1. Pounding the Rock

Stanford got two yards whenever it wanted. The receivers caught every ball that was easily catchable. The result was predictable, though still sensational: zero punts. That is pretty special. As a comparison, Oregon punted four times while scoring 59 against Virginia, as they were occasionally unable to pick up short yardage. Stanford dominated by moving the ball when they needed to and never turning the ball over. (I’m just not going to count that Dallas Lloyd fumble.) 34 points, no punts, and no (real) turnovers… I would take that every game of the season.

If there is anything to nit-pick, it is that Hogan doesn’t seem to see all his options. He intuitively will take off running for an empty hole, and shows a good ability to improvise, but I rarely see him stare down one receiver and then turn to another to complete a pass.

The way Stanford’s current offense is designed, the most satisfying part of any game is running the rock and the clock. Stanford’s last drive was pure Cardinal. Wilkerson took one handoff after another and looked like he was sauntering through a scrimmage squad.

2. Ed Reynolds and The Party in the Backfield

I was surprised that Fales and SJSU took so few shots downfield. Either they respected Ed Reynolds or they didn’t think they would have enough time in the pocket for a downfield receiver to emerge. Probably both. When they tried to throw downfield, Reynolds either made the interception or had it called back by a teammate’s holding penalty. The actual interception was definitely a result of pressure, as three Stanford rushers looped inside and swarmed the middle lane, cause Fales to panic and release a floater.

Open-field tackling looked good. San Jose State’s longest play from scrimmage: 19 yards. Yep… tackling was good. Once cause for concern: Alex Carter was slow to see the ball along the sidelines. Unless things change, receivers on the outside might be able to make easy catches, even when Carter is close by.

3. Math of David: Numbers and Coaching

Shaw called a conservative game. Hogan threw downfield a few times, but generally Shaw kept the playbook closed, and went with standard plays.  For example, we only saw Kelsey Young’s name called once, on a predictable sweep in the wildcat formation. The game unfolded perfectly for sticking with a simple approach to play-calling.

While Shaw tends to be more conservative than he should on 4^th down, especially past midfield, his decisions to send in the field goal unit three times were warranted. All three field goals were attempted with Stanford leading by 11 points. It goes without saying what a field goal does for an 11 point lead.

4. Around the Pac-12

The conference looks to be on the rise, though teams face major tests in Week 3. The bottom of the conference seems much improved, as teams are settling in with smart coaches that the players like. I never thought players could like Mike Leach—maybe they don’t—but he certainly has them playing well. Their win over USC is not a surprise to those who watched WSU-Auburn and USC-Hawaii. WSU easily kept pace with Auburn, and USC’s offense is worse than anything Walt Harris ever produced.

Watch a Sonny Dykes post-game press conference and you’ll see that he’s smart and direct and probably fun to play for. Mike MacIntyre is one of the hottest coaches in the country right now. All those former Pac-12 bottom dwellers are now dangerous. Or at least they look like they are becoming potent again. And many teams around the league have young quarterbacks. Everything is starting to look sunny out west. And once Lane Kiffin is fired, the Pac-12 should enjoy a great run of years with a competitive top-to-bottom and a cast of national title contenders more diverse than just Stanford and Oregon.

5. Overrated Team of the Week

Miami Hurricanes. Miami only gained 212 yards against Florida and won 21-16 because of Florida’s five turnovers. How did they jump all the way to 15^th in the poll? For some comparison, BYU dominated a Texas team that was thought to be on par with Florida, and BYU barely even breached the paragraph. Yeah, BYU lost to Virginia, but so did Miami—at least last year. Miami might be decent, but we probably won’t know anything about Miami until November 2^nd, when they face Florida St. For now, keep in mind that this team went 7-5 last year, losing by 39 to Kansas St. and 38 to Notre Dame. And we saw how well Kansas St. and Notre Dame held up against the elite in their bowl games. Take the name off of Miami’s jerseys and they aren’t ranked in the top 20.