(Take a look at schedule rankings from schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, and Oregon State)
The Cardinal schedule is not too hard on the road. It's playing at home which will give them nightmares. And the non-conference schedule is going to be really difficult as well. Let's rank them 12 to 1.
12. at Colorado (November 7): The Cardinal have had their way with the Buffaloes every year since they arrived in the Pac-12. The defense is still pretty nasty.
11. at Oregon State (Friday, September 25): The Beavers play the Cardinal decently, but they'll have their trouble with all the rebuilding they'll be doing this season.
10. at Washington State (October 31): The Cougars know how to score against almost everyone but the Cardinal. This should be a walkover if something changes.
9. at Northwestern (September 5): Northwestern struggled all of last season, but they are defensive minded and could give the Cardinal offense trouble if the two get into a slugfest.
8. Washington (October 24): Stanford has played the Huskies pretty closely the last few years, but Washington is taking a significant step back this season, and the Cardinal will be at home.
7. Cal (November 21): The Big Game has been lopsided for the past few years, but Cal will be sporting their best team in years. You have to imagine the rivalry spices up this time around.
6. UCF (September 12): UCF is slightly scary as a non-conference foe--this team went 9-4 last season and nearly beat several major conference foes.
5. UCLA (Thursday, October 15): Stanford has had their way with the Bruins for whatever reason. They just grind them to dust in the trenches.
4. Arizona (October 3): Arizona's offense gave Stanford a lot of issues the last time around, but Anu Solomon is probably easier to gameplan against.
3. Notre Dame (November 28): The Cardinal and the Irish have had their share of close matchups. They both have physical lines and the offenses are hardly elite.
2. at USC (September 19): The Trojans just keep on playing the Cardinal close every year. I don't see any reason for things to change this season.
1. Oregon (November 14): The Ducks finally blasted the Cardinal off the field last year, but it was a pretty stiff matchup last season.
