Stanford has a very bold 2021 football schedule.
The Cardinal will play 12 PAC-12 conference games and then three non-conference games against Power Five opponents. The non-conference slate is Kansas State, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
That means Stanford will only play P5 teams in and outside of conference, which hasn’t happened during a normal year since 2011.
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Below is a live look at my reaction to seeing Stanford having the courage to only schedule P5 non-conference teams.
Good for Stanford for putting together an outstanding schedule. As I said when teams went to conference only slates during the coronavirus pandemic, fans want to see as many tough games as possible.
Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, wants to watch powerhouse programs play directional schools and win 50-0.
We want packed stadiums and games under the lights against great teams. Feed fans that kind of content and they’ll thank you forever.
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Hopefully, Stanford taking the plunge results in more and more teams doing the same. Every P5 conference should play 10 games against two league opponents and two non-conference games, ideally against other P5 teams.
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It’ll take a long time to get there, but at least Stanford has already pulled the trigger on only playing solid competition.