1983 Stanford Cardinal football team

1983 Stanford Cardinal football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	1–10 (1–7 Pac-10)
Head coach	Paul Wiggin (4th season)
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 17 UCLA $	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Washington	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Washington State	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
USC	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Arizona	4	–	3	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Arizona State	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
California	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Stanford	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season and played home games on campus at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Led by alumnus Paul Wiggin, in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Cardinal won only one game, ^[1] the program's worst record since going winless in  1960. ^[2] He was fired on November 11, but was allowed to finish out the season. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Stanford struggled on offense behind true freshman quarterback John Paye. Previous QB John Elway, a four-year starter, was the first selection of the 1983 NFL draft and started as a rookie for the Denver Broncos.

After the season in December, Jack Elway was hired from nearby San Jose State, where he went 35–20–1 (.634) in five seasons. ^{[5] [6]} His Spartans had defeated Stanford the previous three years, the first two while his son John was the Cardinal quarterback. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 10	No. 2 Oklahoma *	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 14–27	62,778
September 17	at Illinois *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–17	72,852
September 24	San Jose State *	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 10–23	68,201
October 1	at No. 20 Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 11–29	53,795
October 8	UCLA	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 21–39	55,804
October 15	at No. 17 Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 15–32	59,270
October 22	No. 19 Arizona	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 31–22	40,208
October 29	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 18–31	22,000
November 5	at USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 7–30	50,867
November 12	Oregon	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 7–16	31,420
November 19	California	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (86th Big Game)	L 18–27	84,804
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Wiggin thrilled, Stanford wins". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 23, 1983. p. 7C.
2. "Stanford fires Paul Wiggin". Tri-City Herald . Kennewick, Washington. Associated Press. 1983-11-12. p. C1.
3. "Stanford fires Wiggin". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 12, 1983. p. 19.
4. "Wiggin fired by Stanford". Lodi News-Sentinel. UPI. November 12, 1983. p. 9.
5. "Stanford picks Elway". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 15, 1983. p. 37.
6. "Stanford's newest Elway vows winning program". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. December 15, 1983. p. D3.
7. "Willhite, San Jose St. upstage Stanford, Elway 28-6". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. September 20, 1981. p. 6C.
8. "San Jose St. triumphs 35-31 in the Battle of the Elways". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 19, 1982. p. 9B.
9. "San Jose upends Stanford". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. September 25, 1983. p. 7B.