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.
Since 2018, players have been allowed to participate in as many as four games in a redshirt season; previously, playing in even one game "burned" the redshirt. Since 2024, postseason games have not counted against the four-game limit. These changes to redshirt rules have given very recent players several extra games to accumulate statistics.
Due to COVID-19 disruptions, the NCAA did not count the 2020 season against the eligibility of any football player, giving all players active in that season five years of eligibility instead of the normal four.
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 2025 season.
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.[32]
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.
↑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. Four PCC schools immediately formed the conference that eventually became the Pac-12, with Stanford joining a month later, in time for the new conference's first football season.
