PALO ALTO — The bye week might have come at just the right time for Stanford.
The Cardinal has lost six in a row and is roughly a three-touchdown underdog against No. 22 Louisville on Saturday at Stanford Stadium. But Stanford fans looking for hope can find it in the fact that the team is coming off a bye.
Stanford is 5-16 in two mostly disappointing seasons under coach Troy Taylor, but Taylor’s two signature victories have come after an extra week of rest: a 46-43 win at Colorado last season that featured a 29-point halftime comeback, and a 26-24 win at Syracuse in September in the Cardinal’s first-ever ACC conference game.
Counting his coaching stint at Sacramento State, Taylor is 5-0 in his career coming off a bye.
“It gets you healthy, gives you time to recover, gives you two weeks to prepare for an opponent,” Taylor said.
The Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC) welcomed the rest after playing seven straight weeks – including a program-record four trips to the Eastern Time Zone as Stanford experiences its first year of ACC play.
“We had really good practices during the bye,” Taylor said. “A great practice on Sunday. It was a longer practice and I thought that the energy, the effort and the focus was really extraordinary, so I’m happy about that.”
Louisville (6-3, 4-2) is also coming off a bye, so Stanford won’t have a schedule advantage like it did last year against Colorado. In fact, Louisville is the fifth Stanford opponent who will be playing the Cardinal after having an open week.
“It gets you a chance to watch the film a little bit more and digest it,” Taylor said. “But I think it’s good that both teams have the same amount of time.”
Louisville is coming off a win over No. 17 Clemson, while Stanford lost 59-28 at N.C. State – its fifth loss by at least 24 points in six games. In three previous games against ranked opponents, the Cardinal have lost 40-14 at Clemson, 49-7 at No. 8 Notre Dame and 40-10 against No. 14 SMU.
While Taylor’s record off a bye gives reason for optimism, it may be outweighed by his dismal home record. Under Taylor, the Cardinal are 0-10 against FBS opponents (and 1-1 against FCS opponents) at Stanford Stadium. But Taylor said the team doesn’t feel any added pressure to win at home in its final chance of the season.
“I think we go into every game with the same amount of pressure,” Taylor said. “We want to win them all, so really there’s no pressure in terms of that. It’s just the preparation and the process of getting ready and then going out and making it happen on the field.”
The Cardinal finishes with games at Cal and San Jose State.
Saturday’s game will also serve as Senior Day – although the graduating seniors will have an extra year of eligibility because of COVID. Three fifth-year players are guaranteed to be playing their last game at Stanford Stadium: receiver Bryce Farrell, right tackle Connor McLaughlin and defensive tackle Tobin Phillips. One sixth-year player, linebacker Tristan Sinclair, will also be suiting up at home for the final time if he can recover from an undisclosed injury.
“I’ve been putting off thinking about it to not get emotional,” said Phillips, who had a career-best 2.5 sacks against Wake Forest in Stanford’s previous home game. “It will be special for sure. Maybe not all the outcomes that we’ve wanted over the last few years but it’s still special to me being my last game here. I will definitely take it to heart. I’m excited for it.”
