[81alum]

It is very hard to argue that at least one of the teams from this recent run was Stanford's best modern team, but in my book you have to win your final game on the biggest stage to be considered, so that narrows it to 2010 or 2012.  The 2010 team won more convincingly and lost one fewer game than the 2012 team, so it gets my vote.

That said, I would love to know how these teams would stack up against the 1940 Wow boys.  Clark Shaughnessy's team was 10-0, ending the season by beating previously undefeated Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.  We wound up ranked 2nd in the nation but the poll was taken before the Rose Bowl was played or else we were a cinch for 1st.  In effect, we were cheated of a national championship.

Our defense did not allow more than 14 points all season and we were 5-0 against ranked teams.  We were led by Frankie Albert, one of the great quarterbacks of the first half of the twentieth century.

Oh, and we were 1-7-1 the previous season.  Shaughnessy essentially went from a one win season to a national championship in one year.

How did he do it?  See if this story sounds familiar.  Shaughnessy installed an archaic formation, the T formation, which had been  out of use and was considered obsolete.  Everyone had switched to wing formations.  He tweaked the old T and completely surprised teams and coaches who were not prepared to stop yesterday's formation.  Even Pop Warner was not supportive.  He thought Shaughnessy was crazy.  One of Shaughnessy's plays was a plunge into the line by a back without a blocker that went against every concept current at the time.  But the plays were very deceptive and defenses had a very hard time figuring out who had the ball. 

I half expected when researching this to discover that Shaughnessy's favorite expression was "Enthusiasm Unknown to Man" but Shaughnessy was much more like Walsh than he was like Harbaugh.  In fact, Shaughnessy was a University of Chicago Professor who quit to be able to continue coaching and referred to himself as a "Professor of Football."

By the end of the 1940s, 250/350 teams had installed the T formation.  Like Walsh, Shaughnessy changed the game.

So, I will stick with the 1940 team.  Until Shaw gets us an undefeated season and a national championship, which I hope is coming!

Here is a little bit of video from that Rose Bowl:
http://pac-12.com/videos/great-rose-bowl...s-nebraska

Here is a longer silent film showing our game vs. ranked Washington State.  We are white.  You can really see the drastically different play styles and formations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k0nKitJsbs

[81alum]

It is very hard to argue that at least one of the teams from this recent run was Stanford's best modern team, but in my book you have to win your final game on the biggest stage to be considered, so that narrows it to 2010 or 2012.  The 2010 team won more convincingly and lost one fewer game than the 2012 team, so it gets my vote.

That said, I would love to know how these teams would stack up against the 1940 Wow boys.  Clark Shaughnessy's team was 10-0, ending the season by beating previously undefeated Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.  We wound up ranked 2nd in the nation but the poll was taken before the Rose Bowl was played or else we were a cinch for 1st.  In effect, we were cheated of a national championship.

Our defense did not allow more than 14 points all season and we were 5-0 against ranked teams.  We were led by Frankie Albert, one of the great quarterbacks of the first half of the twentieth century.

Oh, and we were 1-7-1 the previous season.  Shaughnessy essentially went from a one win season to a national championship in one year.

How did he do it?  See if this story sounds familiar.  Shaughnessy installed an archaic formation, the T formation, which had been  out of use and was considered obsolete.  Everyone had switched to wing formations.  He tweaked the old T and completely surprised teams and coaches who were not prepared to stop yesterday's formation.  Even Pop Warner was not supportive.  He thought Shaughnessy was crazy.  One of Shaughnessy's plays was a plunge into the line by a back without a blocker that went against every concept current at the time.  But the plays were very deceptive and defenses had a very hard time figuring out who had the ball. 

I half expected when researching this to discover that Shaughnessy's favorite expression was "Enthusiasm Unknown to Man" but Shaughnessy was much more like Walsh than he was like Harbaugh.  In fact, Shaughnessy was a University of Chicago Professor who quit to be able to continue coaching and referred to himself as a "Professor of Football."

By the end of the 1940s, 250/350 teams had installed the T formation.  Like Walsh, Shaughnessy changed the game.

So, I will stick with the 1940 team.  Until Shaw gets us an undefeated season and a national championship, which I hope is coming!

Here is a little bit of video from that Rose Bowl:
http://pac-12.com/videos/great-rose-bowl...s-nebraska

Here is a longer silent film showing our game vs. ranked Washington State.  We are white.  You can really see the drastically different play styles and formations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k0nKitJsbs