02-08-2017, 06:21 PM
Here's some new data - we've seen this before but it's all been updated through 2017 now.
5-Year Recruiting Rankings (we are 16th): http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...iple-years
Wins in the Shaw era - 2011-present (we are 5th): https://www.teamrankings.com/ncf/trends/...since_2011
We now have a significant sample size of 81 games under Coach Shaw, and the results have been unequivocally, overwhelmingly positive. The teams ahead of us in wins are easy to guess - 'Bama, Clemson, FSU and Ohio State. All of these teams are icons of CFB with less stringent academic standards, and every one of them outranks us in recruiting, too. I know recruiting rankings aren't a perfect science, but the gaps aren't close, with the possible exception of Clemson. Just look at how many 4* and 5* recruits committed to 'Bama's 2017 class - 24!Â
Put differently, there's isn't a single team in CFB with lower-ranked talent and a better record than Stanford. Not one. That makes us an outlier, in the best possible way. And we're also an outlier with respect to the mediocre history of our own program, which only further proves the point. I don't have specific offensive stats handy to share, but taken on the whole, I know that we've performed reasonably well and we've been near the very top of CFB in some seasons (e.g., 2011, 2015).Â
Meanwhile, I've seen some nit-pickers on this board and amongst my friends that bemoan Coach Shaw's (or "Shawgren's") play-calling... overly conservative, too rigid when Power isn't working, no ability to pick up the pace when behind, too complex for new QBs, etc. We've heard it all before, and frankly, I've been there, too, in some of our darker offensive moments.
But I do NOT believe that it's possible to be such a positive outlier in performance while also being crappy at play-calling. You simply can't chalk up all of our success to some combination of recruiting, defense and player development, without good play-calling, too. Â
I say to the "Shaw-gren" epithet-slingers, including myself at certain times, Enough Already! You can't have it both ways! You can't enjoy our consistently over-performing, top-5 CFB team while also throwing any kind of shade at our coaches. The overall stats and results don't back you up, either. Debate a call, sure, but drop the epithets! Save those for the 59ers, UDFG, and Spoiled Children! Be thankful and remember that Stanford Football has never had it this good! Not even close!
5-Year Recruiting Rankings (we are 16th): http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...iple-years
Wins in the Shaw era - 2011-present (we are 5th): https://www.teamrankings.com/ncf/trends/...since_2011
We now have a significant sample size of 81 games under Coach Shaw, and the results have been unequivocally, overwhelmingly positive. The teams ahead of us in wins are easy to guess - 'Bama, Clemson, FSU and Ohio State. All of these teams are icons of CFB with less stringent academic standards, and every one of them outranks us in recruiting, too. I know recruiting rankings aren't a perfect science, but the gaps aren't close, with the possible exception of Clemson. Just look at how many 4* and 5* recruits committed to 'Bama's 2017 class - 24!Â
Put differently, there's isn't a single team in CFB with lower-ranked talent and a better record than Stanford. Not one. That makes us an outlier, in the best possible way. And we're also an outlier with respect to the mediocre history of our own program, which only further proves the point. I don't have specific offensive stats handy to share, but taken on the whole, I know that we've performed reasonably well and we've been near the very top of CFB in some seasons (e.g., 2011, 2015).Â
Meanwhile, I've seen some nit-pickers on this board and amongst my friends that bemoan Coach Shaw's (or "Shawgren's") play-calling... overly conservative, too rigid when Power isn't working, no ability to pick up the pace when behind, too complex for new QBs, etc. We've heard it all before, and frankly, I've been there, too, in some of our darker offensive moments.
But I do NOT believe that it's possible to be such a positive outlier in performance while also being crappy at play-calling. You simply can't chalk up all of our success to some combination of recruiting, defense and player development, without good play-calling, too. Â
I say to the "Shaw-gren" epithet-slingers, including myself at certain times, Enough Already! You can't have it both ways! You can't enjoy our consistently over-performing, top-5 CFB team while also throwing any kind of shade at our coaches. The overall stats and results don't back you up, either. Debate a call, sure, but drop the epithets! Save those for the 59ers, UDFG, and Spoiled Children! Be thankful and remember that Stanford Football has never had it this good! Not even close!