Enter Saturday with Key Missing Pieces

This Saturday, a huge game will be taking place in the heart of Silicon Valley as the Stanford Cardinal will host their first game of the year, hoping to get in the win column while the Boston College Eagles come to town. Both teams have had less than ideal starts to the year, but a win this weekend truly will shift the momentum, not just for each teams, but both programs.

Sadly, both teams will be without some key pieces for Saturday’s matchup, which will clearly affect both teams. The question is, who gets affected more?

Stanford will be without 18 players on Saturday. Many are season enders, or long term injuries, but there are ones that will truly affect the Cardinal specifically this weekend.

Stanford’s top offensive lineman, Simione Pale, will be out this weekend. After a tough weekend for the O-line last week, a bounceback now looks less probable.

Linebacker duo Tevarua Tafiti and Jahsiah Galvan will both be out this well. Both starters, Stanford’s linebacker room could take a tough hit this weekend.

Even in the cornerback room, Dartmouth transfer Jordan Washington has been a key piece for the Cardinal's pass defense. Without him, it may be tougher to get stops on that side of the ball.

Finally, without wide receiver JonAnthony Hall, Stanford loses out on an important target. Hall, a four star recruit out of high school, was Stanford’s top recruit. Losing out on such a key piece early in the year has been brutal, and another week will just make it worse.

On Boston College’s side, the Eagles may have been affected even more. Their defensive identity is to win near the sidelines, and essentially get tackles on the outside. However, without two starting defensive backs, it may be way tougher.

Syair Torrance and Amari Jackson will both be out for Saturday’s game. The two have combined for seven tackles this season so far.

This weekend’s game will be a huge one. Both teams are fighting to keep their seasons intact just a few weeks in. And the reality is, both teams will be fighting with players that aren’t generally put on the field as much.

Now the biggest question is: Which team can accept hardship, challenge, and which team can stay afloat? At the end of the day, part of college football is accepting those challenges, and continuing to fight to prove who the best team truly is.