[d4cohn]

Stanford is going to vault to #7 in the AP today, but does anyone think Auburn or Wisconsin wouldn't beat Stanford? How about LSU or TCU?  ND will be overrated too in today's poll, but we're talking about the Pac-12 here.

I'll give you that the ACC looks pretty terrible after Clemson, but at least Clemson is a proven team and has a road win over an SEC contender.

Larry Scott needs to pay a price for the demise of Pac-12 football he has overseen.

The ACC and Big 10 are both just as mediocre, if not more so, behind their frontrunners. I would add VA Tech to the list of good ACC teams, but I fully expect Stanford could contend with them (maybe not Clemson). In the Big 10, it is Ohio State and everyone else. Michigan State has already lost on the road to Arizona State, and is nearly out of the rankings, Michigan got embarrassed by Notre Dame and should be out of the rankings, Penn State needed a photo finish to avoid the Appalachian State home upset. Stanford could contend (if not likely beat) any team in the Big 10 outside of OSU.

And I think Stanford could contend with all four teams listed above (Auburn, Wisconsin, LSU and TCU) in a true neutral or home environment for us. I mean, we went toe-to-toe with TCU in a more road than neutral environment last year, and only lost by 2 (and probably should have won). Wisconsin and LSU have great defenses and at least solid running games, but are very limited at the QB position. Auburn can't convert points in the redzone, and make silly mistakes (like bad penalties at the most inopportune times), to allow teams with less talent to contend. 

The measure of the quality of a team isn't just the talent or recruiting stars, even if that is a big part of who contends and who does not. Other things like coaching, development, play-calling and discipline matter too.

[d4cohn]

Stanford is going to vault to #7 in the AP today, but does anyone think Auburn or Wisconsin wouldn't beat Stanford? How about LSU or TCU?  ND will be overrated too in today's poll, but we're talking about the Pac-12 here.

I'll give you that the ACC looks pretty terrible after Clemson, but at least Clemson is a proven team and has a road win over an SEC contender.

Larry Scott needs to pay a price for the demise of Pac-12 football he has overseen.

The ACC and Big 10 are both just as mediocre, if not more so, behind their frontrunners. I would add VA Tech to the list of good ACC teams, but I fully expect Stanford could contend with them (maybe not Clemson). In the Big 10, it is Ohio State and everyone else. Michigan State has already lost on the road to Arizona State, and is nearly out of the rankings, Michigan got embarrassed by Notre Dame and should be out of the rankings, Penn State needed a photo finish to avoid the Appalachian State home upset. Stanford could contend (if not likely beat) any team in the Big 10 outside of OSU.

And I think Stanford could contend with all four teams listed above (Auburn, Wisconsin, LSU and TCU) in a true neutral or home environment for us. I mean, we went toe-to-toe with TCU in a more road than neutral environment last year, and only lost by 2 (and probably should have won). Wisconsin and LSU have great defenses and at least solid running games, but are very limited at the QB position. Auburn can't convert points in the redzone, and make silly mistakes (like bad penalties at the most inopportune times), to allow teams with less talent to contend. 

The measure of the quality of a team isn't just the talent or recruiting stars, even if that is a big part of who contends and who does not. Other things like coaching, development, play-calling and discipline matter too.