[Goose]

Shaw spitting straight fire there.  I hope the reporters were focusing on the issues at hand.  Shaw doesn't have a good solution for defending an opponent who fields a great run game with 3 WRs...but surely other teams have to do that, right?

It is not just a great run game. It is a great inside running game. Spread teams often run well, but not the same way, and Shaw CAN defend that with what he has. However, teams that can put 3 wide on the field and run power, like Stanford does at times, are real hard to defend. You need the right guys on the defensive line and linebacker. Lately, the PAC-12 has tended toward spread, as has most of the nation. We have been able to adapt to that, although it took a bit of doing. Ideally, against a team like U$C, your "nickle" puts a DB in for a linebacker, keeps 3 linemen, and can both pass rush and stop the run between the tackles that way. We don't have ideal guys to be the DL in that case. That will be a problem, no doubt about it. How big a problem, we shall see.
Very few programs have the personnel to defend both the spread game and the power game well. Alabama may have the horses. U$C may have the horses. However, U$C played an almost perfect game against us. I am not sure they can do that repeatably.
Most teams have to rely on pure offense to defeat the opponent that they can't actual defend against. We may be there against U$C. That may be reflected in the play calling if we gety another shot at the Toejams.

[Goose]

Shaw spitting straight fire there.  I hope the reporters were focusing on the issues at hand.  Shaw doesn't have a good solution for defending an opponent who fields a great run game with 3 WRs...but surely other teams have to do that, right?

It is not just a great run game. It is a great inside running game. Spread teams often run well, but not the same way, and Shaw CAN defend that with what he has. However, teams that can put 3 wide on the field and run power, like Stanford does at times, are real hard to defend. You need the right guys on the defensive line and linebacker. Lately, the PAC-12 has tended toward spread, as has most of the nation. We have been able to adapt to that, although it took a bit of doing. Ideally, against a team like U$C, your "nickle" puts a DB in for a linebacker, keeps 3 linemen, and can both pass rush and stop the run between the tackles that way. We don't have ideal guys to be the DL in that case. That will be a problem, no doubt about it. How big a problem, we shall see.
Very few programs have the personnel to defend both the spread game and the power game well. Alabama may have the horses. U$C may have the horses. However, U$C played an almost perfect game against us. I am not sure they can do that repeatably.
Most teams have to rely on pure offense to defeat the opponent that they can't actual defend against. We may be there against U$C. That may be reflected in the play calling if we gety another shot at the Toejams.