[washingtonismoney]

I was listening to post-game interviews on Utah Radio (I watched the game in person), the #2 running back said their offensive game plan was simple: have a guy run in motion on nearly every play, forcing a defender to a certain side of the formation thus opening up the middle. 

This is kind of a weird comment. Not because he's wrong about the effectiveness of the tactic -- it's been killing us ever since UCLA gorged on it in the Pac-12 championship game last year -- but as to why it's effective: we've basically decided steadfastly against moving a guy out with the motion man, which means the pass is readily available and the defense is outflanked.

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By the way, the box score is a weird place. In terms of yards per play, Stanford's 6.9 to Utah's 5.6 is a pretty good margin. If you'd told me we'd have that kind of margin plus a special teams touchdown, I would've guessed we'd win by two touchdowns. But, of course, we didn't. Why?

Well, offensively, we weren't able to finish off drives. Jordan Williamson missed an FG; two fumbles; and the last drive, of course. Too many mistakes.

[washingtonismoney]

I was listening to post-game interviews on Utah Radio (I watched the game in person), the #2 running back said their offensive game plan was simple: have a guy run in motion on nearly every play, forcing a defender to a certain side of the formation thus opening up the middle. 

This is kind of a weird comment. Not because he's wrong about the effectiveness of the tactic -- it's been killing us ever since UCLA gorged on it in the Pac-12 championship game last year -- but as to why it's effective: we've basically decided steadfastly against moving a guy out with the motion man, which means the pass is readily available and the defense is outflanked.

---

By the way, the box score is a weird place. In terms of yards per play, Stanford's 6.9 to Utah's 5.6 is a pretty good margin. If you'd told me we'd have that kind of margin plus a special teams touchdown, I would've guessed we'd win by two touchdowns. But, of course, we didn't. Why?

Well, offensively, we weren't able to finish off drives. Jordan Williamson missed an FG; two fumbles; and the last drive, of course. Too many mistakes.