09-29-2016, 11:45 PM
Continued... (I exceeded the Board's character limit, apparently.)
4) How would you rate the special teams and the Cardinal kicking game? Any
good return men? Yep, we made you wait this long to gush about #5.
It's interesting to see how teams approach Christian McCaffrey as a kick returner. So far they've been avoiding him, but there's a price to be paid for that. Punters are good enough nowadays to angle the ball towards the sideline and limit any punt returner, but the only to limit McCaffrey on kickoffs is to kick it short. As a result, the Stanford offense is typically starting at the 35-yard line. Even with all of McCaffrey's success last season, I can't imagine their average drive starting spot was that high. Over the course of the season, this is a good thing for the Cardinal, but I think opposing coaches realize that if they can get through a game without watching him take one to the house, it's a good thing for them. I look forward to seeing how the Washington coaches choose to handle things on Friday night.
As for the rest of the special teams, kicker Conrad Ukropina and punter Jake Bailey have been brobdingnagian strengths. Ukropina has made some big kicks in his time, most notably a game-winning 45-yarder last season at the buzzer to beat Notre Dame, but his strength is his consistency. I've been watching Stanford football for almost thirty years now, and I can't remember being more confident in any other kicker. He only missed two field goals last season, and even though one of them was important (a 43-yarder in Stanford's two-point loss to Oregon), he's about as good as it gets at the college level. You can say the same thing for Jake Bailey. He's averaging 45.3 yards per punt, which is only fifth-best in the Pac-12, but he makes up for that with his accuracy. In the last two games he's placed three balls inside the two yard line. All in all, Stanford's special teams play is a clear strength.
5) DBs Alijah Holder and Quenton Meeks both went down with injuries in the
UCLA game. What is their status for the game? Any other injury concerns for
Stanford?
Coaches don't like to talk about injuries, but David Shaw takes this to an extreme. We never here anything, so my guess is as good as yours. We know that wide receiver Francis Owusu is definitely out after suffering a concussion against UCLA, but all we have about Meeks and Holder, the two starting cornerbacks, is that they might play, or they might not. This is a big loss, but not nearly as big as it would've been a few years ago. Never before has Stanford been as deep at this position. Meeks and Holder went out early last week, forcing backups Alameen Murphy and Terrance Alexander to come in against Josh Rosen and the UCLA passing attack. They more than held their own, as UCLA's only touchdown came before the injuries.
6) With both teams ranked in the top 10 and Washington playing in front of
a fired up capacity crowd, what are the Tree faithfulls expectations for
Friday night? Any change in the difficulty of this game from Stanfords
perspective after UWs struggles with Arizona a week ago?
6. I think there's a general feeling that Washington hasn't really done anything impressive yet. Of course, that doesn't mean that they aren't deserving of all their accolades, and they could still be the best team in the North, but it's still early. If I were to guess, I'd say the Huskies' struggles with Arizona could've had something to do with this game. This is probably the team's biggest game in years, so I'd understand if they were looking past the Wildcats.
7) What is your prediction for this game?
7. It's hard for me to pick against the Cardinal, and I'm not going to start now. The defensive has just been so impressive. Kansas State might be a middle of the pack Big 12 team and USC might be spiraling, but both of those teams are talented, and UCLA has one of the top quarterbacks in the conference. None of those teams managed more than a touchdown against the Stanford defense, and I think Washington will struggle as well. On offense, I think we'll see a bit more of the playbook on Friday night. There was talk about how much that game-winning drive might do for Burns's confidence, but what could be more important is that it might've done a lot for the coaches' confidence in Burns. This is a kid who can make all the throws, and with the Husky defense geared towards stopping McCaffrey (how could it not be?), Burns will have some opportunities. I'm going to take Stanford with a 24-13 win.
4) How would you rate the special teams and the Cardinal kicking game? Any
good return men? Yep, we made you wait this long to gush about #5.
It's interesting to see how teams approach Christian McCaffrey as a kick returner. So far they've been avoiding him, but there's a price to be paid for that. Punters are good enough nowadays to angle the ball towards the sideline and limit any punt returner, but the only to limit McCaffrey on kickoffs is to kick it short. As a result, the Stanford offense is typically starting at the 35-yard line. Even with all of McCaffrey's success last season, I can't imagine their average drive starting spot was that high. Over the course of the season, this is a good thing for the Cardinal, but I think opposing coaches realize that if they can get through a game without watching him take one to the house, it's a good thing for them. I look forward to seeing how the Washington coaches choose to handle things on Friday night.
As for the rest of the special teams, kicker Conrad Ukropina and punter Jake Bailey have been brobdingnagian strengths. Ukropina has made some big kicks in his time, most notably a game-winning 45-yarder last season at the buzzer to beat Notre Dame, but his strength is his consistency. I've been watching Stanford football for almost thirty years now, and I can't remember being more confident in any other kicker. He only missed two field goals last season, and even though one of them was important (a 43-yarder in Stanford's two-point loss to Oregon), he's about as good as it gets at the college level. You can say the same thing for Jake Bailey. He's averaging 45.3 yards per punt, which is only fifth-best in the Pac-12, but he makes up for that with his accuracy. In the last two games he's placed three balls inside the two yard line. All in all, Stanford's special teams play is a clear strength.
5) DBs Alijah Holder and Quenton Meeks both went down with injuries in the
UCLA game. What is their status for the game? Any other injury concerns for
Stanford?
Coaches don't like to talk about injuries, but David Shaw takes this to an extreme. We never here anything, so my guess is as good as yours. We know that wide receiver Francis Owusu is definitely out after suffering a concussion against UCLA, but all we have about Meeks and Holder, the two starting cornerbacks, is that they might play, or they might not. This is a big loss, but not nearly as big as it would've been a few years ago. Never before has Stanford been as deep at this position. Meeks and Holder went out early last week, forcing backups Alameen Murphy and Terrance Alexander to come in against Josh Rosen and the UCLA passing attack. They more than held their own, as UCLA's only touchdown came before the injuries.
6) With both teams ranked in the top 10 and Washington playing in front of
a fired up capacity crowd, what are the Tree faithfulls expectations for
Friday night? Any change in the difficulty of this game from Stanfords
perspective after UWs struggles with Arizona a week ago?
6. I think there's a general feeling that Washington hasn't really done anything impressive yet. Of course, that doesn't mean that they aren't deserving of all their accolades, and they could still be the best team in the North, but it's still early. If I were to guess, I'd say the Huskies' struggles with Arizona could've had something to do with this game. This is probably the team's biggest game in years, so I'd understand if they were looking past the Wildcats.
7) What is your prediction for this game?
7. It's hard for me to pick against the Cardinal, and I'm not going to start now. The defensive has just been so impressive. Kansas State might be a middle of the pack Big 12 team and USC might be spiraling, but both of those teams are talented, and UCLA has one of the top quarterbacks in the conference. None of those teams managed more than a touchdown against the Stanford defense, and I think Washington will struggle as well. On offense, I think we'll see a bit more of the playbook on Friday night. There was talk about how much that game-winning drive might do for Burns's confidence, but what could be more important is that it might've done a lot for the coaches' confidence in Burns. This is a kid who can make all the throws, and with the Husky defense geared towards stopping McCaffrey (how could it not be?), Burns will have some opportunities. I'm going to take Stanford with a 24-13 win.
Please clear the field! The game is not over!