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Stanford in "Big" games 2010-present - Printable Version

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Stanford in "Big" games 2010-present - OutsiderFan - 09-28-2016

How Stanford has fared in games that determine conference/division supremacy since 2009:

2010 - @ Oregon L (Found way to lose game Stanford led 21-0; cost BCS CG appearance, but still an Orange Bowl win) *
2011 - Vs. Oregon L (Oregon speed and defense too much to overcome, but still went to Fiesta Bowl and lost in OT)
2012 - @ Oregon W (Game went to OT, Stanford won, went to and won Rose Bowl)
2013 - Vs. Oregon W (Stanford dominated from scrimmage, made Josh Huff cry, earned right to lose in Rose Bowl)
2014 - (Stanford not good enough for any one game to have mattered head-to-head)
2015 - (Oregon and UW not good enough for their games to have been considered winner take all type games)

* No division and no conference championship game

Yes, the Southern ןɐɔ game is always big, and every game is important to win, like WSU in 2015, but the bigger games are the ones that are against the top contenders for the conference crown because they determine tie-breakers.  It is clear that Oregon has been the team Stanford must beat head-to-head to achieve its goals, since 2010, but Stanford hasn't played a truly H-U-G-E game like this since really 2013.  Stanford (Shaw) is 2-2 in such games, 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road in them.  And David Shaw is 20-9 against ranked teams.  History seems to show that Stanford performs well in these "big games" for the most part, so that should augur well for Stanford's level of performance on Friday in Seattle. 

Perhaps more importantly, Stanford's rise demonstrates that it takes a couple years for a program to rise up and take down the already established power.  So it wouldn't be surprising to see Stanford be the steady team on Friday, while UW is more up and down.  It's usually the troughs that lead to losses.  I think Stanford did a great job of keeping its head above water against a UCLA team they have beaten routinely lately, but they really need to play better against Washington, IMO, and I think they will.

Stanford in "Big" games 2010-present - OutsiderFan - 09-28-2016

How Stanford has fared in games that determine conference/division supremacy since 2009:

2010 - @ Oregon L (Found way to lose game Stanford led 21-0; cost BCS CG appearance, but still an Orange Bowl win) *
2011 - Vs. Oregon L (Oregon speed and defense too much to overcome, but still went to Fiesta Bowl and lost in OT)
2012 - @ Oregon W (Game went to OT, Stanford won, went to and won Rose Bowl)
2013 - Vs. Oregon W (Stanford dominated from scrimmage, made Josh Huff cry, earned right to lose in Rose Bowl)
2014 - (Stanford not good enough for any one game to have mattered head-to-head)
2015 - (Oregon and UW not good enough for their games to have been considered winner take all type games)

* No division and no conference championship game

Yes, the Southern ןɐɔ game is always big, and every game is important to win, like WSU in 2015, but the bigger games are the ones that are against the top contenders for the conference crown because they determine tie-breakers.  It is clear that Oregon has been the team Stanford must beat head-to-head to achieve its goals, since 2010, but Stanford hasn't played a truly H-U-G-E game like this since really 2013.  Stanford (Shaw) is 2-2 in such games, 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road in them.  And David Shaw is 20-9 against ranked teams.  History seems to show that Stanford performs well in these "big games" for the most part, so that should augur well for Stanford's level of performance on Friday in Seattle. 

Perhaps more importantly, Stanford's rise demonstrates that it takes a couple years for a program to rise up and take down the already established power.  So it wouldn't be surprising to see Stanford be the steady team on Friday, while UW is more up and down.  It's usually the troughs that lead to losses.  I think Stanford did a great job of keeping its head above water against a UCLA team they have beaten routinely lately, but they really need to play better against Washington, IMO, and I think they will.

Re: Stanford in "Big" games 2010-present - BobK - 09-28-2016

Shaw has the 5th best record against ranked teams in the past 80 years.  There's a stat!

Re: Stanford in "Big" games 2010-present - BobK - 09-28-2016

Shaw has the 5th best record against ranked teams in the past 80 years.  There's a stat!