Stanford-Duke By the Grades: Expect a Close Matchup on Saturday

With Stanford's upcoming matchup with Duke looking to be a pivotal game for the Cardinal's season, today we wanted to examine some of the early grades each program has received on PFF to get a better grasp of what to expect next Saturday. 

Stanford enters the game 1-1 after a 37-27 win at home over Hawai'i and a 45-6 loss at home to Miami. The Hurricanes have aspirations of winning a national championship this season, putting them in a category that the Cardinal aren't ready to compete with yet. 

Duke is 2-0, but its matchups have been against Tulane at home for a 17-3 win, and a 31-27 win at Illinois in Week 2. Stanford has been on an early bye week after its Week 0 matchup to begin the season a week early. 

Here is how each program has graded thus far.

The initial grade that stands out is the pass protection that Duke has been able to provide Walker Eget. Given Stanford's troubles containing the passing game since the start of the fourth quarter against Hawai'i, that could be a matchup that the Cardinal have to make a dent in to improve their odds. 

At the same time, Duke's run blocking has earned grades of 67.7 and 51.8, and yet running back Nate Sheppard has already amassed 374 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season. Containing the running game to some degree should help limit the passing game as well. 

One key grade that could go Stanford's way is that Duke has not graded out well in terms of tackling ability, earning grades of 51.3 against Tulane and a 58.7 at Illinois. Guys like running back Micah Ford, wide receiver Caden High, and tight end Benji Blackburn may prove difficult to bring down. 

Davis Warren has also taken care of the ball in the first two games for the Cardinal, and has graded out well, with an 81 against Hawai'i and a 76.3 against Miami. That's remarkable consistency, given the level of difference in the caliber of those two programs. 

By the look of things, for Stanford to win this game they'll have to limit the running game of Duke and then win those marginal battles. That means no more back-breaking penalties that take first downs off the board, keeping the offense in third and long situations. It also means winning the field position battle over the course of the game. 

These two programs appear fairly close in terms of skill, albeit spread around in different ways. The winning team will be the one that doesn't beat itself.