After Wake Forest Blowout, Stanford Needs to Show Fight

The Tavita Pritchard era has been a mixed bag so far, to say the least. The Cardinal are 2-3, getting the season started on a positive note with a big win over Hawaii before combining for just 13 points in losses to Miami and Duke. 

Stanford then beat Georgia Tech in come-from-behind fashion to get back to .500 only to lose abysmally to Wake Forest 57-3 on the road. But the Cardinal can still make this season a successful one if they play their cards right.

The program is still deep in a rebuild, which means expectations are not very high. The Cardinal face a tough remaining schedule with games against Notre Dame, SMU, NC State, Virginia Tech and Louisville still to come, meaning game results won't be guaranteed. Being competitive and putting up a fight is the most important thing for Stanford right now. 

When Pritchard was hired, he immediately instilled a new culture and wanted to create one that players bought into quickly. In order for players to keep buying in, they need to feel like they can be a real difference maker when they join the team and feel like they are the missing piece.

The Cardinal need to compete and make games close the rest of the way in order for that to happen. Otherwise, recruits may turn elsewhere and go to a program where they can win.

The players also need to start playing with more urgency whenever they step out onto the field. The Wake Forest game is a perfect example of that. The Cardinal trailed 29-3 at halftime and allowed Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez to play the game of his life. In a 9 a.m. body-clock game, it was evident that the roster felt the effects of an early kickoff.

Next week will be yet another test to see how far the program has come since the new staff was hired during the offseason. Facing No. 3 Notre Dame on the road, the Cardinal are playing a national title contender and a program playing with a major chip on its shoulder after narrowly missing the College Football Playoff last season.

If the Cardinal can at least compete in that game, it will give them something to build off. The Fightin' Irish have won each of their first five games by an average of 29.4 points and have shown week in and week out how dominant they are.

Stanford is not expected to do much against them, but if the program can come out firing and keep it close for a bit, that would be a major tone setter for the rest of the schedule.

The Cardinal could also turn to some of their younger players and see what they have to offer, while also assessing what they would bring for the future.

Quarterback Mike Mitchell Jr., defensive back Dre Pollard and wide receiver Zion Robinson are all guys who could become focal points in the years to come, so seeing what they can do would give the program a better idea of what their strengths are.

Stanford is not competing for much this season, but when it comes to becoming a force in the future, the rest of this season is crucial for building a foundation.