1. Pounding the Rock

Pounding the rock can get a little claustrophobic when 22 men of decent size gather campfire-style, close by the rock, and then all quickly converge on it. (We’ll look at Shaw’s 4^th quarter play calling later.) As much as Stanford prides itself on the run, I don’t think it can run anytime, in any formation, through decent defenses. Although Stanford piled up yards on the ground, it wasn’t the backs that got all of the work done. Hogan’s legs and one Kelsey Young sweep accounted for 32% of Stanford’s run yardage. Meanwhile, the running backs had 25 runs that went for three yards or less. That’s a lot of plays that didn’t get anywhere. The run game contributed meaningful yardage on only two possessions all game. Still, I like the way Gaffney and Wilkerson run, and love that Stanford has the luxury of both of them. Gaffney is a bit more deliberate and stronger at shaking off tackles. Wilkerson hits the hole like a rabbit. Both have been good, but for me the payoff is setting up the passing game. Ty Montgomery will tell you immediately when asked about success with the passing game, “I think all that stuff comes from the run game, you know, some of the play action-pass that we run, the defense has to respect the run.” Well, OK, every Stanford player seems to give credit to some other aspect of the team when discussing any successes. But I think the passing game has been the big success of the year so far. Montgomery continues to shine in every way, and Cajuste made probably to coolest catch since Andrew Luck’s one handed catch in 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89wGMqET3AM). Plus, these guys are blocking well. Cajuste made the key seal block on Young’s 32 yard run in the first quarter.

Kevin Hogan’s best pass of his career was an incompletion in the second quarter. Luke Kaumatule ran down the middle and had at most half a step on the defender. Hogan lofted the pass perfectly and it slipped off Kaumatule’s fingertips. Hogan, only a sophomore, has rarely showed this kind of touch on a closely defended deep ball. The guy is already good, and he’s only getting better.

I’ve always wondered why Kelsey Young doesn’t return kickoffs and punts or set up at wide receiver and go deep. Now, I think I know why. In the 3^rd quarter, Young came across on a wide receiver screen. Hogan tossed him a perfect little pass, a soft-serve on a hot day. Young dropped it immediately. I guess we’ll have to stick with handoffs and tiny, underhanded pitches.

2. Ed Reynolds and The Party in the Backfield

Ed Reynolds partied a little too hard. He poured himself a shot of Taylor Kelley and took it right to the head—and he got kicked out of the party. I respect Shaw for his honesty after the game, “From the naked eye, I agree with the officials.” The replay confirmed that Reynolds should be suspended for the first half of the Washington State game. Perhaps Reynolds was pissed about getting the raw end of a hit on ASU’s big Chris Coyle earlier in the 4^th quarter. Reynolds lowered the shoulder, and then quickly crumpled to the ground. He was able to redirect Coyle’s vector by about 35º (from a crossing route path to a direct path to the end zone).

Skov was awesome with nine tackles, including a big hit on 3^rd in 1 in the first quarter and a sack in the 4^th. Lyons also had nine tackles. And we had two punt blocks! And it was great to hear Ben Gardner and others talk about seeing these opportunities in the film room during the week (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpAhjR8gEFo). The defensive line was prepared, powerful and dominant. I am not surprised that Arizona St. broke through in the 4^th quarter. Since the offense was told to stop playing football, the defense was on the field too much, and just didn’t execute on some tackles and 4^th downs. Still, a shutout in the first half against a top-25 team is exactly the kind of party that we all want to attend on Saturdays.

3. Math of David: Numbers and Coaching

I’m trying to figure David Shaw out, and I’m not making much progress. He is like a Buddha; his media comments reveal both a deep philosophy and nothing much at all. This past summer, I saw him on campus at the Treehouse eating pizza with his family. My first thought was, “Why not tacos?” I can’t figure this guy out.

Certainly there are things to like. For example, results. Those are good. I’ll take those. And it’s nice to know that Coach Shaw isn’t going to turn into Bobby Petrino one crazy night and end up in the fountain below Hoover Tower with a blonde and a bottle of Jim Beam. So that is nice. He seems a bit more role-model-ish than that. I also like that he understands that good teachers shouldn’t have to do much with familiar students. At the press conference after Saturday’s game, he said, “The coaches shouldn’t even have to go to the Monday meetings. The players should be able to lead it, and tell each other exactly what happened, and where guys were, and where they were supposed to be.” If I’m a player, that is what I want to hear. Accountability. Trust. Not some old guy yelling things I already know over and over again.

And then there are puzzling things, like the offensive scheme in the 4^th quarter. I don’t know the name of that formation, but it is basically called, “We Are Going To Run Straight At You So Bring Your Eleven Guys And Have Fun…Oh, And Tell Your Offense To Get Ready To Be On The Field Soon Because This Never Works Unless You’ve Given Up Already.” I’ve seen this power run work for Stanford. It works when weaker teams have been pounded and no longer care. Arizona State had momentum. They had life. And they made us look stupid. So, what was Shaw doing?

According to Shaw, technique and execution were the problems, not personnel or formations. I don’t really have a problem with the personnel. Crower and others need to get some clock. It would have been better to bring Crower in after a defensive stop, rather than an ASU touchdown, but that isn’t such a big deal. The issue, which Shaw has yet to really address, is the formation. Why line up in a power run with no wide receivers for three straight possessions? No other coach would ever do this! Literally, none. No coaches. No coaches would play this way with so much time left on the clock against a top-25 team.

One possibility is that Shaw wanted to grade more linemen, so he got eight of them out there at once. Another possibility is that he didn’t want to give away any more of the playbook. But you could still run straight up the middle with two receivers out there to bring the number of defenders in the box down to 7 (from 11). Or maybe he just thought that ten consecutive pounding plays were necessary to set up that Hogan bootleg. Yeah right. None of these reasons add up. The only thing I can settle on is that Shaw is just really freaking intense. He is so intense that he thinks Stanford should be able to run for first downs regardless of anything: opponent, formation, personnel, game situation, etc. He is so intense that he won’t even consider the thought that those plays won’t work. I guess you could call him stubborn. For now, I’ll go with intense. If he’s really that intense, then I don’t feel so bad that I don’t understand him. Plus, he’s sneaky. After the game, Hogan said that Shaw told him not to tell the offense that he was going to keep the ball on the 4^th quarter bootleg. I guess he really wanted his guys to “sell” an 11^th straight run up the gut. Shaw says he doesn’t care about “style points,” but he clearly cares about style—his own style, that is.

4. Up Next: Washington St.

WSU is dangerous. A few weeks ago I would have been more concerned with their passing offense. But really their defense has been awesome. They are top-15 nationally in most defensive categories. They held USC to 193 yards. I am hopeful that Hogan will have a big day through the air. I don’t expect 200 yards on the ground, but I think over 200 through the air might be enough for the victory.

5. Around the Pac-12

The Pac-12 had another nice week, highlighted by USC and Utah holding on to beat respectable foes, Utah St and BYU. The Pac-12 is now 29-4 in nonconference games, against teams with a 59% winning percentage in their other games. This is clearly the best performance of any conference. The SEC is 29-7 in nonconference games, against teams with a 58% winning percentage. This year, there is no reason to assume the SEC is the better conference. Last year, the SEC was better—not necessarily better than Stanford or Oregon, but better in the middle and the bottom. This year, the Pac-12 is looking up to no one. We should also note that the SEC’s best nonconference victory is Alabama over Virginia Tech. The SEC has zero wins against the top-30.

I must admit I’m rooting heavily for Washington to beat Arizona this week. For strength of schedule, this makes sense, since Stanford doesn’t play Arizona. But I’m also hoping for a big showdown of undefeated teams next week on the Farm. The only other top-25 game in week 6 is Ohio State at Northwestern. Would Gameday go to Northwestern? Maybe. Perhaps if Wisconsin can shock Ohio State this week there will be a chance we’ll see Lee Corso wearing some tree in the oval on October 5^th.

6. Underrated Team of the Week

California Golden Bears. Something about Cal having a bye week got me thinking more about Cal. No one outside of Cal is talking about the fact that Jarred Goff leads the nation in passing yards per game. And though people around the country acknowledge that Cal’s schedule has been tough, they don’t fully understand two things:

1. Cal’s three opponents are undefeated in their other games. (Yes, Portland St has won its three other games by an average of 40 points.)
2. Cal was really unlucky against Northwestern. Goff had two tipped passes that were returned for touchdowns. Both were totally fluky plays that gifted Northwestern 14 points or more—Cal was driving with tons of momentum on the first one.

ESPN Pac-12 bloggers have Cal ranked 12^th in their current power rankings (http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/62169/pac-12-power-rankings-week-4-3). This is fair I suppose, but is more a reflection of the fact that all eleven of the other teams have had proven success. I don’t expect Cal to finish last in the conference. They have too much firepower.

7. Overrated Team of the Week

Michigan Wolverines. Akron and Connecticut are two of the worst teams in the FBS. Michigan, you are allowed one ugly victory, but not two. Not two at home. And not one that was preserved with holding on the last play. (Yes, Michigan should have been flagged for holding on Akron’s 4^th down play.) Michigan should be unranked, and therefore so should Notre Dame.