1. Pounding the Rock

Stanford was still able to get short yardage when it needed it. The starting unit was 3/3 on running plays on third down with five yards or less to go. (It was 5/5 in the SJSU game.) Hogan was not nearly as effective passing in short yardage situations, going 0/2 on passing plays of third down with five yards or less to go. I would like to see Shaw run the ball more on 3^rd and 4,  3^rd and 5. Harbaugh used to get it to Gerhart back in the day, and since Hogan isn’t a polished pocket passer, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t still be running in these situations. We’ve had success picking up four yards on the ground for many years now. That is our bread and butter. It always shocks me when I see Hogan dropping back to pass on 3^rd and 3.

One option for Hogan is to get him rolling out of the pocket more. He is at his best when he is on the move. We saw this for the first time in the Cal game last year (before Hogan was a starter). Inserted for this particular play, Hogan rolled out right and threw a strike to Toilolo in the corner of the end zone. It was this play that caused to one of the few Stanford bloggers, Hank Waddles (http://www.gomightycard.com), to call for more playing time for Hogan. Neither Hogan nor Nunes got anything going in the Washington St game the next week, but at Colorado, in the following game, the floodgates finally burst open for Hogan. Good things always seem to happen when he rolls out to the right.

Hogan’s receiver corps looks to be in good shape. Ty Montgomery was fantastic. He caught 6 balls for 130 yards and has showed an improved set of hands this year. Earlier in his career he carried a bit of the Chris Owusu stigma—great speed, silly hands. But so far it seems he has kept the Owusu speed and added the Whalen (Griff or Ryan) hands. Michael Rector also showed that he has some quick feet. In the 2^nd quarter, Hogan targeted him deep in the end zone. He wasn’t really open, so Hogan smartly led him too far, but Rector closed on the uncatchable ball much more quickly than the defender. Rector also had a TD catch on a tipped ball in the first quarter.

2. Ed Reynolds and The Party in the Backfield

For the second straight week, I am concerned about what Alex Carter is doing out on the wings. Last week it was pass defense, but against Army it was an abnormal run defense. Army is notorious for its cut blocking, when a blocker dives down to take out a player’s legs. All the Stanford players knew this, and surely practiced how to defend against it. But, in the first half, Carter twice engaged a cut block by leaning forward with his body, lowering his helmet, and colliding head-to-head with the defender. It was like two wild rams bucking heads. On both plays, Carter and the blocker crumpled to the ground while the runner cruised by. Both plays were runs outside the tackles to the right. On the first play Army gained 14 yards. Later in the second quarter, when Carter did the same thing, Army gained 46 yards to help set up a touchdown.

I don’t know much about the hands-on technique of football. But it is pretty obvious how to defend against a cut block. I watched Ed Reynolds many times: step back, put your hands out to help force the diving blocker to the ground, and move to one side. A simple Google search—“How to defend against a cut block”—reveals this basic strategy. I have no idea what Carter was doing. Unfortunately, on the second of these two plays, Reynolds also was taken down as he tried to move laterally to avoid the block, and Stanford yielded by far its longest play of the season.

Nonetheless, the defense clogged the middle for the second straight week. We’ve come to expect it, so it is less exciting to note the details, but it was absolutely the key to the first two games. SJSU and Army had a combined total of one solid gain through the middle of Stanford’s defense: Army’s 2^nd quarter touchdown run of 15 yards. The front is especially tough when its name is called; Stanford stopped Army both times on 4^th and 1.

3. Math of David: Numbers and Coaching 

Shaw finally offered up an early aperitif of sweet play-calling nectar. In the 3^rd quarter, Kelsey Young came across on the sweep as Gaffney spilled out ahead of him to block. But Young was just the decoy. Hogan kept it, Gaffney wheeled down the sidelines, and Hogan lofted it to him for the easy score.

I like that Shaw got the back-ups some time on both sides of the ball, but having Crower throw a pass on 4^th and 1 was not the right call. If you want to throw it on 4^th and 1, do it like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FS8dBb5yZU  (Scroll to about the 4 minute mark to see Mike Riley’s genius play call in the 4th quarter of Oregon State’s win over Utah.)

4. Up Next: Arizona St.

Arizona St was better than Wisconsin and should not have needed the refs to secure the win for them. They served up 7 free points on a bad punt snap and made careless decisions with two-point conversions and clock-management. They had no problem moving the ball through the air, and they will test Stanford’s corners. In the 4^th quarter, Taylor Kelly targeted Jaelen Strong multiple times on back-shoulder routes along the sideline. Each time, the Wisconsin corner was right next to him. Each time, the defender never turned to see the ball. All three times, Strong made the catch. I am concerned about this matchup against Alex Carter. Keep an eye out for Kelley throwing the back-shoulder pass early in the game. If the ASU coaches watched SJSU film, they will see that Carter is vulnerable.

I think Hogan might have a tough time in the pocket against ASU’s pressure. I hope to see a bunch of dump screens against blitzes, and a lot of plays to keep Hogan on the move. I think Stanford will have success if it can avoid 3^rd and long. 

5. Around the Pac-12

Nine of the ten remaining games on Stanford’s schedule are against teams with winning records. (Cal is the exception.) Going undefeated looks much much harder than it did in August, and not because Stanford hasn’t blown out its first two opponents in dominating fashion. It is the Pac-12 as a whole that looks much deeper and much more dangerous.

What a solid weekend for the conference. UCLA looked like a title contender in the 2^nd half. Washington took care of business on the road against an undefeated Illinois team. And being an Oregon fan right now must be ridiculously satisfying. I just hope Tennessee wins a few games in the SEC. If it does, the Pac-12 deserves to have its best team in the national championship game.

Keep an eye out for Utah St., one of the most underrated teams in the country. USC is going to have to put up a few points. I think people got a bit too relaxed after USC’s offense put up 35 on Boston College. BC is a horrible team and from my perspective Kessler’s solid day last week hasn’t proved anything.

6. Overrated Team of the Week

UCLA Bruins. They are good, and they looked great against Nebraska, and I hope they keep winning. And they might. I just don’t think beating Nebraska is that big of a deal. Nebraska doesn’t deserve to even know where the paragraph (below the top-25 rankings) ends. They aren’t even close to one vote in my opinion. They were dominated by Wisconsin and Georgia at the end of last year, and they barely got by Wyoming this year. UCLA is a top-20 team, but there is no way to justify having UCLA above Baylor, for example. Baylor crushed UCLA in the Holiday Bowl last year. Just crushed them. So UCLA, in my opinion, has some more winning to do to deserve a top-15 ranking. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury has UCLA at #4 in his AP ballot. Come on… above Stanford! Stanford beat them twice in a row a few games back! Wilner is smart to reward teams for road wins against good teams, he just doesn’t always figure out who the good teams are. Nonetheless, go Bruins. They are fun to watch and I hope they roll into Stanford Stadium undefeated next month.