Stanford DE Ben Gardner Out for Season

With just one conference loss and a date against undefeated Oregon coming up next week, the Stanford Cardinal still control their own destiny as they aim for a second consecutive Pac-12 title, but they’ll have to move forward without their one of their defensive leaders.

According to ESPN.com, Stanford head coach David Shaw announced earlier this week that fifth-year senior defensive end Ben Gardner will miss the remainder of the season. Gardner had been dealing with a pectoral injury all year, which now will require season-ending surgery.

“While this is not the way I had imagined my college playing days ending, all I can do is look up and thank God for one heck of a ride,” Gardner said in a statement – in which he went on to encourage his teammates to “beat Oregon and keep this thing rolling.”

As one of the team’s co-captains this season, Gardner posted 4.5 sacks and 19 tackles – 7.5 of which were for losses. He also helped anchor a defense that has held opponents to fewer than 20 points per game and is ranked third in the Pac-12 in that area.

While the news is already devastating for the fifth-ranked Cardinal, it comes at a particularly bad time as they prepare for the second-ranked Oregon Ducks. Gardner’s leadership and strong play on the defensive line was one of the reason’s why the Cardinal were able to upset the Ducks at Autzen Stadium last year, so needless to say, his presence will be sorely missed as Stanford looks for a second-straight win in the series between the schools.

To make matters worse for Stanford, it could play Oregon without its other senior defensive end, Henry Anderson. Anderson has participated in practice this week, but has missed the team’s last six games since injuring his knee against Army in mid-September. It’s likely that he will be a game-time decision.

Stanford will undoubtedly be Oregon’s toughest test this season, but this year’s Cardinal team hasn’t been as dominant against the run as last year’s squad and without some of its finest and most experienced players on its front seven next week, slowing down the mighty Oregon ground game will be an even bigger challenge. We don’t have a spread on this game yet, but at this point, I’d already be looking at Oregon to exact revenge on its Pac-12 rival and earn the win in Palo Alto next week.