[Redrum]

Arizona less so, but I saw an much different Arizona team than we were used to under Mike Stoopid.  Sort of what you might expect Oregon looked like when Chip Kelly first started to build his speed machine.  AZ does have speed and they use the horizontal, fast passing game to get their guys moving in space very soon after the snap.  Last night they were playing against an Oregon defense that plays fast, too,  but watching AZ made me wonder how our guys would handle that kind of fast action.  My guess is: not as well as Oregon did. 

Oregon is just scary.  What they've done to us in the past should keep our enthusiasm in check.  I try to think what a Nunes first half-like performance against USC would translate against Oregon and it's not a pretty picture.  On defense we are deeper in capable players than any time in the recent memory.  It's an opportunity to actually do rapid-change personnel rotations without brobdingnagian talent mismatches,  but that requires a whole different sideline operation organizing and triggering the replacements before they go in and  both on-field players at the end of the play and the sideline replacements be in motion at the whistle.  I have not seen that kind of organization ever on our sidelines.  Nor does one at almost any other college football team.  But it's a necessary response to the hurry-up if you don't want your defense worn down.

And then, Stanford's particular repetitive troubles just getting the right number of guys on the field vs. USC  and getting the right players for the package (costs timeout) doesn't inspire confidence.  Once again,  it almost requires a whole change of football sideline culture to keep guys ready for that kind of rapid change operation.

[Redrum]

Arizona less so, but I saw an much different Arizona team than we were used to under Mike Stoopid.  Sort of what you might expect Oregon looked like when Chip Kelly first started to build his speed machine.  AZ does have speed and they use the horizontal, fast passing game to get their guys moving in space very soon after the snap.  Last night they were playing against an Oregon defense that plays fast, too,  but watching AZ made me wonder how our guys would handle that kind of fast action.  My guess is: not as well as Oregon did. 

Oregon is just scary.  What they've done to us in the past should keep our enthusiasm in check.  I try to think what a Nunes first half-like performance against USC would translate against Oregon and it's not a pretty picture.  On defense we are deeper in capable players than any time in the recent memory.  It's an opportunity to actually do rapid-change personnel rotations without brobdingnagian talent mismatches,  but that requires a whole different sideline operation organizing and triggering the replacements before they go in and  both on-field players at the end of the play and the sideline replacements be in motion at the whistle.  I have not seen that kind of organization ever on our sidelines.  Nor does one at almost any other college football team.  But it's a necessary response to the hurry-up if you don't want your defense worn down.

And then, Stanford's particular repetitive troubles just getting the right number of guys on the field vs. USC  and getting the right players for the package (costs timeout) doesn't inspire confidence.  Once again,  it almost requires a whole change of football sideline culture to keep guys ready for that kind of rapid change operation.