In 2 years...

[KingofDucks]

Stanford will be back among the top schools in the Pac-10. Harbaugh has these guys headed in the right direction and look at this commitment list. Don't forget, they have a 5-star QB there who redshirted last year, Andrew Luck. Watch out for the Cardinal.

http://stanford.scout.com/a.z?s=18&p=9&c=8&yr=2009

[greenyellow]

They gave Oregon a serious run this year at Autzen. A trip down to Stanford is not going to be easy anymore with the way Harbaugh is recruiting and coaching down there.

[duckfbfan15]

Max you are right about Stanford, you also Grew up a huge Stanford fan which makes your prediction quite biased. I think The cardinal will be a middle of the road Pac 10 team. They will start reaching bowls for sure. I do not think they will compete with USC, Oregon and CAL as far as consistently being a Top 3 team in the conference every year though. Will they have their years? Indeed. I just Do not see them as a long term and consistent Top 3 finisher in the conference going into the future.

[KingofDucks]

Max you are right about Stanford, you also Grew up a huge Stanford fan which makes your prediction quite biased. I think The cardinal will be a middle of the road Pac 10 team. They will start reaching bowls for sure. I do not think they will compete with USC, Oregon and CAL as far as consistently being a Top 3 team in the conference every year though. Will they have their years? Indeed. I just Do not see them as a long term and consistent Top 3 finisher in the conference going into the future.

I grew up a Stanford fan until I was 8, then I became an Oregon fan after my sister started attending UO and I came up and attended games, I feel in love with UO. I still like to see Stanford do well. But that is beside the point. I have no bias towards Stanford, I let people know when they sucked hardcore. But you also hate Stanford because of 2001, so you have your own issues.

Fact is, Harbaugh gets everything out of his players. Their last two recruiting classes have been great and soon enough he will be working with HIS players and HIS talent. They have the facilities and money to really get back to their success they had in the late 90's. This is a team with some significant college football history. They have a Heisman Trophy winner (Jim Plunkett), one of the all0time leading Pac-10 rushers (Darren Nelson...J.D. Nelson's father), Jim Elway, 2 National Championships, been to 12 Rose Bowls, won 5 Rose Bowls, and they have won 12 Pac-10 championships. They have what it takes to build a top 3 Pac-10 program.

[gofightingducks]

I agree, with Harbaugh's name, coaching and recruiting ability and the reputation of Stanford (particularly academically) they will put together some good recruiting classes from here on out as well as put together some good teams to compete with Oregon and Cal. The thing I see with Harbaugh though is he won't stick around too long, as soon as a decent NFL team comes calling he will leave Stanford.

[astoria14]

Don't count on Harbaugh being there for the long haul. He seems like an NFL guy and with the success his bro had this year it wouldn't surprise me if he left sooner rather than later.

[Duckxing]

Don't count on Harbaugh being there for the long haul. He seems like an NFL guy and with the success his bro had this year it wouldn't surprise me if he left sooner rather than later.

Exactly! Harbaugh has NFL written all over him and soon. There is a reason he hasn't signed an extension with Stanford.

[GoDuckYourself]

Not worried about Harbaugh or Stanford. So what, in two years they will be a contender for the Sun bowl? Honestly, if we are having trouble getting quality players admitted there's no way Stanford can consistantly recruit the quality and depth they need to compete at a high level every year. Granted, they could get that one magic season and go to a major bowl, but that's about as good as it gets. Why do you think every coach they hve eventually leaves for greener pastures?

[duckgrad99]

No guarantees that Harbaugh goes to the NFL. Pete Carrol anyone?