GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD
(161 of 238) through the first 10 games
for 2,135 yards with 18 touchdowns and
only seven interceptions.
"There's been a couple of major im-
provements from last year and it starts
up front," Drukarev said. "They've
been excellent run blocking, which is
so huge for Stanford. Their offense is
built around those five-yard, six-yard
gains, keeping the chains moving and
converting on third downs on a fre-
quent basis.
"They've also kept Hogan upright,
which has helped him play really well
this year. Nationally, his reputation is
kind of a middle-tier average quarter-
back, but he's been really great this year.
He does such a good job running the
offense."
Benefiting most from the solid play in
the trenches is sophomore running back
Christian McCaffrey. Stanford uses the
6-0, 201-pounder in a variety of ways,
including split out as a wide receiver,
in the screen game and in the slot. He
rushed for 1,354 yards and seven touch-
downs on 231 attempts (5.9 yards per
carry) through the first 10 games, in ad-
dition to snagging a team-high 33 passes
for 367 yards and two scores.
"Versatility is the one word that comes
to mind with him," Drukarev said.
"He's not the traditional Stanford back
that's 240 pounds. But they will run him
between the tackles, and he does a good
job finding creases and maximizing
available yardage.
"He also has excellent hands; he
Senior linebacker Blake Martinez racked up a team-high 100 tackles in the first 10 games of the season.
PHOTO BY STANFORDPHOTO.COM
