[AlbanyCardinal]

[quote author=ChicagoVisitor link=topic=13928.msg147064#msg147064 date=1449695109]
The folks in the open football forum at http://iowa.forums.rivals.com/ found the comments in this thread about the Stanford players who purportedly were keyed up about the prospect of playing Ohio St. Means nothing of course, just sayin'.

The folks in that forum seem awfully confident--far more confident than I think is reasonable given how explosive our offense is.  One commenter even said that Stanford's offense would be the second-best they faced this year, behind Indiana.  I'm sorry, but that's bonkers.  Iowa hasn't played an offense as explosive as ours all year.  In fairness, Iowa might have the best run defense we've faced all year, but Stanford gained 478 yards and scored 31 points against Washington, who is the #1 defense in the country according to Football Outsider's FEI rankings.  (And ND, SC, and UCLA weren't exactly slouches either.)  Also important to consider is that we run differently than Michigan State does.  Much is made of our short-yardage personnel groupings, but that's hardly all we do.  Indeed, for most of our rushing yards, we're not running into the teeth of the defense--we're using an extra OL on a LB and running off-tackle or doing something else to get McCaffrey in space. 
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I'll agree, but I'd also note that most Stanford fans I read on this board and on the Bootleg seem even more confident. I like this Stanford team as much as anybody, I'm pretty sure, but our record agst. the Big-10 in the last few years sucks. Not just the two losses to MSU and NW, respectively, but also our performance agst. a pretty mediocre Wisconsin in the '13 Rose Bowl. Something about those corn-fed Midwestern teams that are used to defending the run and dealing with a good offensive line and fullback/blocking tight ends. I recognize that this offense is now more versatile and explosive than any that appeared in the three games I mentioned, but I do not expect a blowout, either way, and will delight in any kind of Stanford win.

[AlbanyCardinal]

[quote author=ChicagoVisitor link=topic=13928.msg147064#msg147064 date=1449695109]
The folks in the open football forum at http://iowa.forums.rivals.com/ found the comments in this thread about the Stanford players who purportedly were keyed up about the prospect of playing Ohio St. Means nothing of course, just sayin'.

The folks in that forum seem awfully confident--far more confident than I think is reasonable given how explosive our offense is.  One commenter even said that Stanford's offense would be the second-best they faced this year, behind Indiana.  I'm sorry, but that's bonkers.  Iowa hasn't played an offense as explosive as ours all year.  In fairness, Iowa might have the best run defense we've faced all year, but Stanford gained 478 yards and scored 31 points against Washington, who is the #1 defense in the country according to Football Outsider's FEI rankings.  (And ND, SC, and UCLA weren't exactly slouches either.)  Also important to consider is that we run differently than Michigan State does.  Much is made of our short-yardage personnel groupings, but that's hardly all we do.  Indeed, for most of our rushing yards, we're not running into the teeth of the defense--we're using an extra OL on a LB and running off-tackle or doing something else to get McCaffrey in space. 
[/quote]

I'll agree, but I'd also note that most Stanford fans I read on this board and on the Bootleg seem even more confident. I like this Stanford team as much as anybody, I'm pretty sure, but our record agst. the Big-10 in the last few years sucks. Not just the two losses to MSU and NW, respectively, but also our performance agst. a pretty mediocre Wisconsin in the '13 Rose Bowl. Something about those corn-fed Midwestern teams that are used to defending the run and dealing with a good offensive line and fullback/blocking tight ends. I recognize that this offense is now more versatile and explosive than any that appeared in the three games I mentioned, but I do not expect a blowout, either way, and will delight in any kind of Stanford win.