PALO ALTO, Calif. — Breaking down No. 16 Stanford's 56-35 win Thursday against No. 18 UCLA:
THE BIG PICTURE: Stanford’s surge since a loss to Northwestern in its opener has painted the Cardinal as this year’s Ohio State, a team that stumbles to an early yet survivable loss before quickly scrambling its way back into the championship conversation. And the Cardinal have done so with a different blueprint: Stanford is potent offensively — a slight change from the recent past — and, in a development that should trouble David Shaw, messy on defense. In a sense, Stanford has evolved into another Pac-12 Conference and national contender with a potent offense and an in-progress defense.