Heading into the 2019 college football season, Stanford received a No. 25 ranking in the initial Associated Press poll. The Cardinal kicked off the campaign with a seemingly quality win over Northwestern, the reigning Big Ten West champions, and moved up to No. 23.
However, that was basically the highlight of the year.
USC and UCF both smashed David Shaw's club, which managed to upset Washington but otherwise trudged to a very un-Stanford-like 4-8 finish. The team battled injury issues while trotting out a subpar offense and unimpressive defense.
Stanford's 10-year bowl streak came to a screeching halt.