[CTcard]

OSU gives up 200 yards per game on the ground, which is a worse rushing defense than Stanford’s (195 yards).  And, unlike Stanford they don’t make up for it in pass defense (280 ypg, 8.5 ypa, and an opposing PER of 166).

We should not overlook the Bevera, of course, but they give no reason to believe that they are not the weakest PAC-12 team.

BC

PS, this year’s Colorado team is not last year’s team.  They are 1-3 in conference, where their only conference win was Oregon State.  So I don’t think that the fact that OSU played them close is a sign that OSU is good.

So, in reverse order ...

No, playing Colorado tough is not a sign that OSU is good. The signs are overwhelmingly that OSU is bad.
BUT, it was also by far the best OSU performance of the year, which just might indicate they have become slightly less awful without Andersen.

Technically, you should know better than mixing stats like that: a total yards stat to show the run defense is bad and a rate stat for the pass defense.
Among other things, it hides the relative strengths and weaknesses of the beavs.
The beavs are defending the run game at a rate of 4.83 yds/carry. That's 8th in the Pac 12 and better than Stanford 5.03. Their pass defense, as you noted, is last in the Pac 12 at PER=166 and yds/att = 8.5, neither of which are really even in contact with 11th.


So, the issue is that OSU's relative strength on offense (running Nall) lines up with our weakness on defense. OSU's relative strength on defense lines up with our strength on offense. That could be a recipe for a tougher game than one might expect from overall team quality.

Or the opposite depending on how teams play. It could mean that our run game is good enough to still work just fine but their pass defense is so bad it will ease our efforts to be balanced. And if their offense can't move  against our weakness, it won't against our strength either.

Now, this latter situation is what ought to happen - overall Stanford is a lot better than OSU. And I'd have to say even a far poorer relative performance by Stanford ought to still end up in a Stanford win that is merely tougher than expected. But there's no reason to avoid discussing the matchup.

[CTcard]

OSU gives up 200 yards per game on the ground, which is a worse rushing defense than Stanford’s (195 yards).  And, unlike Stanford they don’t make up for it in pass defense (280 ypg, 8.5 ypa, and an opposing PER of 166).

We should not overlook the Bevera, of course, but they give no reason to believe that they are not the weakest PAC-12 team.

BC

PS, this year’s Colorado team is not last year’s team.  They are 1-3 in conference, where their only conference win was Oregon State.  So I don’t think that the fact that OSU played them close is a sign that OSU is good.

So, in reverse order ...

No, playing Colorado tough is not a sign that OSU is good. The signs are overwhelmingly that OSU is bad.
BUT, it was also by far the best OSU performance of the year, which just might indicate they have become slightly less awful without Andersen.

Technically, you should know better than mixing stats like that: a total yards stat to show the run defense is bad and a rate stat for the pass defense.
Among other things, it hides the relative strengths and weaknesses of the beavs.
The beavs are defending the run game at a rate of 4.83 yds/carry. That's 8th in the Pac 12 and better than Stanford 5.03. Their pass defense, as you noted, is last in the Pac 12 at PER=166 and yds/att = 8.5, neither of which are really even in contact with 11th.


So, the issue is that OSU's relative strength on offense (running Nall) lines up with our weakness on defense. OSU's relative strength on defense lines up with our strength on offense. That could be a recipe for a tougher game than one might expect from overall team quality.

Or the opposite depending on how teams play. It could mean that our run game is good enough to still work just fine but their pass defense is so bad it will ease our efforts to be balanced. And if their offense can't move  against our weakness, it won't against our strength either.

Now, this latter situation is what ought to happen - overall Stanford is a lot better than OSU. And I'd have to say even a far poorer relative performance by Stanford ought to still end up in a Stanford win that is merely tougher than expected. But there's no reason to avoid discussing the matchup.