01-07-2016, 03:59 PM
The Pac-12 blog had a section titled "Remembering under-appreciated moments from the Pac-12 Season"
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...-from-2015
Two Stanford moments make it: Hogan's final touchdown pass to Rector (Lombardi's pick) and the win against ND (Ted Miller's), which I don't know how underappreciated it was. Some of the ones I thought of:
Shaw's press conference after Northwestern: He didn't melt down. He didn't panic. He didn't throw his players under the bus. He was confident (at the time, many people here said "stubborn") that the offense would work. He was right to have been.
The Flea Flicker against UCF: That was the touchdown that got the monkey off the offenses back, and we never looked back after.
The screen pass to Love (also against UCF): That's when I saw how quick the kid really is. I don't think I've seen a player that fast at Stanford, ever.
The last 4 minutes of the first half against USC: We scored a touchdown, forced a quick punt, got the ball back with 1:23 and scored again. Completely changed the dynamic of that game.
Kevin Hogan taking the field against OSU: Remember, he had hurt his ankle the week before, so for him to have even made the field was very important.
Barry Sanders scoring on a 65 yard run against Arizona: I wish him luck wherever he winds up.
Chryst's block against Arizona: Nice that we are known for having a QB issue a devastating block. By the way, underappreciated in that play... right after the play, as Chryst is going back to the sideline, McCaffrey chases after him to give him a pat on the helmet.
McCaffrey's performance against UCLA (a school record 243 yards rushing, and 369 all-purpose yards in three quarters(which he would shockingly surpass twice in the season). The catch, of course was memorable, but that UCLA game was when McCaffrey went from being one of the best in the conference, to the best in the country. Also, the kickoff return that he almost took to the house was just awesome.
Holder's pick-six against UCLA: It just set the tone for a great day.
The play against UCLA: Because I just can't get enough of it.
The defensive first half against UW: Yeah, it was their backup QB, but there's something to be said about keeping a team from even making it into your half of the field.
Joshua Garnett blowing up some poor UW DB: You've done well when a block goes viral, and we have had two of them.
Hogan's 59 yard run for a TD against WSU: When nothing else worked, Hogan took over with his legs.
Meeks' pair of interceptions against WSU: Needless to say, we don't win without them.
The touchdown pass from Hogan to Shultz out of the jumbo against Colorado: Because every now and again, we have to break our tendencies.
Bryce Love's touchdown run against Colorado: Did I mention he was the fastest player I've seen at Stanford? The acceleration on that was tremendous.
The 49 yard field goal as time expired in the first half against Oregon: I really thought that was going to be the difference. Bummer.
The defense holding Cal to field goals instead of touchdowns: It wasn't pretty, but it worked.
The screen pass to McCaffrey for a TD against Cal: I think few plays illustrate how good McCaffrey is like that pass, which should have been stopped for a loss.
McCaffrey's kickoff return for a TD against Cal: Because it was just McCaffrey's day, and I loved the block on the poor Cal kicker.
Hogan's pass to Hooper to set up the final kick against ND: Since Miller took the kick itself, I'll go with the pass to set it up. Perfect.
The pass to McCaffrey for 63 yards: Despite a dominant first half, USC came back to take the lead; we were facing third and 6 with USC having stopped us on our first drive of the half. McCaffrey out of the backfield, is hit in stride, and rumbles 63 yards to the 6. Hogan scores on the next play, and we never looked back. By the way, it was the same play we ran against Iowa on the first play from scrimmage.
The strip sack returned for a TD against USC: You got the sense that it could be a back-and-forth affair; we had just taken the lead. Then Martinez knocks the ball loose from Kessler, and Thomas scoops it up and rumbles in for a TD.
The first play from scrimmage against Iowa: Hogan to McCaffrey out of the backfield who caught it in stride and never looked back. Set the tone for a dominant performance.
Meeks with the pick-six: The best defensive play on the best defensive game.
Brennan Scarlett and Mike Tyler combining on a sack in the next series: We sacked Bethard 6 or 7 times that game, so you could have picked any, but that was on third and three and resulted in a loss of 13 yards.
Kevin Hogan's 7 yard pass to McCaffrey on our last drive: Lombardi remembers the next play (the pass to Rector), but this pass gave McCaffrey 105 yards receiving to go with his 172 yards rushing and 91 yards on returns for a Rose Bowl record 368 all purpose yards, and a statement on who should have won the award that shall not be named.
What a great season!
BC
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...-from-2015
Two Stanford moments make it: Hogan's final touchdown pass to Rector (Lombardi's pick) and the win against ND (Ted Miller's), which I don't know how underappreciated it was. Some of the ones I thought of:
Shaw's press conference after Northwestern: He didn't melt down. He didn't panic. He didn't throw his players under the bus. He was confident (at the time, many people here said "stubborn") that the offense would work. He was right to have been.
The Flea Flicker against UCF: That was the touchdown that got the monkey off the offenses back, and we never looked back after.
The screen pass to Love (also against UCF): That's when I saw how quick the kid really is. I don't think I've seen a player that fast at Stanford, ever.
The last 4 minutes of the first half against USC: We scored a touchdown, forced a quick punt, got the ball back with 1:23 and scored again. Completely changed the dynamic of that game.
Kevin Hogan taking the field against OSU: Remember, he had hurt his ankle the week before, so for him to have even made the field was very important.
Barry Sanders scoring on a 65 yard run against Arizona: I wish him luck wherever he winds up.
Chryst's block against Arizona: Nice that we are known for having a QB issue a devastating block. By the way, underappreciated in that play... right after the play, as Chryst is going back to the sideline, McCaffrey chases after him to give him a pat on the helmet.
McCaffrey's performance against UCLA (a school record 243 yards rushing, and 369 all-purpose yards in three quarters(which he would shockingly surpass twice in the season). The catch, of course was memorable, but that UCLA game was when McCaffrey went from being one of the best in the conference, to the best in the country. Also, the kickoff return that he almost took to the house was just awesome.
Holder's pick-six against UCLA: It just set the tone for a great day.
The play against UCLA: Because I just can't get enough of it.
The defensive first half against UW: Yeah, it was their backup QB, but there's something to be said about keeping a team from even making it into your half of the field.
Joshua Garnett blowing up some poor UW DB: You've done well when a block goes viral, and we have had two of them.
Hogan's 59 yard run for a TD against WSU: When nothing else worked, Hogan took over with his legs.
Meeks' pair of interceptions against WSU: Needless to say, we don't win without them.
The touchdown pass from Hogan to Shultz out of the jumbo against Colorado: Because every now and again, we have to break our tendencies.
Bryce Love's touchdown run against Colorado: Did I mention he was the fastest player I've seen at Stanford? The acceleration on that was tremendous.
The 49 yard field goal as time expired in the first half against Oregon: I really thought that was going to be the difference. Bummer.
The defense holding Cal to field goals instead of touchdowns: It wasn't pretty, but it worked.
The screen pass to McCaffrey for a TD against Cal: I think few plays illustrate how good McCaffrey is like that pass, which should have been stopped for a loss.
McCaffrey's kickoff return for a TD against Cal: Because it was just McCaffrey's day, and I loved the block on the poor Cal kicker.
Hogan's pass to Hooper to set up the final kick against ND: Since Miller took the kick itself, I'll go with the pass to set it up. Perfect.
The pass to McCaffrey for 63 yards: Despite a dominant first half, USC came back to take the lead; we were facing third and 6 with USC having stopped us on our first drive of the half. McCaffrey out of the backfield, is hit in stride, and rumbles 63 yards to the 6. Hogan scores on the next play, and we never looked back. By the way, it was the same play we ran against Iowa on the first play from scrimmage.
The strip sack returned for a TD against USC: You got the sense that it could be a back-and-forth affair; we had just taken the lead. Then Martinez knocks the ball loose from Kessler, and Thomas scoops it up and rumbles in for a TD.
The first play from scrimmage against Iowa: Hogan to McCaffrey out of the backfield who caught it in stride and never looked back. Set the tone for a dominant performance.
Meeks with the pick-six: The best defensive play on the best defensive game.
Brennan Scarlett and Mike Tyler combining on a sack in the next series: We sacked Bethard 6 or 7 times that game, so you could have picked any, but that was on third and three and resulted in a loss of 13 yards.
Kevin Hogan's 7 yard pass to McCaffrey on our last drive: Lombardi remembers the next play (the pass to Rector), but this pass gave McCaffrey 105 yards receiving to go with his 172 yards rushing and 91 yards on returns for a Rose Bowl record 368 all purpose yards, and a statement on who should have won the award that shall not be named.
What a great season!
BC
