1. Perspective
That was the longest first half I’ve ever experienced. Midway through the first quarter, the game was on pace to last 6+ hours and Stanford was on pace for 158 points. (Or 157.5 points according to newly-exposed math genius Karl Lindgren-Streicher, who sits behind me with his calculabrain.) I could have watched that first quarter play out for the rest of my life and been mostly content. Of course, then I would have missed seeing our 12th string receivers make some amazing plays in the second half.
It is satisfying to win a rivalry game by 50 points. Also satisfying was our tailgate’s Fred’s steak on baguette sandwiches with horseradish sauce. The first bite hinted at the best sandwich I have ever had. During the boorish moments when Cal was inadequately trying to operate basic football functions such as tackling and punting, I ran back in time and remembered only one sandwich—at a tiny, old deli on the Amalfi Coast—that could rival the juicy perfection of a Stanford tailgate with Fred’s steak. Props to Kevin Stevens for the 17:13 (first side : second side) ratio and some Hogan-like execution behind the grill.
2. The Rock Floats Again
I spent some of the tailgate discussing a statistic that I had read earlier that morning on espn.com. Coming into the game, Kevin Hogan was completing more than 48% of his passes of 25 yards or more. This is an exceptional percentage for long throws, especially considering Montgomery has dropped at least two perfect passes. Hogan has gotten really accurate at throwing downfield, and for the second time this year, we saw him lead an explosive passing attack. Montgomery put up 5 first half touchdowns to make up for his miscues in the USC game. The last one was a sweet fade route into the corner of the end zone with time winding down. More importantly, we saw many different receivers catch big time 3rd and 4th down passes, including Jordan Pratt, Jeff Trojan (best hands on the team?), and Francis Owusu. Stanford is deep at receiver, and will be for many years to come. Now if Shaw can be more consistent and more aggressive calling for play-action downfield passing plays, we are going to look more like we did when Andrew Luck was still here.
3. Cal has a 44% Graduation Rate for Football Players
On the first play of the 2nd quarter, on 2nd and 8 from Stanford’s own 28, Hogan threw a quick screen to Ty Montgomery, who dropped a perfect pass. The Cal defender decided this would be a good time to get in Montgomery’s grill and talk smack. He let Montgomery have it…. despite the fact that Montgomery had scored two touchdowns in one quarter, and despite the fact that Stanford was winning 21-10. Not smart at all. The Cal defender’s moment didn’t last for long. On the very next play, Hogan threw another screen pass to Montgomery, who went right by the defender for a 72-yard touchdown.
4. Stanford’s BCS Chances
Well, last week I wasted a couple of hours researching Stanford’s non-Rose routes into the BCS bowl picture. I should have just had faith in the Arizona Wildcats, who dominated Oregon 42-16. Actually, I should have just had faith in karma after a couple Duck players said, in effect, that the Rose Bowl was already old hat for them. Home field has been huge this year in the Pac-12. ASU is undefeated at home this year. Stanford has won its last 15 home games. The Arizona vs ASU matchup is a big deal for the Rose Bowl since it determines the host team for next week’s Stanford vs ASU game. After the Stanford game finishes, remember to put on your Ka’Deem Carey fan caps.
5. Up Next: Notre Dame
I love that we play Notre Dame every year. And though this game does not matter for the Rose Bowl, it matters a lot. It matters because of what happened last year in South Bend. And it matters if Stanford is going to finish in the top-7 in the final AP rankings for a fourth consecutive year. If it does that, it will be the only team to do so. (Only Alabama can say it has had a better four season run, with its 2 or 3 national championships easily outweighing its meager 10th place finish in 2010.) Think about that… Stanford has a chance to claim its place as the second best team in college football for the past four seasons. That, my friends, is a lot to play for.
Football on the Farm 
I love it—second best team in the country! Who thought Stanford could be that in football!
Just discovered your blog last week. A friend told me about it. You weren’t harsh enough with Cal. We stunk. I didn’t mind the Stanford loss so much even though I lost 2 Euros to an 8th grader who took Stanford and the points. “A sucker bet,” I told him. “Happy to take your money,” I told him. That’s why I don’t bet on football. 31 1/2 points and we couldn’t cover. Sheesh. No, USC was a worse defeat. It was a men against boys game that showed that we have along way to go. Still, the success of Duke and Rice, and Stanford, show that hope springs eternal. It’s just that I’ve been hoping for Roses since 1960. That’s a 53 year drought. I feel like a Cubs fan. Thank goodness for Cal soccer, but then we lost to Stanford in that game too. Then we lost to Maryland today. Oh well, Go 9’ers, and wait’ll 2016. Good luck in the Rose Bowl. I’ll be wearing Red that day.
I would never have bet two Euros on Stanford -31.5. I was as surprised as anyone when Stanford covered. I thought Cal was decent this year after watching the Northwestern and Ohio State games. Turns out, we were just giving Northwestern and Ohio State too much credit.