The sting of the Cardinal's overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State may linger for a while, but coach David Shaw has plenty of new business to distract him. Pivotal players are leaving, promising freshmen are arriving, and an unusual schedule will influence next season's campaign.
Not only is all-everything quarterback Andrew Luck headed for the NFL, so are standout offensive linemen David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin. (Both were redshirt juniors with a season of eligibility remaining.) With other senior departures, which include tight end Coby Fleener and safeties Delano Howell and Michael Thomas, Shaw and his assistants have to oversee some heavy transitions.
The 2012 schedule introduces an unanticipated wrinkle: Big Game will be played in October instead of as one of the last two games of the regular season. A variety of factors complicated the second year of Pac-12 scheduling, and athletic director Bob Bowlsby acknowledged the likely unhappiness of some students and alumni. "The October 20 date . . . is certainly not our first choice," he said in a statement, "but the conference is governed by the will of the majority." He added that Stanford and Cal will seek a return to the traditional scheduling in future years.
Other key games include the September 15 home matchup with USC and closing road games at Oregon and UCLA.
In other news, Oklahoma City high school running back Barry Sanders, son of the former Detroit Lions great, was among the prize recruits signed by Stanford.
