[Austroturf]

Tremendously entertaining and well played football game.

Would have been nice to score more than 7 pts in second half, but at least they weren't needed.

You must make plays to win games and Stanford made many.

Mills really is an uber talented QB. His quick feet and release on the first 3rd down conversion of the last drive was a tremendous example of that. Nick Mullens, an NFL QB, can't do that.

Mills was fantastic today.   He did not have a lot of big windows to throw the ball into. And he showed some pocket presence made some plays outside the pocket made a lot of different types of throws.  He also made great decisions. And one of his best was actually on what I believe was supposed to be a reverse. He had somebody coming around to pitch the ball too but not only would it have been completely blown up it actually could’ve been a disaster because there were several players right there a pitch could’ve picked off.  He kept it and basically just fell  forward for about a yard.

Second-half seven points little bit misleading. For one they didn’t have the ball a whole lot. Only three drives before the four minute drill to win it.  Second drive,  they had a first down at about midfield, but a second down pass was dropped. And  then the Jones fumble on the next drive.  They  only punted once.

And of course ball control was absolutely crucial in this game. Because they were simply helpless in the secondary against Washington. They did a pretty decent job against the run. (They at least avoided giving up a big run). But man they could do absolutely nothing against the pass

This is a great analysis.  I only managed to watch the first half, as it was past midnight over here by the time the second half started.  

The first half was a thing of beauty: four possessions, four scores and an offense that looked to be the absolute best combination of pass and run with an O-line actually firing on all cylinders as in years past.  So refreshing after the offensive ineptitude in the first three games.  

When I signed off, however, I was worried that the turtle might emerge to vitiate this great offensive productivity and that Stanford would hang on for dear life against a Dawg team that 1) has proven this year it can come back from a 21-point deficit and 2) will be prepared to throw everything at a beleaguered Cardinal defense.  At that juncture, I predicted Stanford would hold on for a 30-27 win, and with that I was not far off.  

But actually, as Lex points out, the turtle never really reared its head.  In fact, the two halves were rough mirror images of each other with a few key differences leading to the final margin of victory.  In the first half, Stanford had four possessions and scored TD, TD, TD and FG.  The Dawgs had three possessions that went punt, punt and FG.  Hence, the 24-3 halftime score.  

In the second half, the Huskies scored on all four of their possessions: TD, TD (blocked EP), TD and FG, leading to 23 points.  Stanford also had four possessions, which ended in TD, punt, fumble and victory formation.  The fumble could have ended up costing the game, but a fortunate holding penalty on the overturned TD pass forced the final Husky FG.  And then, with 7 min. 47 sec. left on the clock (normally enough time for at least two possessions, sometimes more), Stanford TOP football once again came to life and salted the win away.  This final drive essentially meant that the rest of the 2nd half consisted of only 22 min. and 13 sec.  The difference in the final score: Washington got only a FG on its one scoring possession of the first half, while Stanford got a TD on its scoring possession and blocked a UW extra point attempt.  That's the 5-point difference.  As Outsider fan notes, it would have been nice to score more than 7 points in the 2nd half, but there weren't many scoring opportunities; and not scoring on the final drive and killing the clock was vintage Stanford football. 

Congratulations to Shaw and the team.  I fully expected our team to get thrashed, but was so pleased to see some semblance of earlier incarnations of Shaw football.  The injuries to Wedington and Wilson are very unfortunate: Wedington has had lots of bad luck staying healthy.  He is a stand-out who could shine under the right circumstances, but so far the injury bug has bitten him repeatedly.  

Looking forward, the Beavers had to play Utah without their starting QB (Gebbia) and their star running back (Jefferson).  Does anybody know their status for this coming Saturday?  If Jefferson is back, stopping him will be the key to victory.

[Austroturf]

Tremendously entertaining and well played football game.

Would have been nice to score more than 7 pts in second half, but at least they weren't needed.

You must make plays to win games and Stanford made many.

Mills really is an uber talented QB. His quick feet and release on the first 3rd down conversion of the last drive was a tremendous example of that. Nick Mullens, an NFL QB, can't do that.

Mills was fantastic today.   He did not have a lot of big windows to throw the ball into. And he showed some pocket presence made some plays outside the pocket made a lot of different types of throws.  He also made great decisions. And one of his best was actually on what I believe was supposed to be a reverse. He had somebody coming around to pitch the ball too but not only would it have been completely blown up it actually could’ve been a disaster because there were several players right there a pitch could’ve picked off.  He kept it and basically just fell  forward for about a yard.

Second-half seven points little bit misleading. For one they didn’t have the ball a whole lot. Only three drives before the four minute drill to win it.  Second drive,  they had a first down at about midfield, but a second down pass was dropped. And  then the Jones fumble on the next drive.  They  only punted once.

And of course ball control was absolutely crucial in this game. Because they were simply helpless in the secondary against Washington. They did a pretty decent job against the run. (They at least avoided giving up a big run). But man they could do absolutely nothing against the pass

This is a great analysis.  I only managed to watch the first half, as it was past midnight over here by the time the second half started.  

The first half was a thing of beauty: four possessions, four scores and an offense that looked to be the absolute best combination of pass and run with an O-line actually firing on all cylinders as in years past.  So refreshing after the offensive ineptitude in the first three games.  

When I signed off, however, I was worried that the turtle might emerge to vitiate this great offensive productivity and that Stanford would hang on for dear life against a Dawg team that 1) has proven this year it can come back from a 21-point deficit and 2) will be prepared to throw everything at a beleaguered Cardinal defense.  At that juncture, I predicted Stanford would hold on for a 30-27 win, and with that I was not far off.  

But actually, as Lex points out, the turtle never really reared its head.  In fact, the two halves were rough mirror images of each other with a few key differences leading to the final margin of victory.  In the first half, Stanford had four possessions and scored TD, TD, TD and FG.  The Dawgs had three possessions that went punt, punt and FG.  Hence, the 24-3 halftime score.  

In the second half, the Huskies scored on all four of their possessions: TD, TD (blocked EP), TD and FG, leading to 23 points.  Stanford also had four possessions, which ended in TD, punt, fumble and victory formation.  The fumble could have ended up costing the game, but a fortunate holding penalty on the overturned TD pass forced the final Husky FG.  And then, with 7 min. 47 sec. left on the clock (normally enough time for at least two possessions, sometimes more), Stanford TOP football once again came to life and salted the win away.  This final drive essentially meant that the rest of the 2nd half consisted of only 22 min. and 13 sec.  The difference in the final score: Washington got only a FG on its one scoring possession of the first half, while Stanford got a TD on its scoring possession and blocked a UW extra point attempt.  That's the 5-point difference.  As Outsider fan notes, it would have been nice to score more than 7 points in the 2nd half, but there weren't many scoring opportunities; and not scoring on the final drive and killing the clock was vintage Stanford football. 

Congratulations to Shaw and the team.  I fully expected our team to get thrashed, but was so pleased to see some semblance of earlier incarnations of Shaw football.  The injuries to Wedington and Wilson are very unfortunate: Wedington has had lots of bad luck staying healthy.  He is a stand-out who could shine under the right circumstances, but so far the injury bug has bitten him repeatedly.  

Looking forward, the Beavers had to play Utah without their starting QB (Gebbia) and their star running back (Jefferson).  Does anybody know their status for this coming Saturday?  If Jefferson is back, stopping him will be the key to victory.