What Stanford Needs to Avoid Against SMU

While Stanford football was on their second bye week of the season, their upcoming opponent, SMU, took the field at home against Syracuse. Last year the Cardinal were able to upset the Orange, 26-24 on the road, while Stanford was beaten soundly by then-No. 12 ranked SMU, 40-10 on The Farm.

In yesterday's game, one thing really stood out for SMU, and that was that most of their damage came in the second quarter. Not only that, but they were quick strikes that provided them with 21 points while they held the ball for just 5:40.

The first of those drives began in the first quarter, but ended up being a seven play, 78 yard drive that took all of 2:43 off the clock. The second drive was a quick three-play, 40 yarder that lasted 1:20, and they capped off their scoring in the second with a six play, 90 yard drive that needed only 2:18.

The Mustangs ended up winning this one 31-18, so in essence, they were outplayed in the other three quarters, but it didn't end up mattering when the final score was tallied.

Giving up big quarters has been something Stanford has struggled with this season, like when they allowed 20 points to Boston College at home, or 21 points to Virginia in the first quarter of their road loss. In order to have a chance against SMU, they'll have to limit those big plays and make the Mustangs work a little harder for their scores.

QB Kevin Jennings went for 285 yards and four touchdowns yesterday, and was extremely efficient with his passes, completing 29-of-35 (83%). He also spread those touchdowns around to four different wide outs, and had four receivers with at least five catches. That's going to present a problem for Stanford.

The Cardinal have some solid players in their program, but when a team has depth like SMU, that stretches their talent thin and means that other guys will have to step up. SMU also had six passing plays that were considered "big plays," meaning that they went for 20+ yards. They also racked up three "big" rushing plays (10+ yards) against Syracuse.

The one big silver lining here is that Stanford has shown some big play ability of their own of late, with QB Ben Gulbranson finding Caden High, Bryce Farrell, and CJ Williams consistently to move the sticks. The Cardinal have also displayed a solid rushing attack, whether it's Micah Ford or Cole Tabb running the ball.

Stanford is also coming off of a bye, which is giving their experienced head coach extra time to prepare a gameplan and get his guys ready for a tough road matchup. If the defense can hold SMU just enough, the offense may be able to keep this one closer than expected. This could also be the Cardinal's best shot at an upset in the next three weeks.

This will be an early kickoff for Stanford fans, set for 9 a.m. (PT) from Dallas, TX.