The Troy Taylor Era has begun!
After a tumultuous summer that saw President MTL resign and our beloved Pac-12 uproarisouly combust (article incoming—I have 6,784,322 thoughts on realignment), Stanford and Troy Taylor took a well-deserved honeymoon trip to Hawaii to celebrate their recent union.
And celebrate they did—the Cardinal defeated the Rainbow Warriors 37-24 in Honolulu on Friday night, more than covering a rather pessimistic -3 spread and helping the Pac-12 register an unprecedented 13-0 start to the season (U$C played an early game in Week 0).
The Cardinal looked solid in their season debut—certainly better than many pundits expected. Sophomore QB Ashton Daniels got the nod as starter, going 25/36 for 248 yards and a pair of TDs. He also added another 42 on the ground. Daniels is a Buford, GA product and (fun fact!) went to Buford High School, the historic rival of my and former Stanford QB Davis Mill's high school, Greater Atlanta Christian. I'm not sure what you'll do with that information, but now you know—choose a side!
While Daniels looked competent in and out of the pocket, the MVP of the night was undoubtedly senior TE Benjamin Yurosek. Known on this site as the grandson of the inventor of the baby carrot (this is a true fact), Yurosek is another in a long line of phenomenal Stanford TEs who have the talent to make an impact in the NFL. Yurosek caught 9 passes for 138 yards and a TD in Hawaii, showing flashes of the brilliance we regrettably didn't see much of last year. Make no mistake: Baby Carrot is the Real Deal™️ and we're lucky to have him for his senior season.
RB Casey Filkins played well, collecting 62 yards on just 6 carries. RB E.J. Smith, son of NFL Hall of Famer Emmit Smith, only saw four carries... but I suspect Coach Taylor may be saving him for the U$C game next week, limiting his snaps to maintain some mystery.
Stanford has now defeated Hawaii all four times they've played ('46, '49, '72, '23), though Hawaii may have the all-time leg up when you consider that school founder Jane Stanford was poisoned via strychnine in Hawaii in 1905 while recuperating from, well, an earlier poisoning attempt months prior. While Stanford President David Starr Jordan is credited with toppling our matriarch, Hawaii should continue to make Stanford fans nervous.`
Speaking of outright murder, U$C, the school that backstabbed the Pac-12 and made O.J. Simpson a star is up next on the schedule. The early spread is an unfavorable Stanford +29.5. A win versus the Trojans would be both cathartic and (I believe) the second greatest upset in the rivalry's history, just after our favorite 2007 memory:
We can dream! Tune into Stanny v. O.J. Simpson University at 7:30PM PT this Saturday. Let's Go Card!
--Fear The Me.