STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Winning the Pac-12 is the only goal Stanford coach David Shaw talks about with his players before every season. This year, unseating Stanford is the goal of every other conference team.
The fifth-ranked Cardinal (2-0) open league play Saturday against No. 23 Arizona State (2-0), the first in a series of teams hoping to dethrone the defending champions.
Stanford’s six-year climb from conference cellar-dweller to champion was followed up by beating Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl last season.
Now the program is faced with a new challenge: staying on top.
