We’ve discussed how to grade a season before. I mentioned then, I remember the second time Bill Walsh coached and he said his goal, given Stanford’s admission requirements and its commitment not to compromise its vision as a university for athletic expedience, was to have a consistently nationally competitive program that was ranked most years and, sometimes when things lined up, could make a run for things.
So that kind of mindset and framing — from Bill Walsh — sets my expectations for how to grade seasons.
For me, it starts with winning The Big Game. Check.
Then, you want a winning season. Check.
Then, you want to end the season ranked, which they didn’t accomplish, but Sagarin had the team around #22 which I agree with.
Then, you want to win a Bowl Game, which is N/A.
After that are the A/A+ goals, like conference championships, NY6, and the great granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl (which this year had higher TV ratings than the national championship game).
So by these criteria this year would be about a B+, but that’s before you consider the BS Stanford had with the bogus test results, and the extra constraints Stanford had by being in SCC (being homeless, going without access to your world-class facilities, and at times practicing at a high school in Woodside or a public park across the street from your hotel in Seattle!)
And I don’t think enough praise has been given to the most important stat that Coach Shaw was very proud of that I am super proud of as a fan of the team: 0.
That’s the number of football players who caught Covid-19 during football, after activities began on campus (and on the road).
We still don’t know all the long-term consequences for people’s health for young people, even if they show mild or no symptoms. And we know campus spread leads to community spread and family spread (like players traveling back home). But 0 Stanford football players will have their long term health affected by Covid during the season, 0 football players contributed to community spread during the season, and 0 players will be getting their families sick from Covid caught during the season.
This year, Stanford gave me some football to look forward to on weekends, it provided some thrilling wins with fantastic plays, and they brought back The Axe. They did this while continuing to do things the right way, keeping their student athletes and their families, and the community safe, staying true to their values and vision as a world class research university.
To me, a great season, and a special one I will remember. That is my grade.
So that kind of mindset and framing — from Bill Walsh — sets my expectations for how to grade seasons.
For me, it starts with winning The Big Game. Check.
Then, you want a winning season. Check.
Then, you want to end the season ranked, which they didn’t accomplish, but Sagarin had the team around #22 which I agree with.
Then, you want to win a Bowl Game, which is N/A.
After that are the A/A+ goals, like conference championships, NY6, and the great granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl (which this year had higher TV ratings than the national championship game).
So by these criteria this year would be about a B+, but that’s before you consider the BS Stanford had with the bogus test results, and the extra constraints Stanford had by being in SCC (being homeless, going without access to your world-class facilities, and at times practicing at a high school in Woodside or a public park across the street from your hotel in Seattle!)
And I don’t think enough praise has been given to the most important stat that Coach Shaw was very proud of that I am super proud of as a fan of the team: 0.
That’s the number of football players who caught Covid-19 during football, after activities began on campus (and on the road).
We still don’t know all the long-term consequences for people’s health for young people, even if they show mild or no symptoms. And we know campus spread leads to community spread and family spread (like players traveling back home). But 0 Stanford football players will have their long term health affected by Covid during the season, 0 football players contributed to community spread during the season, and 0 players will be getting their families sick from Covid caught during the season.
This year, Stanford gave me some football to look forward to on weekends, it provided some thrilling wins with fantastic plays, and they brought back The Axe. They did this while continuing to do things the right way, keeping their student athletes and their families, and the community safe, staying true to their values and vision as a world class research university.
To me, a great season, and a special one I will remember. That is my grade.