[Goose]

It’s still pretty early in the season. So there are still questions about how much was circumstance, how much is us, how much is them. But here’s what the game tells me:
#1) Our offensive line got beat bad.  I think there have been enough data points to say that something is definitely amiss. My biggest fear is that it was Bloomgren’s departure. We have incredible talent on the oline. We have multiple years of top recruits. Regardless of how good ND might be, top talent shouldn’t get beat like this.

I would alter the above to insert "and regardless of who the coach may be". I have no opinion on what effect Bloomgren's departure has had on the line. I have no objective data or even opinion's from well-placed others (I don't count Tom FitzGerald) to support that theory.  I can say that they had similar problems (although not quite as bad) last year (2017) and the year before (2016). We haven't had a line that could reliably make holes for the last three years. The OL had its moments in 2016, but never was really "dominant". In 2017, look at the OSU game. OSU wasn't good, and we couldn't move them.
We have relied on the fact that Love only needed a crease. We didn't get lots of creases last year, but when we did, Love made them count. This year, we are getting even fewer, because the defense knows we aren't going to blow them off the line and dares us to pass. That can work, but we have a small error budget there.
It is also instructive to look at Cal vs. Oregon last night. Cal's OL, which was supposed to be a strength this year, hasn't really performed as well as expected. However, the made more holes last night in a game Cal lost than we did in the game we won. Not apples and apples, but still indicative of our problem. Our line just isn't physical enough to do what it is trying to do. Injuries may explain A.T. Hall having problems last night, but it doesn't explain no push anywhere else. We don't win the one-on-one battles
As has been repeatedly pointed out, these guys are highly ranked recruits, and they are certainly big enough to get the job done. In previous years, the TWU just went out there and pushed the other team back. Been a while since we have done that. There is our problem. I don't know what the solution is, but our offensive philosophy is based on doing exactly that. When we can't do that, things get ugly fast.

#4) I still think Stanford is a very good team, how good? We’ll learn a lot with Utah and ASU. I doubt anyone on the schedule can stop Stanford’s offense the way ND did.  Stanford is still in control of its destiny to aim for a conference championship and the Rose Bowl.

True. In order to do that, we will need to beat UW on the road. To do that, the OL has to improve significantly. It is that simple. I think UW is not actually a very good team, as their pass offense hasn't been great against a fair to good defense. However, if our OL doesn't become much more effective, the UW limitations will not be enough for us to beat them.

[Goose]

It’s still pretty early in the season. So there are still questions about how much was circumstance, how much is us, how much is them. But here’s what the game tells me:
#1) Our offensive line got beat bad.  I think there have been enough data points to say that something is definitely amiss. My biggest fear is that it was Bloomgren’s departure. We have incredible talent on the oline. We have multiple years of top recruits. Regardless of how good ND might be, top talent shouldn’t get beat like this.

I would alter the above to insert "and regardless of who the coach may be". I have no opinion on what effect Bloomgren's departure has had on the line. I have no objective data or even opinion's from well-placed others (I don't count Tom FitzGerald) to support that theory.  I can say that they had similar problems (although not quite as bad) last year (2017) and the year before (2016). We haven't had a line that could reliably make holes for the last three years. The OL had its moments in 2016, but never was really "dominant". In 2017, look at the OSU game. OSU wasn't good, and we couldn't move them.
We have relied on the fact that Love only needed a crease. We didn't get lots of creases last year, but when we did, Love made them count. This year, we are getting even fewer, because the defense knows we aren't going to blow them off the line and dares us to pass. That can work, but we have a small error budget there.
It is also instructive to look at Cal vs. Oregon last night. Cal's OL, which was supposed to be a strength this year, hasn't really performed as well as expected. However, the made more holes last night in a game Cal lost than we did in the game we won. Not apples and apples, but still indicative of our problem. Our line just isn't physical enough to do what it is trying to do. Injuries may explain A.T. Hall having problems last night, but it doesn't explain no push anywhere else. We don't win the one-on-one battles
As has been repeatedly pointed out, these guys are highly ranked recruits, and they are certainly big enough to get the job done. In previous years, the TWU just went out there and pushed the other team back. Been a while since we have done that. There is our problem. I don't know what the solution is, but our offensive philosophy is based on doing exactly that. When we can't do that, things get ugly fast.

#4) I still think Stanford is a very good team, how good? We’ll learn a lot with Utah and ASU. I doubt anyone on the schedule can stop Stanford’s offense the way ND did.  Stanford is still in control of its destiny to aim for a conference championship and the Rose Bowl.

True. In order to do that, we will need to beat UW on the road. To do that, the OL has to improve significantly. It is that simple. I think UW is not actually a very good team, as their pass offense hasn't been great against a fair to good defense. However, if our OL doesn't become much more effective, the UW limitations will not be enough for us to beat them.