[OutsiderFan]

It's hard for me to stomach watching ND play.  They are Stanford's #1 recruiting rival; any player who can get into Stanford can  go to ND, but not every player who goes to ND can get into Stanford.  Not to mention the fact Stanford should have beat ND the last two games in South Bend.  Those losses were brutal.

That said, I thought ND was the #1 team until the Clemson loss.  But it's really hard to judge how good Clemson is considering they have played what, 7 teams who have won less than 4 games and are FCS?  It's kind of a joke that they are ranked #1 given they have really only had two games against teams with a pulse and so many cupcakes. Conversely, Stanford has played 7 teams with 6+ wins. No wonder Stanford has 2 losses and Clemson none...

Still, Stanford by all rights should be 10-1 and this should be #3 vs. #5 this weekend.  But two fumbled snaps in the 4th quarter against a very good Oregon team were too much to overcome.  Stanford too missed a 2pt conversion that would have sent a big game to OT like ND did at Clemson. 

As for the match-up, Stanford will probably be the most physical team ND plays this year, though BC is probably a close second and a pretty good tune-up.  Against Ca.l, Stanford was good enough to win with a vanilla game plan and no risk taking.  That won't be the case this weekend.  To me, Hogan determines the outcome.  If he plays well, Stanford wins.  If not, they lose.  Stanford's defense will give up some yards but not that many points.  Stanford's best CB, Senior Ronnie Harris was out against Ca.l and hopes to return this week.  One would think he is needed in this game because he's probably the only Stanford CB who can effectively cover Fuller consistently.  Stanford has more offensive weapons this year than any time in recent memory, but CMac is clearly the focus of the offense. 

This game should be for a playoff berth, IMO.  If ND wins, they should be in.  If Stanford wins, and next week, they should be in. Would you agree?

[OutsiderFan]

It's hard for me to stomach watching ND play.  They are Stanford's #1 recruiting rival; any player who can get into Stanford can  go to ND, but not every player who goes to ND can get into Stanford.  Not to mention the fact Stanford should have beat ND the last two games in South Bend.  Those losses were brutal.

That said, I thought ND was the #1 team until the Clemson loss.  But it's really hard to judge how good Clemson is considering they have played what, 7 teams who have won less than 4 games and are FCS?  It's kind of a joke that they are ranked #1 given they have really only had two games against teams with a pulse and so many cupcakes. Conversely, Stanford has played 7 teams with 6+ wins. No wonder Stanford has 2 losses and Clemson none...

Still, Stanford by all rights should be 10-1 and this should be #3 vs. #5 this weekend.  But two fumbled snaps in the 4th quarter against a very good Oregon team were too much to overcome.  Stanford too missed a 2pt conversion that would have sent a big game to OT like ND did at Clemson. 

As for the match-up, Stanford will probably be the most physical team ND plays this year, though BC is probably a close second and a pretty good tune-up.  Against Ca.l, Stanford was good enough to win with a vanilla game plan and no risk taking.  That won't be the case this weekend.  To me, Hogan determines the outcome.  If he plays well, Stanford wins.  If not, they lose.  Stanford's defense will give up some yards but not that many points.  Stanford's best CB, Senior Ronnie Harris was out against Ca.l and hopes to return this week.  One would think he is needed in this game because he's probably the only Stanford CB who can effectively cover Fuller consistently.  Stanford has more offensive weapons this year than any time in recent memory, but CMac is clearly the focus of the offense. 

This game should be for a playoff berth, IMO.  If ND wins, they should be in.  If Stanford wins, and next week, they should be in. Would you agree?