Final: Stanford 38, Notre Dame 36

Final: Stanford 38, Notre Dame 36 - Printable Version

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Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - BostonCard - 11-29-2015

(11-28-2015, 11:34 PM)Embo link Wrote:Just got home.Â I guess those of you watching on TV saw many things I didn't, like Conrad Ukropina being carried on his teammate's shoulders.Â But being there could not be beaten.

I sit on the shady side, upper bowl, around the 32 yard line.Â The two seats behind me have not been occupied this year, at least I've never seen anyone there.Â But today, there were two young N.D. fans - either students, or very recent grads.Â I won't say the word obnoxious, but let's just say they intended to make their presence known all game long.Â And of course, they were quite loud with 30 seconds to go.Â When the kick sailed through the uprights, I jumped up, my Stanford hat flying off, and when I turned around to get it, both N.D. fans were already out of their seats and just about to enter the aisle.Â Could not have been a better punctuation mark to this victory - seeing them enjoy their bile tonight.

Oh, one other thing.Â Going down to the field, I saw Mr. Ukropina (wearing a #34 jersey) in section 112.Â I shook his hand, and you bet I was not the first or last.Â I don't think he's going to sleep much tonight either.Â Â :)

Agree, it was a phenomenal experience!Â I was right behind the net when the field goal went through, which is close to the visitor's section.Â It got really loud after Notre Dame scored.Â And it was even louder after the field goal went through. I definitely thought of all those Notre Dame fans screaming and yelling when they scored the go-ahead TD when Ukropona nailed it.Â That was awesome.

BC

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - socalstanfan1 - 11-29-2015

Remember how, at the beginning of the season, many of us were thinking the kicking game might be a real weakness, and might even cost us a few games.

Sometimes, I am sooooo happy to be wrong.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - amartinsu13 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 01:32 AM)socalstanfan1 link Wrote:Remember how, at the beginning of the season, many of us were thinking the kicking game might be a real weakness, and might even cost us a few games.

Sometimes, I am sooooo happy to be wrong.

I posted the same thing in another thread!Â I'm more than happy to eat my words on that one.Â

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - stupac2 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 01:32 AM)socalstanfan1 link Wrote:Remember how, at the beginning of the season, many of us were thinking the kicking game might be a real weakness, and might even cost us a few games.

Sometimes, I am sooooo happy to be wrong.

To be fair though, it did cost us a game...

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - stupac2 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 09:56 AM)garvin link Wrote:I think blaming the Oregon loss on a missed third-quarter field goal of more than 40 yards is way over the top. There were plenty of culprits in that game, and Ukropina was not one of them. We had plenty of time to erase that miss and we didn't get it done.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - washingtonismoney - 11-29-2015

One random grace note: the amount of attention Bryce Love attracts from the defense is incredible. Defensive players immediately point him out with wild gesticulations. On multiple plays Love lined up in the slot -- ND's preferred defensive alignment was to park a LB on the line of scrimmage and then stack a safety behind him. They tried running Love on a route once; poor Love just got mauled by the LB at the line and never got a release.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - BostonCard - 11-29-2015

Speaking of Love, we had the McCaffrey/Love combination in the backfield at least twice, including the trick play (double lateral) that went for a couple yards.Â I didn't get the sense that they were particularly effective, but they might have gotten Notre Dame to loosen up the middle a touch.

BC

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - amartinsu13 - 11-29-2015

I think having Love in forced Notre Dame to call timeouts several times in the game.Â

That alone makes it worth it.

Although I'd wish that after we force a team to call a timeout because of a formation/look, that we call a different play after the timeout and not run the same play... lol.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - winflop - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 09:56 AM)garvin link Wrote:I think blaming the Oregon loss on a missed third-quarter field goal of more than 40 yards is way over the top. There were plenty of culprits in that game, and Ukropina was not one of them. We had plenty of time to erase that miss and we didn't get it done.

Agree 100%.Â There were a slew of execution issues especially in the second half, any one of which would have made the difference between winning & losing.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - BostonCard - 11-29-2015

Here's Hank's recap (he seems to be too modest to post links):

http://www.gomightycard.com/2015/11/stanford-38-notre-dame-36.html

Quote:Have you recovered yet? Have you allowed yourself to accept that what you saw actually happened? In one of the best games you'll ever see between two of the best teams in America, the Stanford Cardinal and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish battled all night long and into the final seconds of the game to produce an instant classic. Earlier this week I wrote that this rivalry seemed a bit manufactured, but today I can't imagine ever thinking that.

Thanks Hank, great write-up, as usual.Â As for the rivalry, I think it's a bit asymmetric.Â I think we dislike Notre Dame more than they dislike us (though I at least don't resent Notre Dame fans for not hating on Stanford the way Cal fans seem to resent us for not caring enough about them).Â I think there's a fair amount of respect between the teams themselves, which is good.Â As someone else noted, the two teams were pretty sporting during the game.

I have certainly enjoyed the back and forth the last few years.Â It definitely feels better to be on the winning side, though.

BC

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - stupac2 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 03:44 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:Thanks Hank, great write-up, as usual.Â As for the rivalry, I think it's a bit asymmetric.Â I think we dislike the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends more than they dislike us (though I at least don't resent the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends fans for not hating on Stanford the way Low APR U fans seem to resent us for not caring enough about them).Â I think there's a fair amount of respect between the teams themselves, which is good.Â As someone else noted, the two teams were pretty sporting during the game.

I have certainly enjoyed the back and forth the last few years.Â It definitely feels better to be on the winning side, though.

How many of these players were also recruited by the opposite coach? We seem to have a ton of overlap with ND, more so than many other Pac-12 schools even, so that could help. Not that our guys tend to get chippy in conference anyway.

Also, that's 5 in a row that the home team has won? Pretty crazy series, hope we can steal one next year.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - BostonCard - 11-29-2015

Also 4 in a row that Stanford has won at home.

I'm not feeling great about our trip to South Bend next year.

BC

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - BostonCard - 11-29-2015

https://twitter.com/RobLowe/status/670814977091989504

That must be the Rob Lowe with DirectTV.Â The one with cable is a Notre Dame fan.

BC

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - stupac2 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 03:54 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:Also 4 in a row that Stanford has won at home.

I'm not feeling great about our trip to South Bend next year.

I mean, is there a game you do feel good about next year outside of OSU and Rice? There are so many question marks, I don't think we can take anything for granted.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - Rally - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 04:41 PM)stupac2 link Wrote:[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=13796.msg144616#msg144616 date=1448837668]Also 4 in a row that Stanford has won at home.

I'm not feeling great about our trip to South Bend next year.

I mean, is there a game you do feel good about next year outside of OSU and Rice? There are so many question marks, I don't think we can take anything for granted.
[/quote]

Agree.Â But then I felt the same way after Northwestern (who knew they were any good?). Yes, another year when Stanford reverts to the norm, drops, settles into the bottom half, where they belong.Â Watch.Â Next year's pre-season Pac12 Media Poll will have USC and Oregon on top, Stanford about 6.Â If every "senior" leaves it is 33 players.Â 33.Â No team can survive that.Â Certainly not one with a mediocre coach, an old-fashioned scheme, and no fan support.Â I try never to expect anything from my team but appreciate everything that comes.Â At least we won't have to suffer thru Hogan's terrible mechanics and staring down receivers anymore.Â

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - socalstanfan1 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 10:02 AM)stupac2 link Wrote:[quote author=garvin link=topic=13796.msg144533#msg144533 date=1448816169]
I think blaming the Oregon loss on a missed third-quarter field goal of more than 40 yards is way over the top. There were plenty of culprits in that game, and Ukropina was not one of them. We had plenty of time to erase that miss and we didn't get it done.

Right, any of probably 4-5 different plays goes our way and we win. That FG is one of them. I don't blame Ukropina for missing it or anything and clearly we had other chances to win, but you can't say that our kicking game as been aces this year. It's been a pleasant surprise for the most part, but it hasn't been a real strength. We're really missing Williamson on kickoffs, even if Ukropina is mostly duplicating his quality on FGs.
[/quote]

FGs

Williamson, 2014: 15/22 (69%) 20-29 yards, 4/6 30-39 yards 7/10 40-49 yards, 3/5, 50+ 1/1

Ukropina, 2015: 15/17 (88%)Â 20-29, 3/4, 30-39 5/5, 40-49 yards, 5/6, 50+ 1/1

I would say Mr. Ukropina is doing more than mostly duplicating the quality of Williamson.Â

Regarding next season, I'm actually somewhat hopeful.Â Obviously, we have to replace Hogan, which will be an enormous issue.Â And the DL may continue to be an issue depending on how much the redshirt freshmen are able to contribute.Â And we will need to replace our two best OL.

But on the positive side, we may very well have the most dangerous RB tandem in the nation, I feel pretty good about the replacements for the OL (Tucker continuing to develop, Fanaika and Bright likely replacements for Murphy and Garnett), the DBs should be awesome after a year of seasoning, and with more highly rated reinforcements either redshirting or on the way, and our depth at LB seems solid.Â TEs should be in place as a security blanket for the next QB.Â I'm enjoying the ride for the rest of this season, but already looking forward to seeing how everything unfolds next year.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - winflop - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 04:01 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:https://twitter.com/RobLowe/status/670814977091989504

That must be the Rob Lowe with DirectTV.Â The one with cable is a the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends fan.

BC

But the one with cable gets to watch Pac-12 Networks.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - washingtonismoney - 11-29-2015

Next year should be interesting. The big strength of the offense is the variety and depth of the offensive skill talent. Let's be optimistic and assume Rector returns. That means the team should have three semi-proven threats at WR (Rector, Irwin, Owusu), three semi-proven threats at RB (McCaffrey, Love, Sanders), four semi-proven threats at TE (Hooper, Schultz, Taboada, Cotton).

Now all you need is a couple solid OL and a QB! Should be a cinch.

Defensively... well...

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - winflop - 11-29-2015

Pretty shameful that Ukropina is not a finalist for the Lou Groza award.Â Comparing the three finalists and the Mad Russion:

<20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Overall % <40 40+
Carlson (AUB) 0/0 7/9 6/6 4/5 4/4 22/26 85% 14/17 8/9
Elliott (MEM) 0/0 6/6 7/10 8/9 1/1 22/26 85% 13/16 9/10
Fairbairn (UCLA) 0/0 7/7 9/9 2/4 2/3 20/23 87% 16/16 4/7

Ukropina (STAN) 1/1 3/4 5/5 5/6 1/1 15/17 88% 9/10 6/7

I'd certainly take him over Fairbairn. 4/7 from beyond 40 is not impressive.

Re: Final: Stanford 38, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends 36 - stupac2 - 11-29-2015

(11-29-2015, 05:24 PM)washingtonismoney link Wrote:Defensively... well...

That's the worry. We're essentially treading water on the DL and there's not a ton of reason to be optimistic about the LBs (Tyler looks good, but does he make up for Martinez?). DBs should improve, but we've seen what happens when you have no pass rush. Taking a step back on both sides of the ball seems entirely possible. But with a few surprises on the upside, we could have a good season. A few surprises on the downside, though, and a bowl game starts looking dicey...

But there's lots of time to talk about that in the offseason.

Also, winflop, does that factor in kickoffs? Because those matter and Ukropina has not been good at them.