[washingtonismoney]

[quote author=Goose link=topic=17715.msg206857#msg206857 date=1508199698]Yes, it matters. It doesn't matter to the NY6 bowl choices. You don't get style points unless you are Alabama (or maybe ND). However, that isn't the only reason Stanford plays football. I would much prefer, and I think the team would much prefer, to beat UW when they are more or less at full strength. I would prefer that at least partially to spare me the comments (both on this board and elsewhere) about the 2016 game, where people say something like "Well, if our corners weren't hurt, and CMac was full strength, things may (or would have been) different." We will never know. We will not know because those players were injured. I wish they hadn't been. Maybe lots of things would have been different (who knows), but for sure there wouldn't be speculation that the result was somehow devalued by injuries. We ourselves often seem to put an asterisk on that ass-kicking. The words are "Next man up" are followed by "but ...". I would prefer that UW fans could not do the same. A pure" victory that cant be denied or explained away is much more satisfying.

Why do you care what UW fans think? Every team has what-ifs about every season. I get wishing that injuries didn't happen because it sucks for young men to get hurt, but thinking that the other team dealing with injuries taints a victory is ridiculous.
[/quote]

Literally every loss in the existence of ever has been blamed on some exogenous factor by fans. Oregon fans never gave Stanford credit for 2012 and 2013 -- and then celebrated like hell when they finally got the win in 2014. It doesn't matter.

[washingtonismoney]

[quote author=Goose link=topic=17715.msg206857#msg206857 date=1508199698]Yes, it matters. It doesn't matter to the NY6 bowl choices. You don't get style points unless you are Alabama (or maybe ND). However, that isn't the only reason Stanford plays football. I would much prefer, and I think the team would much prefer, to beat UW when they are more or less at full strength. I would prefer that at least partially to spare me the comments (both on this board and elsewhere) about the 2016 game, where people say something like "Well, if our corners weren't hurt, and CMac was full strength, things may (or would have been) different." We will never know. We will not know because those players were injured. I wish they hadn't been. Maybe lots of things would have been different (who knows), but for sure there wouldn't be speculation that the result was somehow devalued by injuries. We ourselves often seem to put an asterisk on that ass-kicking. The words are "Next man up" are followed by "but ...". I would prefer that UW fans could not do the same. A pure" victory that cant be denied or explained away is much more satisfying.

Why do you care what UW fans think? Every team has what-ifs about every season. I get wishing that injuries didn't happen because it sucks for young men to get hurt, but thinking that the other team dealing with injuries taints a victory is ridiculous.
[/quote]

Literally every loss in the existence of ever has been blamed on some exogenous factor by fans. Oregon fans never gave Stanford credit for 2012 and 2013 -- and then celebrated like hell when they finally got the win in 2014. It doesn't matter.