It's that time of year when like me and two other guys talk about Stanford Football

[Old Fart Tree]

Maybe it'll be three guys this year, what with them coming in 4th in the AP, 4th in the USA Today poll.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

The general consensus in my neck of the woods is that it is going to be VERY hard to live up to that ranking. The defense will still be very, very good, but to play at that level, we'd need a massive step-up in QB play, which will be difficult to do with almost all of our receiving corps turning over from last year. The offensive line should be good to very good (again), and while losing Taylor hurts, there's a lot of talent in the backfield.

The schedule, however, is absolutely brutal, after some early cupcakes (and Utah). I am very surprised that UW and ASU are not ranked, and I'm very, very happy that they're not playing a tough Huskies team on the road. I think a safe bet is 8-4, maybe 9-3, one bad loss on an overlook week or maybe Big Game, no BCS bowl but a decent one.


Sat, Sept 7
vs. San Jose St

Sat, Sept 14
@Army

Sat, Sept 21
vs Arizona St

Sat, Sept 28
@ Washington St

Sat, Oct 5
vs Washington

Sat, Oct 12
@ Utah

Sat, Oct 19
vs #21 UCLA

Sat, Oct 26
@ #25 Oregon St

Thu, Nov 7
vs #3 Oregon

Sat, Nov 16
@ #24 USC

Sat, Nov 23
vs California

Sat, Nov 30
vs #14 Notre Dame

 

[Captaincoop]

They have a great schedule - ASU, Oregon, and UW all at home.  Other than Oregon, I like Stanford as much as anyone in the Pac-12.  I can see them going 10-2 and having a shot at the Rose Bowl.

 

[cgori]

I also think the hype will be tough to live up to, but I think 9-3 is about right.  10-2 would certainly be awesome.
 
This was an excellent read (not sure if it was posted elsewhere): http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1739903-how-to-build-a-bully-inside-the-stanford-football-strength-program

 

[Shelterdog]

I'm also hoping for 9-3--I just don't see the talent at running back and receiver, I think the defense has overachieved and I'm not sure how long it can keep it up, and I'm pretty worried about brain draing with Pep Hamilton's departure.

 

[RedOctober3829]

I wish that Army game was later in the season.  I have a buddy up there who would have gotten me tickets.  Stanford should be really good this year.

 

[sachmoney]

Not sure this makes you feel better but the entire Game Day crew picked y'all to win the Pac. Corso picked you to win the National Championship. I don't think you should be worried about the running game if you're going to have good offensive line play (which I think you will). Stanford's a 55-45 run-pass, use the run game to set the pass type team, so even if you don't have the playmakers, you should be able to move the football fine. 
 
Also, I love David Shaw. I think that he's unquestionably the best coach in that conference.

 

[Gdiguy]

I'm hoping to sneak into a game this year while my (as of a week ago) wife is still on the Farm; I'm cautiously optimistic about this year, I went into last year with lower expectations and was tremendously impressed by the defense (and offense once they finally made the QB decision they needed to), so I'm trying to keep the same perspective going into this year.
 
I still don't know what to make of Shaw. Some of his in-game decisions continue to infuriate me (most of them involving kicking decisions - he seems to think he has an NFL all-star field goal kicker at all times), but there's no way I can argue with what he's been able to do off the field in terms of the program.

 

[coremiller]

I'm higher on Stanford than a lot of you guys.  I think 9-3 is almost a worst case scenario.  Obviously Hogan is a bit of an X-Factor but if he turns out to be a good player 11-1 is not unreasonable with Oregon and ND at home.  They will need some breaks to play for the title (you always do) but a conference championship/Rose Bowl berth is not unrealistic.  Stanford has great lines on both sides of the ball, and that will keep them in games even when other things don't go so well.  They very nearly made the Championship game last year (if they had beaten ND they would have had a great case) while getting very little from the QB position for most of the season.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Finally a real test. ASU is tough. Hopefully the horsehoe is out of their ass after that win over Sconnie. Line is Stanford -9... Seems like it should be 6.5.

 

[sachmoney]

How do you feel now, OFT?

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Better? Stanford looked about as good as I've ever seen them in the first half. I missed the second half but it sounded like they took their foot off the gas. The kicker is still a little shaky, but they basically dominated all phases of the game in the first half.

WSU looks frisky, and it's a tough place to play, but Stanford ought to win.

 

[Shelterdog]

Better? Stanford looked about as good as I've ever seen them in the first half. I missed the second half but it sounded like they took their foot off the gas. The kicker is still a little shaky, but they basically dominated all phases of the game in the first half.

WSU looks frisky, and it's a tough place to play, but Stanford ought to win.

 
Yup.  I still don't think we're a top five team talentwise but we're well coached and experienced and we might just be able to live up to that ranking after all.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Agreed. I still see us as a 2 or 3 loss team, but you never know.

EDIT: Also I have to admit that Shaw still feels shaky to me. Everyone talks about him like a top 20 or even top 10 coach, and I just can't say that I see it. I am still vaguely paranoid that he is still living off Harbaugh recruits (which is totally unjustified), but his game management scares me more.

For example, the way he took his foot off the gas against ASU made sense - they had the game in hand, and unlike the pros, you can't just rely on free agents, you actually have to develop talent for years N+1 through N+3 - but (having watched it after the fact) it scares the fuck out of me by reminding me of the Fiesta Bowl. With no disrespect to OSU, Stanford had that team absolutely licked, the defense on fucking roller skates, and Shaw pussied out and took his foot off the gas even as everyone in my buddy's apartment - all of us fucking morons in general, and definitely compared to Shaw with respect to football - were (correctly) screaming at the TV not to leave the game in the hands/foot of a kicker who had been positively GHASTLY all year, and well, we all know how that happened. The way he softplayed the fourth quarter (second team in for much of it) against a scary ASU team is either brilliant because he's trying to show less to Oregon/U$C/Washington, or it's just another example of a guy lacking a killer instinct.

All of this, of course, is bullshit. I know about 1.4% as much about football as does the worst D1 coach in America, and for all my criticisms, Shaw is almost certainly not that. Moreover, I know that acting like you have a 40 point lead in September when you really only have a 21-point lead is very different from "last two minutes of a bowl" game management. I just get the shakes from Shaw lately... and I hope that he just proves me to be the idiot that I am.

 

[Shelterdog]

Or maybe we're good.  Holy shit we just won a road game against a ranked team by 38.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Yeah. I was on a plane but a quick review of the highlights was encouraging.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

Or maybe we're good.  Holy shit we just won a road game against a ranked team by 38.

 
A ranked team? Ranked by whom, Mike Leach's mom?

 

[Shelterdog]

 
A ranked team? Ranked by whom, Mike Leach's mom?

 I stand corrected.  I thought they were 23 or something but I guess not.  

 

[deconstruction]

With so many ranked Pac-12 teams these days, it's hard to keep them straight, I know.  :lol:

 

[Old Fart Tree]

To be fair, ASU was ranked until it played Stanford. Ah, who am I kidding, WSU isn't very good.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

I'm going to be out of town for three weeks, so if/when Stanford gets upset and gets murdered in the polls for it, I won't be ducking this thread, I'll just be out of pocket. Just thought I'd get that cleared up in advance.

 

[RingoOSU]

I think you jinxed them.

 

[Infield Infidel]

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long. 
 
 
I think of this poem everytime I see this thread title. You guys will bounce back.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

I think you jinxed them.

I've been doing that a lot these past 16 years.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Beating a tough Beaver team on the road is a good thing. Surprised OSU wasn't ranked at 6-1.

 

[coremiller]

Hugely impressive defensive performance.  Mannion had only 213 net yards on 65 pass plays after you add in sacks.  
 
Hogan will have to be better against Oregon.  8-18 will not get it done.  Oregon should be a fun one.  Big National Championship implications.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

I am going to roast a Marin Sun Farms duck tonight.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

So that happened.

 

[Moonlight Graham]

Beat down!  Should I buy my plane ticket to LA for Jan 6 yet?

 

[Shelterdog]

It's crazy watching our guys just physically beat the crap out of the other team on both sides of the ball.
 
Enjoy it while it lasts because an awful lot of the defense--including Willie Shaw Director or Defense Mason--is going to be working on Sundays next year.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Yeah... As my COO and I were just saying, the Stanford *I* grew up with was a team that threw the all 45 times a game, giving up 24 points was a "Stanford shutout," and you basically just had to hope to get lucky in the turnover battle. This is very different.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

That was an excellent win. Seems like it would be a very fun team to root for. Enjoy it.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

So that happened.
 

The general consensus in my neck of the woods is that it is going to be VERY hard to live up to that ranking. The defense will still be very, very good, but to play at that level, we'd need a massive step-up in QB play, which will be difficult to do with almost all of our receiving corps turning over from last year. The offensive line should be good to very good (again), and while losing Taylor hurts, there's a lot of talent in the backfield...

I think a safe bet is 8-4, maybe 9-3, one bad loss on an overlook week or maybe Big Game, no BCS bowl but a decent one.

How am I doing so far?

 

[Old Fart Tree]

So that was satisfying.

 

[Gdiguy]

Yeah, that was definitely not the way I expected Stanford to get to the Pac12 championship game...

 

[Old Fart Tree]

ASU is a really, really good team, and Stanford just manhandled them for the second time, this time at home.
 
How did Stanford lose to Utah? U$C I can understand; Utah - a game I fortunately missed because I was overseas, and see no reason to revisit - just mystifies me. It's inexplicable. 

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Anyone else going to Pasadena? I've made it to every Stanford Rose Bowl since birth, so I see no reason to stop now.

 

[cgori]

Toying with the idea. I went in 2000 but didn't go last year.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

I was on hold the whole time and then got a message saying they sold out. Dammit.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

So that was a heck of a day. Left at 4AM, drove down, scalped tickets at face, and then left immediately post game and got back around midnight.
 
For three quarters, MSU was just the better team on the field, and without the pick six, the score isn't that close.  A lot of people were pissed at the offensive play calling, but I tend to think you go with your strength - power football - and MSU's strength was just better than Stanford's strength. After moving the ball well (largely on a couple big plays) in the first quarter, Stanford couldn't do diddly squat with it. On defense, the dropped interceptions sure hurt, as did a PI call that had the Stanford fans raving mad. I think that ball was in no way catchable, but... I don't think you ever get away with tackling a WR on the goal line, period. Too bad.
 
It was a great game. MSU fans around us were really nice, didn't give us a hard time even once. I'm frigging exhausted from that epic drive, but I'm glad I went down, despite the loss.
 
Looking forward, this team needs a QB it can trust asking to win it a game. They're clearly so terrified of putting the ball in Hogan's hands and asking him to make a play for them that it makes them a lot easier to defend. I had reasonably low expectations going into 2014 so I can't complain at all, but it's definitely a year of coulda woulda shoulda's. You put a top 20 QB on this team and they're playing for the national title...
 
Anyway, I had a lot of fun watching these guys. I'll miss a lot of those defensive stars next year, although hopefully one or two will put on Pats unis.

 

[Shelterdog]

So that was a heck of a day. Left at 4AM, drove down, scalped tickets at face, and then left immediately post game and got back around midnight.
 
For three quarters, MSU was just the better team on the field, and without the pick six, the score isn't that close.  A lot of people were pissed at the offensive play calling, but I tend to think you go with your strength - power football - and MSU's strength was just better than Stanford's strength. After moving the ball well (largely on a couple big plays) in the first quarter, Stanford couldn't do diddly squat with it. On defense, the dropped interceptions sure hurt, as did a PI call that had the Stanford fans raving mad. I think that ball was in no way catchable, but... I don't think you ever get away with tackling a WR on the goal line, period. Too bad.
 
It was a great game. MSU fans around us were really nice, didn't give us a hard time even once. I'm frigging exhausted from that epic drive, but I'm glad I went down, despite the loss.
 
Looking forward, this team needs a QB it can trust asking to win it a game. They're clearly so terrified of putting the ball in Hogan's hands and asking him to make a play for them that it makes them a lot easier to defend. I had reasonably low expectations going into 2014 so I can't complain at all, but it's definitely a year of coulda woulda shoulda's. You put a top 20 QB on this team and they're playing for the national title...
 
Anyway, I had a lot of fun watching these guys. I'll miss a lot of those defensive stars next year, although hopefully one or two will put on Pats unis.

 
I pretty much agree with you.  It's a top ten or fifteen type team that lucked into a BCS game and gotten beaten by a slightly better team that had a better day: there's no shame in that.

It's too bad Hogan hasn't progressed:I hope there's a real competition this off-season. We certainly have enough highly touted players that we should be able to do better.

 

[Shelterdog]

#15 in the country per ESPN, top 15 by pretty much every recruiting service, picking up a good DE ranked about 25th in the country and a good corner on signing day? I don't even recognize my alma mater any more.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

The nerd glasses and tree on announcement got, as you might expect, a lot of play in my neck of the woods.
 
http://msn.foxsports.com/college-football/story/national-signing-day-solomon-thomas-commits-stanford-cardinal-with-live-tree-020514

 

[Shelterdog]

The one winner in the Wells NFL report is Stanford. Martin flourished athletically, academically and socially there and the teasing teammates engaged in sounds like something out of a 50s sitcom.
 
"Martin enjoyed the camaraderie on the Stanford team and did not feel that he was inappropriately hazed or otherwise harassed in college. He claimed that although his Stanford teammates teased each other from time to time, the jokes were generally good-natured; for example, it was reported that he was ribbed for speaking in a slow, deep voice. Although initially quiet, he became a vocal leader on the team by his final year. Coach Harbaugh emphasized that he never doubted Martin’s physical or mental toughness, and he believes that Martin can continue to have a successful career in the NFL. Coach Harbaugh also said that the atmosphere in the Stanford locker room, in his view, was not materially different from that of the San Francisco 49ers’ locker room.
At Stanford, Martin majored in Classics and relished his intellectual development. As in high school, he became popular on campus because he was a star athlete, and he was viewed as friendly and approachable, with an easy laugh. According to Martin, he experienced what he described as sporadic episodes of depression while at Stanford, but they were mild and manageable, and never interfered with his academic or athletic performance, and he never discussed these issues with his coaches."