No. 6 Ohio State | No. 8 Michigan | Top 25
No. 7: Stanford
Last Season: 12-2 (8-1 Pac-12 North)
The Cardinal barely missed the playoff last year -- and are even stronger now. The reason? Christian McCaffrey. The Stanford back broke Barry Sanders' record for all-purpose yards in a season (3,864), and while QB Keller Chryst (nine career passes) and top WR Michael Rector (39.9 ypg) are not rated as highly, McCaffrey should be enough to keep the offense at pace. The Cardinal D was inexperienced in 2015 -- just three returners -- but all three units on defense this year rank in my top 20. The schedule is tough, though: underdogs at Washington (+3) and Notre Dame (+3), along with toss-ups at UCLA and Oregon.
IN IF...
It makes it through October unscathed. In the first six games, Stanford faces four teams in FPI's top 20 (USC, UCLA, Washington and Notre Dame).
OUT IF...
McCaffrey somehow isn't a Heisman finalist. With a new QB, left tackle, left guard and center, Stanford will again need huge production from McCaffrey.
Stanford's chances to win each game
09.02 vs. Kansas State: 85.2%
09.17 vs. USC: 47.5%
09.24 @ UCLA: 32.4%
09.30 @ Washington: 31.4%
10.08 vs. Washington State: 74.0%
10.15 @ Notre Dame: 33.2%
10.22 vs. Colorado: 83.7%
10.29 @ Arizona: 47.7%
11.05 vs. Oregon State: 90.0%
11.12 @ Oregon: 46.2%
11.19 @ Cal: 64.0%
11.26 vs. Rice: 97.4%
Armed with the best player in college football, Christian McCaffrey, and led by a masterful coach, David Shaw, it's a not a question of if Stanford will eventually win a national title, it's a question of when and an 11-1 regular-season record should make it possible this year. -- Kyle Bonagura
The Cardinal enter the year with the nation's longest streak of games with 30-plus points (13). Despite a quarterback TBD and questions on both sides of the ball, Stanford has earned the benefit of the doubt as the league's top ranked team and a 10-2 record seems realistic. Having McCaffrey doesn't hurt, either. -- Kevin Gemmell
Christian McCaffrey -- there doesn't need to be much of an explanation past him. A 9-3 season might not look too incredible until fully understanding how tough of a schedule McCaffrey and his team will face in 2016. -- Chantel Jennings
It's important to remember that the Cardinal have lost their quarterback, their leading tackler and over half of both lines. Star power that begins with McCaffrey will help assuage some of the talent drain, but it won't be easy sledding against one of the toughest road-heavy schedules in the country, so a 9-3 finish seems solid here. -- David Lombardi
The Cardinal were picked to win the Pac-12 because they've won the conference three out of the past four years and were never picked to win it, so sportswriters decided to hedge their bets, no matter that Stanford has big questions. Still, with Shaw and McCaffrey, the Cardinal should be able to take the conference with a 10-2 record. -- Ted Miller
No. 6 Ohio State | No. 8 Michigan | Top 25
