[stupac2]

I think given the amount of time to prepare for a bowl game, using season stats might be less meaningful for bowl games that for other games.  A lot of stuff completely unrelated to quality comes into play, particularly motivation.  An Iowa team that hasn't been to the Rose Bowl in 25 years is going to be jacked up in a way that a Stanford team that's going there for the third time in four will not.  I hope that our coaches get the team physically and mentally prepared.

Right, bowl games are different beasts and teams can certainly come out flat and get rolled because they've had enthusiasm problems. But that's not something that's happened to Stanford. If any bowl should've been a let-down game it was the chickenbowl last year, and we played great all game. We played a fantastic game against ND when there was nothing but pride on the line, and we showed no signs of being overconfident against a USC team that we had already beaten earlier in the year.

In fact, I can't think of a single game where I'd pin motivation as the reason we lost (or played it close). Can anyone? I just don't know why people are acting like we're USC or UCLA, who actually have a history of doing this.

Our defense has spent all year preparing to counter spread offenses.  Our thin defensive line might have trouble with a pro-style team that is similar to Stanford.  Conversely, our offense has thrived by going up against teams that are poorly prepared for a pro-style offense.  Could Iowa be more prepared to handle us than your average Pac-12 team?

I think we should be ok in the game, and a 5ish point favorite sounds about right.  And/but, I could easily see us struggling in a way we haven't in a while.

We literally just played a pro-style team and did fine. Plus the extended time off means we get Harris and Holder back to 100%, and who knows what other players will come into form who aren't there now. The same is probably true of Iowa (IIRC they have some key dinged up players), so this will be neutralized somewhat, but it's definitely true that our shakiest defensive performances were with Harris out and he'll definitely be back.

As for Iowa's defense, sure they play pro-style teams, but they're also much worse than Northwestern, and our offense has gotten a lot better since that game. Maybe they have some advantage at stopping power runs up the middle, but that's hardly all we can do. McCaffrey will be the most dynamic player they've faced this year, and Hogan will be the best QB. We should be able to put up points.

[stupac2]

I think given the amount of time to prepare for a bowl game, using season stats might be less meaningful for bowl games that for other games.  A lot of stuff completely unrelated to quality comes into play, particularly motivation.  An Iowa team that hasn't been to the Rose Bowl in 25 years is going to be jacked up in a way that a Stanford team that's going there for the third time in four will not.  I hope that our coaches get the team physically and mentally prepared.

Right, bowl games are different beasts and teams can certainly come out flat and get rolled because they've had enthusiasm problems. But that's not something that's happened to Stanford. If any bowl should've been a let-down game it was the chickenbowl last year, and we played great all game. We played a fantastic game against ND when there was nothing but pride on the line, and we showed no signs of being overconfident against a USC team that we had already beaten earlier in the year.

In fact, I can't think of a single game where I'd pin motivation as the reason we lost (or played it close). Can anyone? I just don't know why people are acting like we're USC or UCLA, who actually have a history of doing this.

Our defense has spent all year preparing to counter spread offenses.  Our thin defensive line might have trouble with a pro-style team that is similar to Stanford.  Conversely, our offense has thrived by going up against teams that are poorly prepared for a pro-style offense.  Could Iowa be more prepared to handle us than your average Pac-12 team?

I think we should be ok in the game, and a 5ish point favorite sounds about right.  And/but, I could easily see us struggling in a way we haven't in a while.

We literally just played a pro-style team and did fine. Plus the extended time off means we get Harris and Holder back to 100%, and who knows what other players will come into form who aren't there now. The same is probably true of Iowa (IIRC they have some key dinged up players), so this will be neutralized somewhat, but it's definitely true that our shakiest defensive performances were with Harris out and he'll definitely be back.

As for Iowa's defense, sure they play pro-style teams, but they're also much worse than Northwestern, and our offense has gotten a lot better since that game. Maybe they have some advantage at stopping power runs up the middle, but that's hardly all we can do. McCaffrey will be the most dynamic player they've faced this year, and Hogan will be the best QB. We should be able to put up points.