09-05-2014, 03:50 PM
I am going to make this prediction from my heart. I will put away the dubiety that understandably resides in the head of every Stanford fan that lived through the lean years of Stanford football.
We are the reining back-to-back Pac-12 Champions, we are undefeated, and we have not been scored upon this season. We have arguably one of the best head coaches in college football, who has a record of 35-7 at Stanford. We have what coach Shaw describes as the "best offensive line class that's ever been recruited by anybody." We have a QB that is 17-3 as a starter (10-1 against ranked opponents). We have arguable the best defensive secondary and the best group of receivers in Stanford football history. We get to play, at home, a team that last season cost our team a shot at the NCG. We get to play against a coach with a record of 36-29 who last season accused our players of faking injuries and called our coach a liar. That's motivation.
At this point in time, we can rationally proclaim that Stanford is a National Championship caliber team. This is the inaugural season for the new college football playoff system. So, Stanford has the opportunity to be the first champion under this system. That's more motivation.
I choose to predict the score of this game under the assumption that Stanford will be the eventual National Champions. I will continue to operate under this assumption until this team proves it wrong.Â
That being the case, I predict that our defense will shut down Sark's HUNH offense. We will get to Kessler frequently, forcing early throws. The Toejam offense's TOP will be limited, because our offense, under Bloomgren's brilliant ball control game plan, will keep them on the sideline. I predict they will score 2 field goals, period. I predict our D will score a defensive TD on a pick 6.
On offense, I believe that our receivers will dominate the small secondary of SC. Their biggest defensive back weighs just 185, which is 40 pounds under our receivers' average weight. We will get catches from TEs, WRs and RBs. I believe that Sanders and Young will continue with their 5+ ypc averages and we will keep moving the sticks forward with a balanced ball control offensive attack. In last year's game, we failed repeatedly in the red zone. We'll do better this year inside the 20, but we will have to settle for 2 field goals on stalled drives. That will be in addition to 3 TDs from our offense.
But wait, there's more. Montgomery will continue his brilliance returning kicks and give us great field position all day long. He will also take one of those kick returns to the house.
Overall, I predict that USC's 5 Star prima donnas will fold like a house of cards after being served a taste of Stanford's intellectual brutality. Panic will set in on their sideline, and a player or two will be caught on camera shedding a tear. Sark will complain about the refs, and the weather, and anything but his team's utter failure on the football field. After the slaughter, Teojam alums will start calling for Sark's head.
Add it all up and my prediction is:
Stanford Cardinal - 41
University Situated in Compton - 6
We are the reining back-to-back Pac-12 Champions, we are undefeated, and we have not been scored upon this season. We have arguably one of the best head coaches in college football, who has a record of 35-7 at Stanford. We have what coach Shaw describes as the "best offensive line class that's ever been recruited by anybody." We have a QB that is 17-3 as a starter (10-1 against ranked opponents). We have arguable the best defensive secondary and the best group of receivers in Stanford football history. We get to play, at home, a team that last season cost our team a shot at the NCG. We get to play against a coach with a record of 36-29 who last season accused our players of faking injuries and called our coach a liar. That's motivation.
At this point in time, we can rationally proclaim that Stanford is a National Championship caliber team. This is the inaugural season for the new college football playoff system. So, Stanford has the opportunity to be the first champion under this system. That's more motivation.
I choose to predict the score of this game under the assumption that Stanford will be the eventual National Champions. I will continue to operate under this assumption until this team proves it wrong.Â
That being the case, I predict that our defense will shut down Sark's HUNH offense. We will get to Kessler frequently, forcing early throws. The Toejam offense's TOP will be limited, because our offense, under Bloomgren's brilliant ball control game plan, will keep them on the sideline. I predict they will score 2 field goals, period. I predict our D will score a defensive TD on a pick 6.
On offense, I believe that our receivers will dominate the small secondary of SC. Their biggest defensive back weighs just 185, which is 40 pounds under our receivers' average weight. We will get catches from TEs, WRs and RBs. I believe that Sanders and Young will continue with their 5+ ypc averages and we will keep moving the sticks forward with a balanced ball control offensive attack. In last year's game, we failed repeatedly in the red zone. We'll do better this year inside the 20, but we will have to settle for 2 field goals on stalled drives. That will be in addition to 3 TDs from our offense.
But wait, there's more. Montgomery will continue his brilliance returning kicks and give us great field position all day long. He will also take one of those kick returns to the house.
Overall, I predict that USC's 5 Star prima donnas will fold like a house of cards after being served a taste of Stanford's intellectual brutality. Panic will set in on their sideline, and a player or two will be caught on camera shedding a tear. Sark will complain about the refs, and the weather, and anything but his team's utter failure on the football field. After the slaughter, Teojam alums will start calling for Sark's head.
Add it all up and my prediction is:
Stanford Cardinal - 41
University Situated in Compton - 6
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.