08-14-2017, 07:07 AM
This List of Stanford "Trap" Games Is Spot On
AncientCityIndian
Unregistered
Unregistered
08-14-2017, 07:35 AM
I think the list is too long. The SDSU game is a "trap" game. In some sense, it doesn't really count. UCLA will. It is possible we might overlook a non-conference opponent. No conference game, particularly against a PAC-12 North opponent, can be a "trap" game. We know that there are no easy games in conference. NO WAY is Utah a "trap" game. Shaw has never beaten them. Does anybody think the team doesn't know that? And after what Washington State did to us last year, we are going to overlook them? NFW. Oregon State, perhaps, because they haven't been very good in a while, but it is a conference game, so I doubt we will be completely asleep.
I think the list is too long. The SDSU game is a "trap" game. In some sense, it doesn't really count. UCLA will. It is possible we might overlook a non-conference opponent. No conference game, particularly against a PAC-12 North opponent, can be a "trap" game. We know that there are no easy games in conference. NO WAY is Utah a "trap" game. Shaw has never beaten them. Does anybody think the team doesn't know that? And after what Washington State did to us last year, we are going to overlook them? NFW. Oregon State, perhaps, because they haven't been very good in a while, but it is a conference game, so I doubt we will be completely asleep.
08-14-2017, 08:11 AM
Ancient has always been a worrywort. But he is the top prognosticator in his weekly poker game.
AncientCityIndian
Unregistered
Unregistered
08-14-2017, 09:06 AM
I consider a trap game as more than the conventional notion of overlooking an opponent we are expected to easily defeat. I rather prefer the following definition:Â
"Trap Game" is a game that is played before or after a tough or rival opponent. Teams have a tendency to look past an opponent preparing for the following week's game, or have a letdown after beating a tough or rival opponent.
My justification for agreement with article is based on the following.
 Arguably, our second toughest game of the year is on the road at the LA Coliseum. Win or lose, we must then fly back to Stanford, practice in a shortened week with possible injuries that need to be nursed and then hop on another plane back to SoCal. While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back. They will consider us their most important game of the year and will be ready at full strength. They are a defending conference champion with a great coach and expect to win every home game regardless of opponent.
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference with arguably one of the top 3 O lines in the league while only 6 days away from our biggest game of the year on a Friday night. Ready or not, the positioning of this game on the road is tough psychologically, If we get down early as last year, we may not be able to come back because WSU`s running attack may be the conference`s best and they can chew up clock unless we can control the LOS with our own running attack and run defense. These are open questions.
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. They have lost some pretty good players since last year but have a very tough front 7 on a par with the two Washington schools. Whittingham is just one of those tough coaches that gives us trouble through scheme as Shaw does with Mora and as Jack Elway did with us while at San Jose before he became our HC. I am not saying we will not win the game, just that it is a tough place to play as ND, Michigan and others have found out in recent years. Moreover, Oregon and Taggart will be waiting for us when we return.
"Trap Game" is a game that is played before or after a tough or rival opponent. Teams have a tendency to look past an opponent preparing for the following week's game, or have a letdown after beating a tough or rival opponent.
My justification for agreement with article is based on the following.
 Arguably, our second toughest game of the year is on the road at the LA Coliseum. Win or lose, we must then fly back to Stanford, practice in a shortened week with possible injuries that need to be nursed and then hop on another plane back to SoCal. While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back. They will consider us their most important game of the year and will be ready at full strength. They are a defending conference champion with a great coach and expect to win every home game regardless of opponent.
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference with arguably one of the top 3 O lines in the league while only 6 days away from our biggest game of the year on a Friday night. Ready or not, the positioning of this game on the road is tough psychologically, If we get down early as last year, we may not be able to come back because WSU`s running attack may be the conference`s best and they can chew up clock unless we can control the LOS with our own running attack and run defense. These are open questions.
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. They have lost some pretty good players since last year but have a very tough front 7 on a par with the two Washington schools. Whittingham is just one of those tough coaches that gives us trouble through scheme as Shaw does with Mora and as Jack Elway did with us while at San Jose before he became our HC. I am not saying we will not win the game, just that it is a tough place to play as ND, Michigan and others have found out in recent years. Moreover, Oregon and Taggart will be waiting for us when we return.
I consider a trap game as more than the conventional notion of overlooking an opponent we are expected to easily defeat. I rather prefer the following definition:Â
"Trap Game" is a game that is played before or after a tough or rival opponent. Teams have a tendency to look past an opponent preparing for the following week's game, or have a letdown after beating a tough or rival opponent.
My justification for agreement with article is based on the following.
 Arguably, our second toughest game of the year is on the road at the LA Coliseum. Win or lose, we must then fly back to Stanford, practice in a shortened week with possible injuries that need to be nursed and then hop on another plane back to SoCal. While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back. They will consider us their most important game of the year and will be ready at full strength. They are a defending conference champion with a great coach and expect to win every home game regardless of opponent.
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference with arguably one of the top 3 O lines in the league while only 6 days away from our biggest game of the year on a Friday night. Ready or not, the positioning of this game on the road is tough psychologically, If we get down early as last year, we may not be able to come back because WSU`s running attack may be the conference`s best and they can chew up clock unless we can control the LOS with our own running attack and run defense. These are open questions.
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. They have lost some pretty good players since last year but have a very tough front 7 on a par with the two Washington schools. Whittingham is just one of those tough coaches that gives us trouble through scheme as Shaw does with Mora and as Jack Elway did with us while at San Jose before he became our HC. I am not saying we will not win the game, just that it is a tough place to play as ND, Michigan and others have found out in recent years. Moreover, Oregon and Taggart will be waiting for us when we return.
"Trap Game" is a game that is played before or after a tough or rival opponent. Teams have a tendency to look past an opponent preparing for the following week's game, or have a letdown after beating a tough or rival opponent.
My justification for agreement with article is based on the following.
 Arguably, our second toughest game of the year is on the road at the LA Coliseum. Win or lose, we must then fly back to Stanford, practice in a shortened week with possible injuries that need to be nursed and then hop on another plane back to SoCal. While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back. They will consider us their most important game of the year and will be ready at full strength. They are a defending conference champion with a great coach and expect to win every home game regardless of opponent.
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference with arguably one of the top 3 O lines in the league while only 6 days away from our biggest game of the year on a Friday night. Ready or not, the positioning of this game on the road is tough psychologically, If we get down early as last year, we may not be able to come back because WSU`s running attack may be the conference`s best and they can chew up clock unless we can control the LOS with our own running attack and run defense. These are open questions.
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. They have lost some pretty good players since last year but have a very tough front 7 on a par with the two Washington schools. Whittingham is just one of those tough coaches that gives us trouble through scheme as Shaw does with Mora and as Jack Elway did with us while at San Jose before he became our HC. I am not saying we will not win the game, just that it is a tough place to play as ND, Michigan and others have found out in recent years. Moreover, Oregon and Taggart will be waiting for us when we return.
08-14-2017, 09:29 AM
(08-14-2017, 09:06 AM)AncientCityIndian link Wrote:... While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back.Â
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference ...
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. ...
While I tend to agree with you overall (these three games could develop into unexpected trouble), I will quibble with a few details just to add conversation.
1. Whether or not SDSU will "still be very good on both sides of the ball" is a complete unknown right now, particularly if you mean very good in comparison to a Power 5 team.
Last year, outside of Pomfrey, SDSU wasn't all that good on the offensive side of the ball. How they reload and develop this year remains to be seen.
In addition, while their backup RB Rashaad Penny was good last year, projecting a Group of 5 RB who has never yet been a starter as a future pro is ... aggressive.
2. Whether or not WSU is the best passing team in the conference is complicated. WSU will likely throw the ball the most often in the conference this year now that Cal is apparently going to try to have a run game. Last year, WSU had the highest completion percentage in the conference and threw for the most yards, so those are good features and the basis of their claim to be the best passing team. However, they were only 4th in PER (way behind UW) and tied for 7th/8th in yds/attempt. For my tastes, I'd say that UW and U$C and even possibly Oregon are likely to be the best passing teams in the conference.
3. " We have failed twice up there during recent years. "
Not quite. We have only lost once in history at Utah. All time, we are 2-1 at Utah, but 0-3 all time against Utah at home.
We did lose the past two games, which is no doubt what you meant. In fact, we've lost our past three games vs. Utah, but that goes back to 1996.
(08-14-2017, 09:06 AM)AncientCityIndian link Wrote:... While SDSU was a top flight team last year and lost more than half their starters, they will still be very good on both sides of the ball and have a future pro running back.Â
The WSU game will be our 2nd consecutive road game against the best passing team and passing coach in the conference ...
Utah is Utah at altitude, on the road, at night in a very hostile environ. We have failed twice up there during recent years. ...
While I tend to agree with you overall (these three games could develop into unexpected trouble), I will quibble with a few details just to add conversation.
1. Whether or not SDSU will "still be very good on both sides of the ball" is a complete unknown right now, particularly if you mean very good in comparison to a Power 5 team.
Last year, outside of Pomfrey, SDSU wasn't all that good on the offensive side of the ball. How they reload and develop this year remains to be seen.
In addition, while their backup RB Rashaad Penny was good last year, projecting a Group of 5 RB who has never yet been a starter as a future pro is ... aggressive.
2. Whether or not WSU is the best passing team in the conference is complicated. WSU will likely throw the ball the most often in the conference this year now that Cal is apparently going to try to have a run game. Last year, WSU had the highest completion percentage in the conference and threw for the most yards, so those are good features and the basis of their claim to be the best passing team. However, they were only 4th in PER (way behind UW) and tied for 7th/8th in yds/attempt. For my tastes, I'd say that UW and U$C and even possibly Oregon are likely to be the best passing teams in the conference.
3. " We have failed twice up there during recent years. "
Not quite. We have only lost once in history at Utah. All time, we are 2-1 at Utah, but 0-3 all time against Utah at home.
We did lose the past two games, which is no doubt what you meant. In fact, we've lost our past three games vs. Utah, but that goes back to 1996.
AncientCityIndian
Unregistered
Unregistered
08-14-2017, 11:07 AM
My definition of a "trap" game requires that it be a game you "should" win, but do not win because you overlooked the opponent for some reason. We will not overlook Utah or WSU. We may get beat, but not because we didn't take them seriously. SDSU, OTOH, the team may under-estimate because of the conference they play in and because we play UCLA the next week. This is a "trap" game. OSU could be a trap game, because we start a run through WSU and UW right afterwords, but since it is a conference game on the road, it isn't probable the team will take it too lightly. We may lose other games, but not because they are "trap" games.
My definition of a "trap" game requires that it be a game you "should" win, but do not win because you overlooked the opponent for some reason. We will not overlook Utah or WSU. We may get beat, but not because we didn't take them seriously. SDSU, OTOH, the team may under-estimate because of the conference they play in and because we play UCLA the next week. This is a "trap" game. OSU could be a trap game, because we start a run through WSU and UW right afterwords, but since it is a conference game on the road, it isn't probable the team will take it too lightly. We may lose other games, but not because they are "trap" games.
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »