[97fan]

[quote author=garvin link=topic=8334.msg67133#msg67133 date=1378505157]
I keep reading stuff like this around here. I frankly doubt that it is true. Our 1935 team recorded six shutouts and gave up only 13 points in a nine-game season. The second Thunderchicken defense, in 1971, held six teams to single-digit scoring and gave up only 220 yards a game. I'd have to dig out an old media guide to get statistics on Bill Walsh's 1992 Blockbuster Bowl team, but it had an excellent defense.

We've had some pretty bad defensive play at times in the past few years. But Stanford football is not defined by the Buddy/Idiotface teams.

You raise some good points but it's hard to make cross-era comparisons -- the question is, relative to what? The trend has been more and better offense for a while now, thanks in large part to the Bill Walsh legacy. With all the crazy offenses out there, you could argue Stanford's performance is more impressive relative to its era than those other ones. (I don't know, of course -- I saw neither team and am not familiar with the offensive statistics of that era.)
[/quote]

To emphasize the point about the difficulty of making cross-era comparisons: Stanford only scored 13.4 points per game in the 1935 season.

In comparison to which, the 2012 team looks like an offensive juggernaut, at 27.8 points per game.

[97fan]

[quote author=garvin link=topic=8334.msg67133#msg67133 date=1378505157]
I keep reading stuff like this around here. I frankly doubt that it is true. Our 1935 team recorded six shutouts and gave up only 13 points in a nine-game season. The second Thunderchicken defense, in 1971, held six teams to single-digit scoring and gave up only 220 yards a game. I'd have to dig out an old media guide to get statistics on Bill Walsh's 1992 Blockbuster Bowl team, but it had an excellent defense.

We've had some pretty bad defensive play at times in the past few years. But Stanford football is not defined by the Buddy/Idiotface teams.

You raise some good points but it's hard to make cross-era comparisons -- the question is, relative to what? The trend has been more and better offense for a while now, thanks in large part to the Bill Walsh legacy. With all the crazy offenses out there, you could argue Stanford's performance is more impressive relative to its era than those other ones. (I don't know, of course -- I saw neither team and am not familiar with the offensive statistics of that era.)
[/quote]

To emphasize the point about the difficulty of making cross-era comparisons: Stanford only scored 13.4 points per game in the 1935 season.

In comparison to which, the 2012 team looks like an offensive juggernaut, at 27.8 points per game.