[stupac2]

Stanford's defense this year was perhaps the best of the Harbaugh-Shaw era. 

#2 in scoring defense in the country
#5 in total defense
#8 passing defense (#1 in fewest yards per completion and #2 in fewest yards per attempt)
#12 in rushing defense

This was accomplished against a schedule that had the defense facing eight of the top 28 passers in the country and five 1000 yard rushers.

The fact that 3 members of the defense received 1st or 2nd team recognition and 5 others were HM tells me that the defense's success is a testament to the TEAM.  Yeah, they had a few ill-timed late game breakdowns vs. ND and Utah.  But I loved watching these guys play this year and I am sorry that I will only get to see them once more.  Congratulations to the all conference performers.  But really congratulations to all of the defense on a great season!

Not that I don't think this defense is great, but according to F+ this is actually our second-worst defense since 2010, trailing only 2011's. We're ranked #10, whereas we were top-10 in 2010, 2012, and 2013 (the raw number has the same pattern, this is the second-worst since 2010 only above 2011).

Again, that's not to say this defense is bad, just that it's not actually the best we've seen relative to competition.

[stupac2]

Stanford's defense this year was perhaps the best of the Harbaugh-Shaw era. 

#2 in scoring defense in the country
#5 in total defense
#8 passing defense (#1 in fewest yards per completion and #2 in fewest yards per attempt)
#12 in rushing defense

This was accomplished against a schedule that had the defense facing eight of the top 28 passers in the country and five 1000 yard rushers.

The fact that 3 members of the defense received 1st or 2nd team recognition and 5 others were HM tells me that the defense's success is a testament to the TEAM.  Yeah, they had a few ill-timed late game breakdowns vs. ND and Utah.  But I loved watching these guys play this year and I am sorry that I will only get to see them once more.  Congratulations to the all conference performers.  But really congratulations to all of the defense on a great season!

Not that I don't think this defense is great, but according to F+ this is actually our second-worst defense since 2010, trailing only 2011's. We're ranked #10, whereas we were top-10 in 2010, 2012, and 2013 (the raw number has the same pattern, this is the second-worst since 2010 only above 2011).

Again, that's not to say this defense is bad, just that it's not actually the best we've seen relative to competition.