Stanford's second game of the season was always going to be a gut check. Tonight it's also a depth check. According to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, the Cardinal will be without 4 projected offensive starters and a key defender when No. 7 Miami comes to Palo Alto.
Sources: Stanford will be without four projected offensive starters and a key defender against No. 7 Miami tonight in Palo Alto. Stanford has three projected offensive line starters out with injury – LT Niki Prongos, G Simione Pale and C Aidan Kilstrom. Wide receiver Nico Brown is out along with EDGE Gabe Kaminski, who had 1.5 sacks against Hawaii.
The damage is concentrated up front. Left tackle Niki Prongos, guard Simione Pale and center Aidan Kilstrom are all out with injuries, according to Thamel — 3 of the 5 spots on Stanford's offensive line, gone for a game against a defense that's about to feast if the Cardinal can't find bodies to plug in. Wide receiver Nico Brown is also out, taking away a piece of the passing game just 2 weeks after Davis Warren returned from a torn ACL to throw for 310 yards in a 37-27 win over Hawaii in the opener.
On the other side of the ball, Stanford also loses EDGE Gabe Kaminski, who had 1.5 sacks in that Hawaii game, per Thamel's report. That's a real subtraction against a Miami offense that's rebuilding its own line but has the horses skill-position-wise to make Stanford pay for any pressure it can't generate.
The timing is brutal. Miami enters as the preseason favorite to win the ACC after losing the national championship game to Indiana last season, while Stanford was picked to finish last in the conference. The Hurricanes flew out to California 2 days early for the trip — a signal they aren't sleeping on a Cardinal team picked to struggle even before the injury list piled up.
Stanford did show fight in that opener, rallying from a blown 16-point lead to beat Hawaii on a late Micah Ford touchdown run. But that comeback came with a full complement up front. Tonight, first-year coach Tavita Pritchard has to find a way to protect Warren and spring Ford with backups at 3 offensive line spots — against a Miami team looking to open its season with a statement on the road.