Scouting the Opponent: New look Stanford coming off solid debut

The first peak at the Troy Taylor Era at Stanford was fairly encouraging as the Cardinal opened the season with a 37-24 win over Hawaii last weekend.

Sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels completed 25 of 36 passes for 248 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while also rushing for 42 yards, while Casey Filkins led the Cardinal with 67 rushing yards, tight end Benjamin Yurosek had 9 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown and edge rusher David Bailey notched 3 sacks (4 total tackles for loss).

But it was just one game, one glimpse into what the program might look like after 12 seasons with David Shaw. After establishing himself as one of the Pac-12's most successful coaches, Shaw ended his tenure on a downswing with back-to-back 3-9 finishes the last two years.

Not only did Stanford change head coaches but it changed over much of its roster, losing 17 players to the transfer portal over the offseason (including 6 offensive linemen).

So there is still a lot more to learn about the Cardinal in the weeks to come, starting with the ultimate test Saturday night in the Coliseum against No. 6-ranked USC.

But here's the scouting report as it stands ...

Coach: Troy Taylor is in his first season after a successful three-year run at Sacramento State, where he posted a 30-8 record including a 12-1 finish last season in which he led the program to the FCS quarterfinals. Prior to Sacramento State, Taylor was the offensive coordinator at Utah in 2017-18, the co-OC at Eastern Washington in 2016, a high school coach in Northern California for 16 years and an assistant coach at Cal from 1996-2000.

Series history: Stanford is USC's oldest rivals, dating back to 1905, and much has been made this week about the potential that this is the last meeting for a while between the programs with the Trojans moving to the Big Ten next season and the Cardinal to the ACC. USC leads the all-time series, 65-34-3 (counting the 2005 win that was officially vacated).

Familiar names/faces: Stanford OLB Lance Keneley is the son of former USC DL Matt Keneley (1993-96) and USC women’s volleyball player Antoinette Lindemann (Thomas). He is also the nephew of former USC football DT Todd Keneley (1999) and OG-C Clay Hattabaugh (1991-95). ... Stanford OL Jaxson Moi’s father, Junior Moi, was a OLB-DE at USC (1991-92). ... Stanford’s co-offensive line coach Viane Talamaivao played at USC from 2014-17 and returned as a graduate assistant from 2019-20. He then shifted into a quality control analyst role for the 2021 season. ... Stanford offensive quality control analyst Vavae Malepeai was a running back for the Trojans from 2017-21.

Stanford returned two starting offensive linemen in junior left guard Trevor Mayberry and senior center Levi Rogers. The other three starters entered the season with a combined 42 snaps of college experience (all by senior right tackle Connor McLaughlin). Senior left tackle James Pogorelc had never played in a game before last weekend while Simione Pale is a true freshman. The unit didn't allow any sacks against Hawaii but it did give up a whopping 16 QB pressures, which doesn't bode well for the matchup with USC's talented defensive front.

We mentioned sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels, veteran tight end Benjamin Yurosek, who will expound on more in a bit. Along with the veteran Casey Filkins, the Cardinal also has running back EJ Smith, who opened last season as the featured back before sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 2 vs. the Trojans. He didn't have a big role in the season opener with just 4 carries for 14 yards, but he's a talented player nonetheless. Meanwhile, the team's top wide receiver is senior John Humphreys, who had 29 catches for 348 yards last season.

Overall, Stanford totaled 406 offensive yards last week vs. Hawaii.

USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch shared his takeaways from scouting the new-look Cardinal ...

"Yeah, I mean, it certainly is different. You’re so used to the tight end component and included in that would probably be the fullback, and you think about all the personnel groupings that you may have to create in order to defend some of the things that they’ve done historically with the McCaffreys of the world and the Loves of the world and everything else for a long time defending those guys," Grinch said. "Certainly different that way, but when you’re watching, it's still the use the tight ends, still use the quarterback run game and stuff. They find a way to really stretch you in different ways. So it’s certainly a different visual watching that game film, and not to judge positive or negative, but Coach Taylor does a tremendous job. When you talk about a guy that knows exactly what he’s doing from packaging -- very similar to what Coach Shaw was, they have a very good idea of all the ways they’re going to attack you so we know it’s going to be a big challenge."

Stanford allowed 355 passing yards to Hawaii and -5 rushing yards (on 16 attempts). So that certainly stands out. The Cardinal got great pressure up front, notching 6 sacks (3 from the aforementioned David Bailey.

Overall, this is a new-look defense in many ways as six of the top seven tacklers from last season are gone. Bailey -- 46 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks -- is top returning defensive player while junior safety Alaka'i Gilman (38 tackles) and linebacker Tristan Sinclair (37 tackles) are other notable returning players.

1. QB Ashton Daniels, sophomore: Daniels was a three-star prospect out of Buford, Georgia, in the 2022 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound QB saw limited action in 10 games last season, mostly showing off his mobility while rushing for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. That facet of Daniels' game will at the forefront of the minds of Trojans defenders Saturday.

"When you’re watching it, obviously you zoom into the run game a little bit ...it’s the ultimate conflict that you’re talking about. Just making sure at any moment, he obviously can throw the football, but now you got 11 guys in the fit, including corners and everything else," Grinch said. "So no, I thought it was impressive on film, took what the defense gave him from that standpoint and was efficient and certainly willing to take shots as well. Like all quarterbacks, they get better every week as they get game reps so we’ll see the next version I think here in the next week."

2. EDGE David Bailey, sophomore: The Rivals100 prospect from Mater Dei HS in USC's backyard was a priority target for the Trojans in the 2022 recruiting cycle. It was one of the key recruiting battles they couldn't salvage even after hiring Lincoln Riley and staff, and Bailey has made an immediate impact. As noted, he led Stanford with 8.5 tackles for loss last season and already has 4 TFLs with 3 sacks this season. Riley reflected on that abbreviated recruiting process with Bailey after he got the job.

"It was quick so got to know him pretty quick. He's a neat kid, really smart kid, and yeah, I got a chance to get around him there a little bit. I thought he was a really talented player, and it's been no surprise to me to see that he's done well at Stanford," Riley said. "I think an athletic kid that obviously came out of a great program and has a lot of goals both, from what I remember, both kind of inside the game and outside of the game. No, we thought he would have been a great fit here, but he's obviously done a great job at Stanford and had a great first game against Hawaii."

3. TE Benjamin Yurosek, senior: The 6-foot-4 tight end had 49 catches for 445 yards and a touchdown last season after posting a 43-658-3 line as a sophomore. He's arguably the best tight end in the Pac-12 and showed it last week with his 9 catches for 138 yards and a TD vs. Hawaii.

4. RB E.J. Smith, senior: The son of NFL legend Emmitt Smith was off to a great start last year with 30 carries for 206 yards and 3 TDs before his season-ending injury in Week 2 vs. the Trojans. It seems he's being eased back into action this fall, but he's the most talented back on Stanford's roster and could break out at any time.

5. EDGE Lance Keneley, senior: The 6-foot-4, 250-pound senior from Mission Viejo had 4 tackles for loss last season while playing mostly off as a reserve and drew strong reviews in fall camp as he looks to have a breakout season.

It's those 16 QB pressures Stanford allowed last week with every starting offensive lineman culpable on at least a couple. USC had 5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss last week against Nevada and should be able to make some big plays in the Stanford backfield Saturday night.

Don't get beat by the tight end -- again! USC fans know how much the Trojans struggled against tight ends last season, especially Utah's Dalton Kincaid. Stanford will no doubt be aggressive in targeting Yurosek in this one.

For further perspective, we had Ben Parker, publisher of the Stanford Rivals site, share his thoughts and insights into the Cardinal:

1. What has stood out about the start of the Troy Taylor Era, either in how he runs the program or what you learned in Week 1?

Parker: "For starters, the pace of play. They are playing much faster on offense. That’s something that stands out and then just in general the way he has built a culture that resonates with his players. It’s been a real breath of fresh air for the program."

2. What is the scouting report on QB Ashton Daniels?

Parker: "Daniels can really run the ball, but he’s also a good passer and overall game manager. A guy who is trusted by his teammates and knows how to make winning plays."

3. Is this David Bailey breakout for real or was it somewhat a product of the opponent?

Parker: "I’m not sure he will put up those numbers every week, but he is the real McCoy. You can see it with his physical gifts and aggression. Great feel for the game. He’s incredibly talented."

4. Aside from Daniels and Benjamin Yurosek, who do you expect to be a consistent factor on offense for Stanford?

Parker: "Casey Filkins at running back I think will play well. He looked really good in the time he played against Hawaii and then running back E.J. Smith. After a more quiet game, it feels like he might be in line for a breakout game."

5. What defensive players should fans know from this team?

Parker: "Collin Wright is one who everyone should know. Redshirt freshman cornerback. Everyone has been raving about him during fall camp. And then outside linebacker Lance Keneley is another one to keep an eye on as well. He’s been balling out in camp. So along with David Bailey, those names first come to mind."

6. What is your prediction for Saturday night?

Parker: "USC 42 Stanford 31 is my prediction. I see Stanford making it competitive, but I still have to pick the Trojans given their ranking and all."