On Labor Day, Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich spoke to the media in advance of Saturday’s game at BYU. The presser starts at 1:40. Below are some takeaways.
VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference | BYU Week-Frank Reich
First off, Reich doesn’t think BYU will have an advantage in having a pair of former Stanford players in quarterback Bear Bachmeier and wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier. Tiger grad transferred to BYU to join his brother Bear after he hit the portal following a short stint as an early spring enrollee. Reich thinks enough has changed from the spring both ways that neither team should have an advantage in that regard. That said, Reich did praise Bachmeier’s talent and said he wasn’t surprised he won the starting job at BYU.
When I asked Reich about Ben Gulbranson’s poor performance at quarterback, Reich stressed this is about the team getting better and staying the course. Given that Gulbranson is the starter going into the game, it makes sense that Reich wouldn’t want to say anything that would undermine his status as the starter. That said, it will be interesting to see how long the team is patient with Gulbranson and whether or not they make a move to the bullpen if he doesn’t have a strong first half.
Third, it sounds like Stanford might be preparing to take some shots down field. Reich mentioned BYU tends to blitz a bit more on first and second down, giving them an opportunity to maybe take some shots down field and make some plays. Just reading between the lines, we might see Stanford look to take advantage of those blitzes by either taking shots down field or maybe doing some clever short passes to the running backs or tight ends for some big gains.
Fourth, Reich said they are working on the mental side of the game and trying to instill belief in the players. After four straight 3-9 seasons, it can be easy for teams to keep finding ways to lose. Reich made it clear that they are aware of those mental hurdles and just trying to find ways to get guys to have that belief.
Overall, Stanford sees this week as an opportunity. They had a difficult loss at Hawaii in Week 0, but they are putting that behind them and see a chance to pull off an upset with two weeks to prepare. It should be interesting to see how it all shakes out in Provo.
Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Andrew Luck era.
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