Central Florida @ Stanford preview

No team looked more unprepared for its season opener than Stanford, which hopes to bounce back from its ugly loss at Northwestern with an improved effort Saturday against visiting UCF. The Cardinal failed to score a touchdown for the first time since 2007 in last week’s 16-6 loss at Northwestern, while UCF saw its 10-game home winning streak come to an end with a 15-14 loss to Florida International.

Stanford’s troubles worsened on Tuesday with the loss of sophomore defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Cardinal struggled against the Northwestern run game in the second half without Phillips, who will be replaced by redshirt freshman Solomon Thomas. Senior quarterback Kevin Hogan was sacked three times against the Wildcats and threw for just 155 yards, but he could get untracked against a UCF defense that allowed 29 receptions and 260 passing yards against Florida International. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey totaled 171 all-purpose yards in the opener and can expect another heavy workload against the Knights.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Stanford -19

ABOUT UCF (0-1): The Knights received a solid game from quarterback Justin Holman (23-for-34 for 249 yards and two touchdowns) against Florida International but were limited to 46 rushing yards on 30 carries. Coach George O’Leary said he’ll rotate several running backs against Stanford, including Will Stanback, Taj McGowan and Dontravious Wilson, who started last week but could be unavailable Saturday due to a leg injury. UCF failed to record a sack in its opener and has struggled without starting defensive tackle Demetris Anderson, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

STANFORD (0-1): Stanford is 10-1 following a loss under coach David Shaw, who said he wasn’t going to overreact to his team’s dismal performance against Northwestern. “There’s a ton of things to clean up,” Shaw told reporters. “The good thing, in my opinion, is it’s not scheme-related. It’s not personnel-related. I like what we’re doing on both sides of the ball. I like who we have doing it.” Senior linebacker Blake Martinez had a career-high 14 tackles to lead the defense, which allowed 225 rushing yards against Northwestern and needs to see rapid improvement from its inexperienced frontline.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Stanford brings a 13-game nonconference home win streak into Saturday’s contest.

2. UCF lost 46-13 to Arizona State in 2002 in its only previous game against a Pac-12 opponent.

3. Stanford WR Devon Cajuste is expected to be at full strength after being limited against Northwestern due to an ankle injury.

PREDICTION: Stanford 27, UCF 13