Led by doctor QB, interim coach Reich, Stanford heads into opener at Hawaii with an all-new look

Andrew Luck has overseen an unprecedented amount of movement in his first season as Stanford s general manager The Cardinal welcomed transfers for the season more than all in previous seasons combined and Luck hired his former coach with the Indianapolis Colts Frank Reich to take over on an interim basis after Troy Taylor was fired just before spring camp A national audience will now see if it was enough to turn around a gang that has finished - in each of the past four seasons when the Cardinal will face Hawaii Saturday at p m on CBS Expectations aren t high Stanford was picked to finish last in the -team ACC in the conference s preseason media poll and the Cardinal is a slight underdog against their Mountain West opponent on Saturday Here are the keys for the Cardinal to get off to a winning start MEDICAL EXPERT IN THE HOUSE The bulk notable transfer is sixth-year QB Ben Gulbranson who made starts in five years at Oregon State and put off healthcare school to play a final season at Stanford Gulbranson s experience he was - as a starter in helped him win the starting job over redshirt freshman Elijah Brown But the Ventura County native has had less than four months with the scheme since arriving after spring camp Stanford University quarterback Ben Gulbrandson takes part in football practice on Wednesday July in Palo Alto Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group I think it s just a lot of change really fast and really the No challenge is trying to become familiar with the playbook and get that down Gulbranson explained I want to get to a point where it just comes automatically and that takes time WR TARGETS Gulbranson will have a brand new set of targets as Stanford and Utah State are the only teams in the country returning one or fewer receptions from their wide receivers The expected starters are Wisconsin transfer CJ Williams South Carolina State transfer Caden High and speedy sixth-year Bryce Farrell who missed largest part of last season due to injury They will need to make up for the loss of Tennessee Titans receiver Elic Ayomanor and transfers Emmett Mosley V Texas Ismael Cisse Arkansas and Mudia Reuben South Florida Gulbranson will have one of the top tight ends in the conference in senior Sam Roush who was third on the gang last year in receptions and receiving yards Stanford tight end Sam Roush runs on the field during the first half of an NCAA football tournament against Syracuse on Friday Sept in Syracuse N Y AP Photo Adrian Kraus But freshman JonAnthony Hall a unanimous four-star recruit from Indiana is likely unavailable Saturday due to an injury suffered during fall camp PASS DEFENSE Stanford ranked st out of FBS teams in passing yards allowed last season and now must face a pass-happy Hawaii offense led by redshirt freshman Micah Alejado In Alejado s only start last season the finale against New Mexico he became the only FBS member to throw for yards and run for yards in a competition that season He finished with passing yards and five TDs Alejado s targets this season include Stanford transfer Jackson Harris Kentucky transfer Brandon White and all-Mountain West selections Pofele Ashlock and Nick Cenacle While the Cardinal doesn t have any players who received all-conference recognition defensive end David Bailey their largest part highly-regarded participant transferred to Texas Tech after Taylor was fired they do have new leadership in co-defensive coordinator Andy Thompson who had succeeded Taylor as the coach at Sacramento State Not going to spoil anything right now but we re going to be really physical in the run battle and the pass tournament and I can t wait to show it on week zero Cardinal edge Tevarau Tafiti disclosed HOT WEATHER Reich is hoping that his depth will help get through a mid-day battle where the expected conditions are degrees with moderate humidity We want to spread the ball around we want to rotate guys in and out Reich explained We want to get everybody on the field It doesn t consistently happen but that s what you re going in and trying to do especially in Hawaii where it ll be hot and humid The meeting will be played at the -seat Ching Complex while Aloha Stadium is being rebuilt Stanford does have latest experience there the Cardinal won its season opener at Hawaii - We have a great sports science staff who put a lot of effort Reich noted We want the players to just focus on football the match plan and how we re preparing to execute there And then try to take the passage and the time difference and the heat humidity just take that out of the equation the best we can Take all the right attempts to prepare for that and then just go play football