[OutsiderFan]

Lets's not diminish expectations.  In a hyper competitive college football landscape it doesn't take much to be subsumed by other programs.  Stanford at worst should be 7-2 right now, and I'm not so sure Stanford shouldn't  be 8-1.  No Stanford fans should in any way claim a 10 win season was unrealistic in 2014.  Anyone think David Shaw thought that, or he wants lower expectations?

The losses to U$C and ND were imminently avoidable, and the margin of defeat at ASU was basically two ST turnovers.  But the one common denominator is the offense failed to score even 20 points.  U$C gave up 30+ to mediocre BC and that same ASU team.  A terrible UNC put up 43 on a ND defense Stanford could only put 14 on.  Granted the weather was terrible when Stanford played in South Bend, but still.  Even the UW game Stanford only scored 20, and a mediocre Oregon defense held it to 16.  The only teams Stanford has scored over 30 on: Davis, Army, WSU, and OSU after clobbered by injuries. 

Usually when you see a unit making all manners of mistakes it is indicative of a coach who can't get his players to execute.  Players can be miscast, asked to do things they can't or otherwise put in positions they can't succeed in, may stop trusting teammates to do their job, and might stop buying into what the coach is telling them to do.  It can all go off the rails quickly, and like in any relationship, once trust is lost, it's hard to ever get back.  This is why coaching changes are most often made.  It's tough to follow a leader into battle again after just witnessing that guy get half your platoon killed. 

It's possible Bloomgren might be able to substantially improve Stanford's offense in 2015, but unlikely. Good coaches almost never have years like Stanford's offense in 2014; highly regarded OL, experienced QB, quality backs, receivers, and TEs.  In college football, you can't afford to be patient when on top.  Another down year can impact recruiting and set the program back.

Look across the bay.  UC basically sacrificed three recruiting classes by keeping Tedford too long.  Stanford will get a mulligan from recruits in 2014 it would seem, but have another lackluster performance in 2015, and both the 2015 and 2016 classes can be compromised, which could impact future competitiveness. 

It's really hard to get from the 8-4 level to the 10-2 or 11-1 level, but very easy to slip back.  You have to be able to act quickly and decisively when performance slips in college football if you want to stay on top.  It's the nature of the beast.

[OutsiderFan]

Lets's not diminish expectations.  In a hyper competitive college football landscape it doesn't take much to be subsumed by other programs.  Stanford at worst should be 7-2 right now, and I'm not so sure Stanford shouldn't  be 8-1.  No Stanford fans should in any way claim a 10 win season was unrealistic in 2014.  Anyone think David Shaw thought that, or he wants lower expectations?

The losses to U$C and ND were imminently avoidable, and the margin of defeat at ASU was basically two ST turnovers.  But the one common denominator is the offense failed to score even 20 points.  U$C gave up 30+ to mediocre BC and that same ASU team.  A terrible UNC put up 43 on a ND defense Stanford could only put 14 on.  Granted the weather was terrible when Stanford played in South Bend, but still.  Even the UW game Stanford only scored 20, and a mediocre Oregon defense held it to 16.  The only teams Stanford has scored over 30 on: Davis, Army, WSU, and OSU after clobbered by injuries. 

Usually when you see a unit making all manners of mistakes it is indicative of a coach who can't get his players to execute.  Players can be miscast, asked to do things they can't or otherwise put in positions they can't succeed in, may stop trusting teammates to do their job, and might stop buying into what the coach is telling them to do.  It can all go off the rails quickly, and like in any relationship, once trust is lost, it's hard to ever get back.  This is why coaching changes are most often made.  It's tough to follow a leader into battle again after just witnessing that guy get half your platoon killed. 

It's possible Bloomgren might be able to substantially improve Stanford's offense in 2015, but unlikely. Good coaches almost never have years like Stanford's offense in 2014; highly regarded OL, experienced QB, quality backs, receivers, and TEs.  In college football, you can't afford to be patient when on top.  Another down year can impact recruiting and set the program back.

Look across the bay.  UC basically sacrificed three recruiting classes by keeping Tedford too long.  Stanford will get a mulligan from recruits in 2014 it would seem, but have another lackluster performance in 2015, and both the 2015 and 2016 classes can be compromised, which could impact future competitiveness. 

It's really hard to get from the 8-4 level to the 10-2 or 11-1 level, but very easy to slip back.  You have to be able to act quickly and decisively when performance slips in college football if you want to stay on top.  It's the nature of the beast.