[terry]

Some stats regarding the WSU game --

- Washington State has just 284 rushing yards this season, in 7 games. As a point of comparison, Stanford had 252 rushing yards last week alone. The Cougars are averaging just 41 rushing yards per game, by far the worst in the Pac 12. Even if we remove sacks from the rushing totals, WSU still is averaging just 65 rushing yards per game.

- WSU ranks 9th in the nation in passing offense with 322 yards/game. However, other statistical measures indicate that they really aren't a very good passing team. WSU's big passing yardage is a function of a very large number of pass attempts -- they average over 50 pass attempts/game, the most of any BCS team. However, WSU averages just 6.4 yards/attempt (10th in the conference) and has a pass efficiency rating of just 117 (10th). Stanford, despite its struggles in the passing game, ranks ahead of WSU in both categories. WSU leads the Pac 12 in interception percentage. WSU's 11.1 yards per completion is on the low side of average. Statistically, the WSU passing game looks like "Arizona lite" -- they're kind of like Arizona, but they don't do anything as well as Arizona.

- WSU doesn't protect the passer well, allowing 24 sacks this year (3.4 per game). That's 10th in the conference and 113th in the nation.

- WSU has used two QBs. Tuel has 145 attempts and Halliday has 206 attempts. Tuel apparently will start against us. Tuel has a higher completion percentage than Halliday (65.5% to 52.9%), which appears to be due to the fact that Tuel throws a lot more short passes -- Tuel's average completion is a very low 9.6 yards, while Halliday's average completion is 12.4 yards. Because Tuel's completions are so short, Tuel's yards/attempt is less than Halliday's (6.3 yards/att compared to 6.6, both of which are sub-par). Tuel is less interception-prone than Halliday -- Tuel throws 1 interception for every 48 attempts, Halliday throws 1 interception for every 19 attempts.

- WSU's depth chart lists 4 starting WRs (no fullback, no TE). They spread the ball around -- 4 of the WRs have between 28 and 38 catches, and 10 players are averaging at least 1 catch per game. Marquess Wilson is the leading receiver and big play guy.

- Overall, WSU's offense is averaging a relatively modest 363 yards/game and 21.1 points/game. That compares to 382 yards/game and 27.4 points/game for Stanford. WSU did roll up 420+ yards against UNLV, Colorado, and UCBerkeley, but they got completely shut down by BYU (224 yards) and Oregon State (227 yards).

- WSU runs a 3-4 defense. They aren't very good. They are allowing 463 yards/game. WSU has allowed 420+ yards to every opponent but one, and allowed over 500 yards to UCBerkeley and Colorado.

- WSU's rushing defense ranks 11th in the conference. WSU's rushing defense is a statistical twin to Arizona's -- WSU allows 175 yards/game compared to 174 for Arizona, both teams allow 4.4 yards/attempt, and both teams have allowed 13 rushing TDs. WSU allowed 300+ rushing yards to Oregon and UCBerkeley.

- WSU ranks 10th in the conference in passing yards allowed and 9th in the conference in pass efficiency defense. Their best pass rusher is Travis Long, who previously played defensive end but converted to the "Buck" linebacker spot in WSU's 3-4. Long has 7.5 sacks, which ranks 3rd in the conference. We need to keep an eye on him.

- WSU's kicker has a big leg. He made a 60 yard FG earlier this year.

[terry]

Some stats regarding the WSU game --

- Washington State has just 284 rushing yards this season, in 7 games. As a point of comparison, Stanford had 252 rushing yards last week alone. The Cougars are averaging just 41 rushing yards per game, by far the worst in the Pac 12. Even if we remove sacks from the rushing totals, WSU still is averaging just 65 rushing yards per game.

- WSU ranks 9th in the nation in passing offense with 322 yards/game. However, other statistical measures indicate that they really aren't a very good passing team. WSU's big passing yardage is a function of a very large number of pass attempts -- they average over 50 pass attempts/game, the most of any BCS team. However, WSU averages just 6.4 yards/attempt (10th in the conference) and has a pass efficiency rating of just 117 (10th). Stanford, despite its struggles in the passing game, ranks ahead of WSU in both categories. WSU leads the Pac 12 in interception percentage. WSU's 11.1 yards per completion is on the low side of average. Statistically, the WSU passing game looks like "Arizona lite" -- they're kind of like Arizona, but they don't do anything as well as Arizona.

- WSU doesn't protect the passer well, allowing 24 sacks this year (3.4 per game). That's 10th in the conference and 113th in the nation.

- WSU has used two QBs. Tuel has 145 attempts and Halliday has 206 attempts. Tuel apparently will start against us. Tuel has a higher completion percentage than Halliday (65.5% to 52.9%), which appears to be due to the fact that Tuel throws a lot more short passes -- Tuel's average completion is a very low 9.6 yards, while Halliday's average completion is 12.4 yards. Because Tuel's completions are so short, Tuel's yards/attempt is less than Halliday's (6.3 yards/att compared to 6.6, both of which are sub-par). Tuel is less interception-prone than Halliday -- Tuel throws 1 interception for every 48 attempts, Halliday throws 1 interception for every 19 attempts.

- WSU's depth chart lists 4 starting WRs (no fullback, no TE). They spread the ball around -- 4 of the WRs have between 28 and 38 catches, and 10 players are averaging at least 1 catch per game. Marquess Wilson is the leading receiver and big play guy.

- Overall, WSU's offense is averaging a relatively modest 363 yards/game and 21.1 points/game. That compares to 382 yards/game and 27.4 points/game for Stanford. WSU did roll up 420+ yards against UNLV, Colorado, and UCBerkeley, but they got completely shut down by BYU (224 yards) and Oregon State (227 yards).

- WSU runs a 3-4 defense. They aren't very good. They are allowing 463 yards/game. WSU has allowed 420+ yards to every opponent but one, and allowed over 500 yards to UCBerkeley and Colorado.

- WSU's rushing defense ranks 11th in the conference. WSU's rushing defense is a statistical twin to Arizona's -- WSU allows 175 yards/game compared to 174 for Arizona, both teams allow 4.4 yards/attempt, and both teams have allowed 13 rushing TDs. WSU allowed 300+ rushing yards to Oregon and UCBerkeley.

- WSU ranks 10th in the conference in passing yards allowed and 9th in the conference in pass efficiency defense. Their best pass rusher is Travis Long, who previously played defensive end but converted to the "Buck" linebacker spot in WSU's 3-4. Long has 7.5 sacks, which ranks 3rd in the conference. We need to keep an eye on him.

- WSU's kicker has a big leg. He made a 60 yard FG earlier this year.

[terry]

Some stats regarding the WSU game --

- Washington State has just 284 rushing yards this season, in 7 games. As a point of comparison, Stanford had 252 rushing yards last week alone. The Cougars are averaging just 41 rushing yards per game, by far the worst in the Pac 12. Even if we remove sacks from the rushing totals, WSU still is averaging just 65 rushing yards per game.

- WSU ranks 9th in the nation in passing offense with 322 yards/game. However, other statistical measures indicate that they really aren't a very good passing team. WSU's big passing yardage is a function of a very large number of pass attempts -- they average over 50 pass attempts/game, the most of any BCS team. However, WSU averages just 6.4 yards/attempt (10th in the conference) and has a pass efficiency rating of just 117 (10th). Stanford, despite its struggles in the passing game, ranks ahead of WSU in both categories. WSU leads the Pac 12 in interception percentage. WSU's 11.1 yards per completion is on the low side of average. Statistically, the WSU passing game looks like "Arizona lite" -- they're kind of like Arizona, but they don't do anything as well as Arizona.

- WSU doesn't protect the passer well, allowing 24 sacks this year (3.4 per game). That's 10th in the conference and 113th in the nation.

- WSU has used two QBs. Tuel has 145 attempts and Halliday has 206 attempts. Tuel apparently will start against us. Tuel has a higher completion percentage than Halliday (65.5% to 52.9%), which appears to be due to the fact that Tuel throws a lot more short passes -- Tuel's average completion is a very low 9.6 yards, while Halliday's average completion is 12.4 yards. Because Tuel's completions are so short, Tuel's yards/attempt is less than Halliday's (6.3 yards/att compared to 6.6, both of which are sub-par). Tuel is less interception-prone than Halliday -- Tuel throws 1 interception for every 48 attempts, Halliday throws 1 interception for every 19 attempts.

- WSU's depth chart lists 4 starting WRs (no fullback, no TE). They spread the ball around -- 4 of the WRs have between 28 and 38 catches, and 10 players are averaging at least 1 catch per game. Marquess Wilson is the leading receiver and big play guy.

- Overall, WSU's offense is averaging a relatively modest 363 yards/game and 21.1 points/game. That compares to 382 yards/game and 27.4 points/game for Stanford. WSU did roll up 420+ yards against UNLV, Colorado, and UCBerkeley, but they got completely shut down by BYU (224 yards) and Oregon State (227 yards).

- WSU runs a 3-4 defense. They aren't very good. They are allowing 463 yards/game. WSU has allowed 420+ yards to every opponent but one, and allowed over 500 yards to UCBerkeley and Colorado.

- WSU's rushing defense ranks 11th in the conference. WSU's rushing defense is a statistical twin to Arizona's -- WSU allows 175 yards/game compared to 174 for Arizona, both teams allow 4.4 yards/attempt, and both teams have allowed 13 rushing TDs. WSU allowed 300+ rushing yards to Oregon and UCBerkeley.

- WSU ranks 10th in the conference in passing yards allowed and 9th in the conference in pass efficiency defense. Their best pass rusher is Travis Long, who previously played defensive end but converted to the "Buck" linebacker spot in WSU's 3-4. Long has 7.5 sacks, which ranks 3rd in the conference. We need to keep an eye on him.

- WSU's kicker has a big leg. He made a 60 yard FG earlier this year.

[terry]

Some stats regarding the WSU game --

- Washington State has just 284 rushing yards this season, in 7 games. As a point of comparison, Stanford had 252 rushing yards last week alone. The Cougars are averaging just 41 rushing yards per game, by far the worst in the Pac 12. Even if we remove sacks from the rushing totals, WSU still is averaging just 65 rushing yards per game.

- WSU ranks 9th in the nation in passing offense with 322 yards/game. However, other statistical measures indicate that they really aren't a very good passing team. WSU's big passing yardage is a function of a very large number of pass attempts -- they average over 50 pass attempts/game, the most of any BCS team. However, WSU averages just 6.4 yards/attempt (10th in the conference) and has a pass efficiency rating of just 117 (10th). Stanford, despite its struggles in the passing game, ranks ahead of WSU in both categories. WSU leads the Pac 12 in interception percentage. WSU's 11.1 yards per completion is on the low side of average. Statistically, the WSU passing game looks like "Arizona lite" -- they're kind of like Arizona, but they don't do anything as well as Arizona.

- WSU doesn't protect the passer well, allowing 24 sacks this year (3.4 per game). That's 10th in the conference and 113th in the nation.

- WSU has used two QBs. Tuel has 145 attempts and Halliday has 206 attempts. Tuel apparently will start against us. Tuel has a higher completion percentage than Halliday (65.5% to 52.9%), which appears to be due to the fact that Tuel throws a lot more short passes -- Tuel's average completion is a very low 9.6 yards, while Halliday's average completion is 12.4 yards. Because Tuel's completions are so short, Tuel's yards/attempt is less than Halliday's (6.3 yards/att compared to 6.6, both of which are sub-par). Tuel is less interception-prone than Halliday -- Tuel throws 1 interception for every 48 attempts, Halliday throws 1 interception for every 19 attempts.

- WSU's depth chart lists 4 starting WRs (no fullback, no TE). They spread the ball around -- 4 of the WRs have between 28 and 38 catches, and 10 players are averaging at least 1 catch per game. Marquess Wilson is the leading receiver and big play guy.

- Overall, WSU's offense is averaging a relatively modest 363 yards/game and 21.1 points/game. That compares to 382 yards/game and 27.4 points/game for Stanford. WSU did roll up 420+ yards against UNLV, Colorado, and UCBerkeley, but they got completely shut down by BYU (224 yards) and Oregon State (227 yards).

- WSU runs a 3-4 defense. They aren't very good. They are allowing 463 yards/game. WSU has allowed 420+ yards to every opponent but one, and allowed over 500 yards to UCBerkeley and Colorado.

- WSU's rushing defense ranks 11th in the conference. WSU's rushing defense is a statistical twin to Arizona's -- WSU allows 175 yards/game compared to 174 for Arizona, both teams allow 4.4 yards/attempt, and both teams have allowed 13 rushing TDs. WSU allowed 300+ rushing yards to Oregon and UCBerkeley.

- WSU ranks 10th in the conference in passing yards allowed and 9th in the conference in pass efficiency defense. Their best pass rusher is Travis Long, who previously played defensive end but converted to the "Buck" linebacker spot in WSU's 3-4. Long has 7.5 sacks, which ranks 3rd in the conference. We need to keep an eye on him.

- WSU's kicker has a big leg. He made a 60 yard FG earlier this year.

[FarmBoy]

Thanks for the data, Terry. It goes a long way in reassuring me. I have a conditioned response to get anxious any time Stanford plays a team with a strong passing game. It's a hold over from a decade of playing 10 yards off the WR's at the line of scrimmage and still getting beat deep, I guess. It's good to know that despite the yards, WSU's passing game is flawed.

It sounds like the Stepfan for Voldemort Runner Up campaign may kick into over drive on Saturday. Let's get him 200 yards and 3TDs. Hopefully the TWU can do their job, break the game open early, and allow a non-Nunes QB to get some PT in the second half.

[FarmBoy]

Thanks for the data, Terry. It goes a long way in reassuring me. I have a conditioned response to get anxious any time Stanford plays a team with a strong passing game. It's a hold over from a decade of playing 10 yards off the WR's at the line of scrimmage and still getting beat deep, I guess. It's good to know that despite the yards, WSU's passing game is flawed.

It sounds like the Stepfan for Voldemort Runner Up campaign may kick into over drive on Saturday. Let's get him 200 yards and 3TDs. Hopefully the TWU can do their job, break the game open early, and allow a non-Nunes QB to get some PT in the second half.

[FarmBoy]

Thanks for the data, Terry. It goes a long way in reassuring me. I have a conditioned response to get anxious any time Stanford plays a team with a strong passing game. It's a hold over from a decade of playing 10 yards off the WR's at the line of scrimmage and still getting beat deep, I guess. It's good to know that despite the yards, WSU's passing game is flawed.

It sounds like the Stepfan for Voldemort Runner Up campaign may kick into over drive on Saturday. Let's get him 200 yards and 3TDs. Hopefully the TWU can do their job, break the game open early, and allow a non-Nunes QB to get some PT in the second half.

[FarmBoy]

Thanks for the data, Terry. It goes a long way in reassuring me. I have a conditioned response to get anxious any time Stanford plays a team with a strong passing game. It's a hold over from a decade of playing 10 yards off the WR's at the line of scrimmage and still getting beat deep, I guess. It's good to know that despite the yards, WSU's passing game is flawed.

It sounds like the Stepfan for Voldemort Runner Up campaign may kick into over drive on Saturday. Let's get him 200 yards and 3TDs. Hopefully the TWU can do their job, break the game open early, and allow a non-Nunes QB to get some PT in the second half.

[fullmetal]

Stanford will need plenty of sustained drives to prevent the Air Raid offense from tiring out the secondary.  Or, if the Coug OL decides to impersonate swiss cheese, that'll do as well.

#partyinthebackfield

[fullmetal]

Stanford will need plenty of sustained drives to prevent the Air Raid offense from tiring out the secondary.  Or, if the Coug OL decides to impersonate swiss cheese, that'll do as well.

#partyinthebackfield

[fullmetal]

Stanford will need plenty of sustained drives to prevent the Air Raid offense from tiring out the secondary.  Or, if the Coug OL decides to impersonate swiss cheese, that'll do as well.

#partyinthebackfield

[fullmetal]

Stanford will need plenty of sustained drives to prevent the Air Raid offense from tiring out the secondary.  Or, if the Coug OL decides to impersonate swiss cheese, that'll do as well.

#partyinthebackfield

[Rando]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

[Rando]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

[Rando]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

[Rando]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

[Hank 91]

It should also be noted that Jeff Tuel will be starting for the first time since early September. He had a great season two years ago, but lost his job earlier this year due to lack of confidence in Leach's new offense. This will be his first game back, so I can't imagine the expectations are too high.

We are not playing Arizona again.

Stanford 31, Washington State 10.

[Hank 91]

It should also be noted that Jeff Tuel will be starting for the first time since early September. He had a great season two years ago, but lost his job earlier this year due to lack of confidence in Leach's new offense. This will be his first game back, so I can't imagine the expectations are too high.

We are not playing Arizona again.

Stanford 31, Washington State 10.

[Hank 91]

It should also be noted that Jeff Tuel will be starting for the first time since early September. He had a great season two years ago, but lost his job earlier this year due to lack of confidence in Leach's new offense. This will be his first game back, so I can't imagine the expectations are too high.

We are not playing Arizona again.

Stanford 31, Washington State 10.

[Hank 91]

It should also be noted that Jeff Tuel will be starting for the first time since early September. He had a great season two years ago, but lost his job earlier this year due to lack of confidence in Leach's new offense. This will be his first game back, so I can't imagine the expectations are too high.

We are not playing Arizona again.

Stanford 31, Washington State 10.

[washingtonismoney]

Objectively I feel this should be an easy one for us, but for a number of reasons I just feel kind of wary. Not rational, but whatever. I mean, if the 59ers can run for 300 yards (or whatever it was), we should be able to do the same or better. But, you know...passing, man.

[washingtonismoney]

Objectively I feel this should be an easy one for us, but for a number of reasons I just feel kind of wary. Not rational, but whatever. I mean, if the 59ers can run for 300 yards (or whatever it was), we should be able to do the same or better. But, you know...passing, man.

[washingtonismoney]

Objectively I feel this should be an easy one for us, but for a number of reasons I just feel kind of wary. Not rational, but whatever. I mean, if the 59ers can run for 300 yards (or whatever it was), we should be able to do the same or better. But, you know...passing, man.

[washingtonismoney]

Objectively I feel this should be an easy one for us, but for a number of reasons I just feel kind of wary. Not rational, but whatever. I mean, if the 59ers can run for 300 yards (or whatever it was), we should be able to do the same or better. But, you know...passing, man.

[terry]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

Not really. WSU doesn't pass as well as Arizona, though it passes as frequently. And WSU is a really awful running team, while Arizona is a good running team.

[terry]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

Not really. WSU doesn't pass as well as Arizona, though it passes as frequently. And WSU is a really awful running team, while Arizona is a good running team.

[terry]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

Not really. WSU doesn't pass as well as Arizona, though it passes as frequently. And WSU is a really awful running team, while Arizona is a good running team.

[terry]

So we're basically playing Arizona again.

Not really. WSU doesn't pass as well as Arizona, though it passes as frequently. And WSU is a really awful running team, while Arizona is a good running team.

[needle]

WSU may have the psychological edge, coming off a bye week compared to Stanford's pretty intense three-game stretch.

That can carry them through a half, but it's hard to imagine Stanford not wearing them out in the end.

That said, I was way overconfident before the Washington game, so I'll be watching at least somewhat nervously (if I can figure out how to get the game on a screen).

[needle]

WSU may have the psychological edge, coming off a bye week compared to Stanford's pretty intense three-game stretch.

That can carry them through a half, but it's hard to imagine Stanford not wearing them out in the end.

That said, I was way overconfident before the Washington game, so I'll be watching at least somewhat nervously (if I can figure out how to get the game on a screen).

[needle]

WSU may have the psychological edge, coming off a bye week compared to Stanford's pretty intense three-game stretch.

That can carry them through a half, but it's hard to imagine Stanford not wearing them out in the end.

That said, I was way overconfident before the Washington game, so I'll be watching at least somewhat nervously (if I can figure out how to get the game on a screen).

[needle]

WSU may have the psychological edge, coming off a bye week compared to Stanford's pretty intense three-game stretch.

That can carry them through a half, but it's hard to imagine Stanford not wearing them out in the end.

That said, I was way overconfident before the Washington game, so I'll be watching at least somewhat nervously (if I can figure out how to get the game on a screen).

[Spiny_Norman]

Here is perhaps the biggest contrast between Arizona and WSU offense.

Arizona runs the no-huddle offense and averages 87.3 plays per game, 3rd in the nation.  Their goal is to run 90-100 or more plays per game, similar to Oregon.

WSU averages 73.8 plays per game, 51st in the nation.  Even if they run the spread, Stanford should have time to make substitutions and adjustments between plays.

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-foot...s-per-game

[Spiny_Norman]

Here is perhaps the biggest contrast between Arizona and WSU offense.

Arizona runs the no-huddle offense and averages 87.3 plays per game, 3rd in the nation.  Their goal is to run 90-100 or more plays per game, similar to Oregon.

WSU averages 73.8 plays per game, 51st in the nation.  Even if they run the spread, Stanford should have time to make substitutions and adjustments between plays.

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-foot...s-per-game

[Spiny_Norman]

Here is perhaps the biggest contrast between Arizona and WSU offense.

Arizona runs the no-huddle offense and averages 87.3 plays per game, 3rd in the nation.  Their goal is to run 90-100 or more plays per game, similar to Oregon.

WSU averages 73.8 plays per game, 51st in the nation.  Even if they run the spread, Stanford should have time to make substitutions and adjustments between plays.

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-foot...s-per-game

[Spiny_Norman]

Here is perhaps the biggest contrast between Arizona and WSU offense.

Arizona runs the no-huddle offense and averages 87.3 plays per game, 3rd in the nation.  Their goal is to run 90-100 or more plays per game, similar to Oregon.

WSU averages 73.8 plays per game, 51st in the nation.  Even if they run the spread, Stanford should have time to make substitutions and adjustments between plays.

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-foot...s-per-game

[FarmBoy]

Another view of the WSU run game from the Seattle Times:

Subtract [sack related] lost yardage from WSU's rushing totals — as well as Tuel and Halliday's overall rushing totals — and the Cougars' running backs are averaging a shade more than 4 yards a carry. Not outstanding, but not nearly as dire as the rankings suggest.

Those 24 sacks are skewing value of the run game pretty significantly. They're by no means strong in the run game, but not as weak when an actual RB gets the ball than you'd think based on the numbers.

http://seattletimes.com/html/cougarfootb...all26.html

[FarmBoy]

Another view of the WSU run game from the Seattle Times:

Subtract [sack related] lost yardage from WSU's rushing totals — as well as Tuel and Halliday's overall rushing totals — and the Cougars' running backs are averaging a shade more than 4 yards a carry. Not outstanding, but not nearly as dire as the rankings suggest.

Those 24 sacks are skewing value of the run game pretty significantly. They're by no means strong in the run game, but not as weak when an actual RB gets the ball than you'd think based on the numbers.

http://seattletimes.com/html/cougarfootb...all26.html

[FarmBoy]

Another view of the WSU run game from the Seattle Times:

Subtract [sack related] lost yardage from WSU's rushing totals — as well as Tuel and Halliday's overall rushing totals — and the Cougars' running backs are averaging a shade more than 4 yards a carry. Not outstanding, but not nearly as dire as the rankings suggest.

Those 24 sacks are skewing value of the run game pretty significantly. They're by no means strong in the run game, but not as weak when an actual RB gets the ball than you'd think based on the numbers.

http://seattletimes.com/html/cougarfootb...all26.html

[FarmBoy]

Another view of the WSU run game from the Seattle Times:

Subtract [sack related] lost yardage from WSU's rushing totals — as well as Tuel and Halliday's overall rushing totals — and the Cougars' running backs are averaging a shade more than 4 yards a carry. Not outstanding, but not nearly as dire as the rankings suggest.

Those 24 sacks are skewing value of the run game pretty significantly. They're by no means strong in the run game, but not as weak when an actual RB gets the ball than you'd think based on the numbers.

http://seattletimes.com/html/cougarfootb...all26.html