[CTcard]

I suppose it is true that if Rich Rod had been unprepared for what we sent him, he'd be loathe to admit it. 

I don't think it is so much that he would be loathe to admit it, though that could be true. The bigger issue is that in speaking to the media coaches are typically thinking along the lines of "what message am I sending to my team", or simply "how do I get out of here".

Most coaches think that the message to the team should be something like, "Don't worry about fancy strategy things; rather work hard in practice, learn your job, and go do it. Let the coaches worry about bigger picture stuff." So coaches tend to play down factors of surprise, etc.

But that is all a general statement about coaches. I don't think Stanford beat Arizona by fooling them.

[CTcard]

I suppose it is true that if Rich Rod had been unprepared for what we sent him, he'd be loathe to admit it. 

I don't think it is so much that he would be loathe to admit it, though that could be true. The bigger issue is that in speaking to the media coaches are typically thinking along the lines of "what message am I sending to my team", or simply "how do I get out of here".

Most coaches think that the message to the team should be something like, "Don't worry about fancy strategy things; rather work hard in practice, learn your job, and go do it. Let the coaches worry about bigger picture stuff." So coaches tend to play down factors of surprise, etc.

But that is all a general statement about coaches. I don't think Stanford beat Arizona by fooling them.