The 2018 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by eighth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

Stanford, coming off a 9–5 season and an appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game in 2017, began the year ranked 13th in the preseason AP Poll. They won their first four games of the year, including wins over No. 17 USC and No. 20 Oregon, and rose to 7th in the polls. The Cardinal then lost four of their next five games, compiling losses to Notre Dame, Utah, Washington State, and Washington. After closing out the regular season with three straight wins, Stanford was third in the Pac-12 North with a conference record of 6–3. They were invited to the Sun Bowl, where they defeated ACC runner-up Pittsburgh to end the year at 9–4 overall.

Stanford's offense was led by junior quarterback K. J. Costello, who led the Pac-12 Conference in passer rating and finished in second in passing yards and touchdowns. Wide receiver J. J. Arcega-Whiteside finished with 1,059 receiving yards and a Pac-12-leading 14 receiving touchdowns. Offensive tackle Walker Little was named first-team all-conference. On defense, cornerback Paulson Adebo led the team with four interceptions and 17 passes defended, and was also named first-team all-conference.

As of 2026, this is Stanford's most recent bowl-eligible season and most recent season above .500.

Recruiting

Recruits

The Cardinal signed a total of 14 recruits.

Preseason

Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Lott TrophyBobby OkerekeLBSRRimington TrophyJesse BurkettCSRChuck Bednarik AwardAlijah HolderCBSRBobby OkerekeLBSRMaxwell AwardK. J. CostelloQBSOBryce LoveRBSRDoak Walker AwardBryce LoveRBJRFred Biletnikoff AwardJ. J. Arcega-WhitesideWRSRJohn Mackey AwardKaden SmithTESOButkus AwardBobby OkerekeLBSROutland TrophyJesse BurkettCSRNate HerbigGJRLou Groza AwardJet TonerKJRRay Guy AwardJake BaileyPSRWuerffel TrophyAlameen MurphyDBSRWalter Camp AwardBryce LoveRBSREarl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardKaden SmithTEJR

Pac-12 media days The 2018 Pac-12 media days are set for July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. David Shaw (HC), J. J. Arcega-Whiteside (WR) & Alijah Holder (CB) at Pac-12 media days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Cardinal predicted to finish in second place in the Pac-12 North division.

Schedule

Personnel

Coaching staff Name Position Stanford years Alma mater David Shaw Head coach 12th Stanford (1994) Lance Anderson Defensive coordinator / outside linebackers coach 12th Idaho State (1996) Tavita Pritchard Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks 6th Stanford (2009) Pete Alamar Special teams coordinator 5th Cal Lutheran (1983) Ron Gould Running backs coach 2nd Oregon (1987) Morgan Turner Tight ends coach 6th Illinois (2009) Kevin Carberry Offensive line coach 1st Ohio (2005) Bobby Kennedy Wide receivers coach 1st Northern Colorado (1989) Duane Akina Defensive backs coach 5th Washington (1979) Peter Hansen Inside linebackers coach 5th Arizona (2001) Diron Reynolds Defensive linemen coach 2nd Wake Forest (1994)

Roster

2018 Stanford Cardinal footballQuarterback  3 K. J. Costello – junior (6'5, 215) 10 Jack West – freshman (6'4, 210) 15 Davis Mills – sophomore (6'4, 220) 17 Dylan Plautz – freshman (6'2, 200) 18 Jack Richardson – junior (6'5, 213)

Running back 20 Bryce Love – senior (5'10, 202) 22 Cameron Scarlett – senior (6'1, 216) 23 Trevor Speights – junior (5'11, 209) 25 Justus Woods – freshman (6'1, 211) 28 Dorian Maddox – junior (5'10, 202) 30 Cameron McFarlane – freshman (6'0, 200)

Fullback  6 Reagan Williams – senior (6'3, 220) 24 Jay Symonds – freshman (6'3, 247) 34 Houston Heimuli – sophomore (5'11, 244) 87 Ben Snyder – senior (6'4, 249)

Wide receiver  2 Trenton Irwin – senior (6'2, 204)  4 Michael Wilson – freshman (6'2, 200)  5 Connor Wedington – sophomore (6'0, 198)  8 Donald Stewart – junior (6'4, 200)  9 Osiris St. Brown – sophomore (6'2, 186) 11 Harry Schwartz – junior (6'0, 189) 13 Simi Fehoko – freshman (6'4, 210) 19 J. J. Arcega-Whiteside – senior (6'3, 225) 21 Isaiah Brandt-Sims – 5th Year Senior (5'11, 178) 81 Brycen Tremayne – freshman (6'4, 185) 83 Cameron Buzzell – sophomore (5'10, 170) 86 Sidhart Krishnamurthi – senior (5'11, 176)

Tight end 44 TaeVeon Le – freshman (6'4, 230) 80 Scooter Harrington – junior (6'5, 250) 82 Kaden Smith – junior (6'5, 252) 84 Colby Parkinson – sophomore (6'7, 240) 87 Kyle McCombs – sophomore (6'5, 233) 88 Tucker Fisk – sophomore (6'4, 260)

Placekicker 26 Jet Toner – junior (6'4, 201) 37 Collin Riccitelli – junior (6'0, 196) Offensive lineman 50 Trey Stratford – OG/OT – freshman (6'4, 258) 51 Drew Dalman – C – sophomore (6'3, 279) 54 Nick Wilson – OG – senior (6'3, 273) 55 Dylan Powell – OG/-C – junior (6'3, 281) 63 Nate Herbig – OG – junior (6'4, 334) 71 Brandon Fanaika – OG – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 315) 65 Brian Chaffin – C – senior (6'2, 275) 72 Walker Little – OT – sophomore (6'7, 313) 73 Jesse Burkett – C – 5th Year Senior (6'4, 300) 74 Devery Hamilton – OT – junior (6'7, 287) 75 A.T. Hall – OT – 5th Year Senior (6'5, 299) 76 Grant Pease – OT – freshman (6'4, 250) 78 Henry Hattis – OT – junior (6'6, 291) 79 Foster Sarell – OT – sophomore (6'7, 314)

Long snapper 49 Kyle Petrucci – freshman (6'6, 230) 53 Jack Chapman – freshman (6'2, 215) 69 Richard McNitzky – junior (6'1, 216)

Punter 14 Jake Bailey – senior (6'2, 202) 27 Charlie Beall – junior (6'2, 206) 14 Alex Gracey – freshman (6'3, 195)

Defensive linemen  6 Andres Fox – DE – freshman (6'4, 240) 23 Ryan Johnson – DE – sophomore (6'4, 262) 24 Dalyn Wade-Perry – DT – sophomore (6'4, 316) 34 Thomas Booker – DE – freshman (6'4, 279) 51 Jovan Swann – DE – junior (6'2, 271) 57 Michael Williams – DT – junior (6'2, 293) 58 Dylan Boles – DE – sophomore (6'4, 262) 91 Thomas Schaffer – DE – junior (6'7, 290) 93 Trey LaBounty – DE – freshman (6'7, 235) 97 Dylan Jackson – DE – senior (6'6, 264) 99 Bo Peek – DT – junior (6'3, 296) Linebacker 10 Jordan Fox – OLB – sophomore (6'3, 227) 14 Jacob Mangum-Farrar – ILB – freshman (6'4, 223) 15 Jordan Perez – ILB – 5th Year Senior (6'2, 228) 20 Bobby Okereke – ILB – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 234) 21 Curtis Robinson – OLB – junior (6'3, 232) 25 Andrew Pryts - ILB – junior (6'1, 222) 27 Sean Barton – ILB – senior (6'3, 224) 31 Mustafa Branch – ILB – senior (5'11, 212) 32 Joey Alfieri – OLB – 5th Year Senior (6'3, 239) 35 Tobe Umerah – OLB – freshman (6'4, 239) 40 Anthony Trinh – OLB – junior (6'2, 239) 42 Caleb Phillips – OLB – sophomore (6'5, 215) 44 Caleb Kelly – OLB – freshman (6'3, 213) 43 Ryan Beecher – ILB – senior (6'1, 245) 45 Ricky Miezan – ILB – freshman (6'2, 248) 47 Tangaloa Kaufusi – OLB – freshman (6'3, 245) 49 Lewis Burik – ILB – senior (5'10, 205) 52 Casey Toohill – OLB – senior (6'4, 248) 56 Jake Lynch – OLB – freshman (6'2, 220) 77 Thunder Keck – OLB – sophomore (6'3, 230) 90 Gabe Reid – OLB – sophomore (6'2, 231)

Cornerback  4 Alameen Murphy – 5th Year Senior (5'11, 198)  6 Treyjohn Butler – junior (5'11, 197) 11 Paulson Adebo – sophomore (6'1, 189) 13 Alijah Holder – 5th Year Senior (6'2, 188) 22 Obi Eboh – junior (6'2, 194) 26 J.J. Parson – junior (5'10, 175) 28 Donjae Logan – freshman (5'11, 178) 29 Kendall Williamson – freshman (6'1, 195) 30 Ethan Bonner – freshman (6'1, 181)

Safety  2 Brandon Simmons – SS – 5th Year Senior (6'0, 199)  3 Malik Antoine – FS – junior (5'11, 192)  5 Frank Buncom – FS – senior (6'2, 206)  9 Ben Edwards – SS – senior (6'0, 199) 18 Stuart Head – SS – sophomore (6'4, 201) 19 Noah Williams – FS – sophomore (6'0, 191)

Game summaries

San Diego State

USC

UC Davis

At Oregon

Late in the 3rd quarter, Oregon led 24–7 and had a 1st & Goal at the Stanford 1-yard line. An ensuing fumble returned for a touchdown by the Stanford defense sparked an epic comeback where the Cardinal were able to win in overtime.

At Notre Dame

Utah

Starting running back Bryce Love sat the game out due to an ankle injury.

At Arizona State

Washington State

At Washington

Oregon State

Stanford beat Oregon State on a smoky night caused by the Camp Fire. The Air Quality Index was close to 150, which qualified as "Dangerous".

At UCLA

At California

The 121st installment of the Big Game was delayed due to unhealthy air quality caused by the Camp Fire. It was only the second time in 27 years that both teams had 7 or more wins. The Cardinal quickly jumped out to a 10–0 start and never looked back. From there, the game was mostly a defensive struggle as cornerback Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes from Cal's Chase Garbers. As a result of this game, Stanford extended its winning streak to 9 games, the longest by either team in the series.

Vs. Pittsburgh (Sun Bowl)

Rankings

Players drafted into the NFL

2 57 J. J. Arcega-Whiteside WR Philadelphia Eagles 3 89 Bobby Okereke LB Indianapolis Colts 4 112 Bryce Love RB Washington Redskins 5 163 Jake Bailey P New England Patriots 6 176 Kaden Smith TE San Francisco 49ers

References