When Stanford takes on Oregon State tonight, it will mark the start of what looks to be a second season of rebuilding under head coach Jim Harbaugh. After a 4-8 record last year — a three-win improvement from 2006 — the Cardinal finds itself at a critical juncture. Will the team continue its progression and possibly play its way into bowl contention, or will the squad’s improvement stagnate or worse, regress?

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Jeff Keacher

Sophomore Ryan Whalen emerged over the summer to challenge the Cardinal’s top returning receiver, junior Richard Sherman, for his starting job. The pair shared a spot atop the depth chart prior to the season opener.

As football is a team sport, these questions cannot be answered by the play of any one individual — success clearly depends on the play of the squad as a whole. But specific points of interest can help make or break the Cardinal’s season. Four of them make up our keys to the season.

The play of quarterback Tavita Pritchard

Despite stiff competition in spring practice and summer camp from junior Alex Loukas and senior Jason Forcier, Pritchard, the senior incumbent QB, never relinquished the starting quarterback job. But with that contest over, the real tests are just beginning. Pritchard forever etched himself into Stanford lore with his performance against USC last October, but the rest of his season was shaky. He had trouble finding the end zone and, despite consistently throwing for close to 200 yards a game, had some problems with his accuracy, completing just 50 percent of his passes for the season. He was never able to win the No. 1 QB job entirely, and split a considerable amount of time with T.C. Ostrander ‘08.

Pritchard worked specifically on his accuracy this off-season, and in the process earned the trust of his coach — the job is now his to lose. If he becomes a QB who can direct a game from the pocket, while also having the ability to move around if needed — throwing high-percentage passes with the zip and placement necessary — the Cardinal will succeed. If not, Stanford could be in for a rude awakening.

Red Zone production

With an injury-decimated rushing attack and uneven quarterback play, Stanford had a hard time moving the ball last season. But that turned out to be an almost secondary offensive problem. When the Stanford squad entered the Red Zone (inside the 20-yard line), they simply could not score. In 37 Red Zone attempts, Stanford hit pay-dirt just 27 times, a 72.97-percent success rate, which was good for last in the Pac-10 and 104th out of 119 Division-I teams. If you can’t score touchdowns, you can’t win. The Cardinal must improve upon this percentage to succeed in 2008.

Can the young wide receivers adequately replace Mark Bradford and Evan Moore?

Last season, now-graduated seniors Mark Bradford and Evan Moore accounted for over a third of the Cardinal’s receiving attack. With the pair now gone, Stanford will have to replace their production. Junior Richard Sherman, who led the team in yards and touchdowns through the air last year, is an obvious candidate for the job. But Ryan Whalen, who had all of one catch last season, has pressed him hard for his starting job in camp. This, of course, is both good and bad. On the one hand, Whalen’s tenacity shows that he’s ready for a larger role this season; but on the other hand, Sherman, who will be relied upon heavily, should have secured his job. Doug Baldwin, whose athleticism was put on display on both offense and special teams last year, will likely start as well. A host of other reserve wide-outs will also have to step up. Can they do it? The Cardinal certainly has the talent. The squad should surpass Moore and Bradford’s combined four touchdowns last season, and make up close to the yardage total as well.

Can the linebacker corps live up to its billing?

The Cardinal’s most dominant unit heading into the new season is its linebackers. Senior Pat Maynor and redshirt junior Clinton Snyder were both selected to the preseason Butkus Award watch list. Chike Amajoyi, who earned Pac-10 All-Frosh honors last season, joins them as the third starter. A solid reserve corps that includes Nick Macaluso and Thaddeus Chase backs them up. It makes for one of the top linebacking units in the conference, and has put Stanford’s defense on the preseason map.

But can they justify the hype? Synder will move from middle linebacker to the outside this year — he will be freed up to better rush the passer, his specialty. Amajoyi, who thrives on contact, will move to MLB, where he’ll see the most action in that regard. Maynor, another tackling machine, will once again roam at OLB. If all three perform to expectations — with Snyder providing backfield pressure and Amajoyi and Maynor swallowing up the short attack — then Stanford’s defense will be a force.

First up: Oregon State

The Cardinal’s first big test of 2008 comes in its first week of play as they take on the conference-rival Beavers. Oregon State topped Stanford 23-6 on Oct. 27 last season and 30-7 in the teams’ last meeting at Stanford. A family reunion is also on tap as Harbaugh’s son, Jay, a freshman at Oregon State, works on the OSU coaching staff as a student assistant.

“I feel like this is a better team than we had last year,” Harbaugh told the San Jose Mercury News. “So many signs are there. Hopefully, that translates into more wins, but that’s why you go play the games — to find out.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at Stanford Stadium, with the game slated for live broadcast on ESPN2.