The Stanford Cardinal football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Stanford Cardinal football program in various categories,[ 1] [ 2] including passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , all-purpose yardage , defensive stats, and kicking . Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. As of the upcoming 2024 season, the Cardinal represent Stanford University in the NCAA Division I FBS Atlantic Coast Conference .
Stepfan Taylor is the Cardinal's career leader in rushing yards.
Although Stanford began competing in intercollegiate football in 1891,[ 1] the school's official record book generally does not lists players from before the 1940s, as records from before this year are often incomplete and inconsistent.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1940s, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[ 3] Stanford has played in a bowl game 10 times since this decision, allowing players in these years (2009 through 2017) an extra game to accumulate statistics.
The Pac-12 Conference , in which Stanford competed from 1919 to 2023,[ a] held a championship game from 2011 until that conference's effective demise after the 2023 season. Stanford appeared in that game four times. Similarly, the ACC has held its own championship game since 2015, giving future Stanford teams a chance for another extra game.
The top nine seasons in Stanford history in both total offensive yards and points scored have all come since 1999.[ 2]
These lists are updated through the end of the 2020 season .
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Steve Stenstrom
10,911
1991 1992 1993 1994
2
Andrew Luck
9,430
2009 2010 2011
3
Kevin Hogan
9,385[ 4]
2012 2013 2014 2015
4
John Elway
9,349
1979 1980 1981 1982
5
Jim Plunkett
7,809
1968 1969 1970
6
John Paye
7,669
1983 1984 1985 1986
7
Todd Husak
6,834
1996 1997 1998 1999
8
Guy Benjamin
6,215
1974 1975 1976 1977
9
K. J. Costello
6,151
2017 2018 2019
10
Trent Edwards
5,443
2003 2004 2005 2006
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Steve Stenstrom
3,627
1993
2
K. J. Costello
3,540
2018
3
Andrew Luck
3,517
2011
4
Andrew Luck
3,338
2010
5
John Elway
3,242
1982
6
Steve Dils
3,153
1978
7
Todd Husak
3,092
1998
8
Jim Plunkett
2,980
1970
9
Tanner McKee
2,947[ 5]
2022
10
Todd Husak
2,946
1999
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Stepfan Taylor
4,300
2009 2010 2011 2012
2
Darrin Nelson
4,169
1977 1978 1980 1981
3
Christian McCaffrey
3,922[ 12]
2014 2015 2016
4
Bryce Love
3,865[ 13]
2015 2016 2017 2018
5
Toby Gerhart
3,522
2006 2007 2008 2009
6
Brad Muster
3,010
1984 1985 1986 1987
7
Anthony Bookman
2,672
1994 1995 1996 1997
8
Mike Mitchell
2,550
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
9
Tyler Gaffney
2,500
2009 2010 2011 2013
10
Glyn Milburn
2,252
1990 1991 1992
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Bryce Love
2,118[ 13]
2017
2
Christian McCaffrey
2,019[ 12]
2015
3
Toby Gerhart
1,871
2009
4
Tyler Gaffney
1,709
2013
5
Christian McCaffrey
1,603[ 12]
2016
6
Stepfan Taylor
1,530
2012
7
Stepfan Taylor
1,330
2011
8
Tommy Vardell
1,188
1991
9
Darrin Nelson
1,161
1978
10
Stepfan Taylor
1,137
2010
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Troy Walters
4,047
1996 1997 1998 1999
2
DeRonnie Pitts
3,023
1997 1998 1999 2000
3
Ken Margerum
2,517
1977 1978 1979 1980
4
Justin Armour
2,491
1991 1992 1993 1994
5
Darrin Nelson
2,469
1977 1978 1980 1981
6
Mark Bradford
2,431
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
7
Brian Manning
2,365
1993 1994 1995 1996
8
Ed McCaffrey
2,333
1986 1987 1989 1990
9
Jeff James
2,306
1984 1985 1986 1987
10
Emile Harry
2,270
1981 1982 1983 1984
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Troy Walters
1,508
1999
2
Troy Walters
1,206
1997
3
Gene Washington
1,117
1968
4
Justin Armour
1,092
1994
5
J. J. Arcega-Whiteside
1,059
2018
6
Ken Margerum
1,029
1978
7
Mark Harris
1,021
1995
8
Elic Ayomanor
1,013[ 28]
2023
9
DeRonnie Pitts
1,012
1998
10
James Lofton
1,010
1977
Receiving touchdowns
edit
Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns.[ 31]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Kevin Hogan
10,634 [ 4]
2012 2013 2014 2015
2
Andrew Luck
10,387
2009 2010 2011
3
Steve Stenstrom
10,179
1991 1992 1993 1994
4
John Elway
9,070
1979 1980 1981 1982
5
Jim Plunkett
8,178
1968 1969 1970
6
John Paye
7,539
1983 1984 1985 1986
7
Todd Husak
6,680
1996 1997 1998 1999
8
K. J. Costello
6,241
2017 2018 2019
9
Guy Benjamin
6,043
1974 1975 1976 1977
10
Trent Edwards
5,642
2003 2004 2005 2006
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Andrew Luck
3,791
2010
2
Andrew Luck
3,667
2011
3
Steve Stenstrom
3,398
1993
4
Kevin Hogan
3,203 [ 4]
2015
5
Jim Plunkett
3,189
1970
6
John Elway
3,104
1982
7
Kevin Hogan
3,087
2014
8
Steve Dils
3,033
1978
9
Todd Husak
3,026
1998
10
Kevin Hogan
2,985
2013
All-purpose yardage is the sum of all yards credited to a player who is in possession of the ball. It includes rushing, receiving, and returns, but does not include passing.[ 31]
Statistics are from the 2018 Stanford football record book,[ 2] and will be updated if necessary to reflect results from the 2018 season. The record book lists only the top six single-game performers.
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Darrin Nelson
7,120
1977 1978 1980 1981
2
Christian McCaffrey
6,987
2014 2015 2016
3
Glyn Milburn
6,146
1990 1991 1992
4
Troy Walters
5,515
1996 1997 1998 1999
5
Ty Montgomery
5,190
2011 2012 2013 2014
6
Stepfan Taylor
5,095
2009 2010 2011 2012
7
Brad Muster
5,095
1984 1985 1986 1987
8
Vincent White
4,662
1979 1980 1981 1982
9
Anthony Bookman
4,072
1994 1995 1996 1997
10
Toby Gerhart
3,917
2006 2007 2008 2009
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Christian McCaffrey
3,864
2015
2
Christian McCaffrey
2,327
2016
3
Glyn Milburn
2,234
1992
4
Glyn Milburn
2,222
1990
5
Ty Montgomery
2,208
2013
6
Bryce Love
2,151
2017
7
Toby Gerhart
2,028
2009
8
Darrin Nelson
1,998
1981
9
Troy Walters
1,929
1999
10
Chris Owusu
1,915
2009
Single game
Rank
Player
Sacks
Year
Opponent
1
Riall Johnson
5.0
1999
Washington State
Field goal percentage
edit
^ Technically, the Pac-12 did not exist until 1959. However, that conference considers its history to have started with the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), which operated from 1915 to 1959. Stanford joined the PCC in 1919 and remained a member until the conference's dissolution, and was one of the five PCC schools that immediately formed the conference that eventually became the Pac-12.
^ a b "2014 Stanford Cardinal Football History" . GoStanford.com . Retrieved February 10, 2015 .
^ a b c d "2018 Stanford Football Record Book" (PDF) . Stanford Cardinal. Retrieved September 1, 2018 .
^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014 .
^ a b c d e f g "Kevin Hogan" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 2, 2016 .
^ "Tanner McKee" . ESPN.com .
^ a b "Stanford vs. Washington State Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019 .
^ a b c d "Stanford vs. UCLA Box Score" . ESPN.com . December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020 .
^ a b "Arizona erases 15-point deficit to clip Stanford" . ESPN.com . October 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
^ a b "Stanford wins Pac-12 North behind Ty Montgomery's 5 TDs" . ESPN.com . November 23, 2013.
^ "Box Score: Stanford vs. UCLA" . ESPN.com . November 24, 2018.
^ a b c d e "Box Score: Stanford vs. Colorado" . ESPN.com . October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023 .
^ a b c d "Christian McCaffrey" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 2, 2017 .
^ a b c d "Bryce Love: Stats" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
^ "Love's 301 yards helps Stanford beat Arizona State 34-24" . ESPN.com . Associated Press . September 30, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017 .
^ "No. 24 Stanford wins 7th straight Big Game, beats Cal 45-31" . ESPN.com . November 19, 2016.
^ "Bryce Love runs for 263 yards to lead Stanford past UCLA" . ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 24, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017 .
^ a b "Christian McCaffrey's huge night, Francis Owusu's catch fuel Stanford" . ESPN.com . October 15, 2015.
^ "Stanford rides Gerhart's legs past No. 8 Oregon" . ESPN.com . November 7, 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013.
^ "Christian McCaffrey breaks yardage record as No. 7 Stanford takes Pac-12" . ESPN.com . December 5, 2015.
^ Pac-12 Football Championship Game
^ "Hogan starts, No. 21 Stanford defeats Oregon State 42-24" . ESPN.com . September 25, 2015.
^ "Cameron Scarlett" . ESPN.com .
^ "Gerhart, Stanford manhandle Washington State" . ESPN.com . November 1, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013.
^ "Big Game lives up to hype as Vereen has 3 TDs; late INT sinks Stanford" . ESPN.com . November 21, 2009. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013.
^ "Andrew Luck puts on a clinic as No. 13 Stanford handles No. 15 Arizona" . ESPN.com . November 6, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013.
^ "Stanford routs rival Cal 38-17 in 117th Big Game" . ESPN.com . November 22, 2014.
^ "Stanford vs. Louisville Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024 .
^ "Elic Ayomanor" . ESPN.com .
^ "Box Score: San Diego State vs. Stanford" . ESPN.com . August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018 .
^ a b c "JJ Arcega-Whiteside" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
^ a b "2018 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 1, 2018 .
^ "Washington vs. Stanford Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023 .
^ a b c d "Jet Toner" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
^ a b c d e f "Joshua Karty" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d e f "Conrad Ukropina" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 2, 2017 .
^ "Nate Whitaker's five FGs give Stanford winning edge over Irish" . ESPN.com . September 25, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013.
^ "Arizona State vs. Stanford Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 22, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022 .