09-16-2018, 08:33 PM
Probably this is true to a degree of any early-season game, but judging both teams seems to require a lot of projection:
STANFORD: We've seen Stanford beat two reasonably credible teams and one FCS team. Neither of the first two teams appear to be ready to take on Alabama, to be fair, and Stanford did not exactly dispatch Davis with the verve you'd hope for from a top team. On the other hand, top teams sometimes look sluggish against lesser opposition for lots of reasons; one would think Costello won't just entirely forget how to play football for an entire quarter in the future. Still, gotta project, right?
We know -- or think we know -- that Stanford's offense is exceptionally talented at every position. (see e.g. this Aug. 22 tweet from Todd Husak: https://twitter.com/ToddHusak/status/103...2611292162). We've actually seen Stanford's defense perform very well against reasonably credible opponents. Finally, we've seen all the individuals on the special teams perform really well in 2017. Stanford teams under David Shaw seem to consistently improve over the course of the season. So...you'd think this is all going to come together, right?
OREGON: We've seen Oregon knock over three tomato cans, more-or-less in the fashion you'd expect a pretty good team to. (30 ppg margin, 2.34 yards per play more). On the other hand, you'd also expect a pretender to do much the same. So...gotta project, right?
We know -- or think we know -- that Oregon has an NFL-caliber quarterback in Herbert. Of course the NFL frequently picks stiffs that, for some unknowable reason, it thinks fits the stereotype for the position (Josh Allen! Christian Hackenberg!), but it ain't nothing. Oregon returns most of its skill players from last year's pretty good offense. So Oregon is...probably good on offense?
Defensively, Oregon was solid last year, and returns maestro DC Jim Leavitt. Only three of last year's top 10 tacklers departed. So Oregon is...probably at least solid and perhaps better?
My guess is that Oregon is probably a top-25ish team at worst. I'm not sure how good Stanford will be, and how fast "will be" will arrive. My instinct is that Stanford's best is better than Oregon's best.
STANFORD: We've seen Stanford beat two reasonably credible teams and one FCS team. Neither of the first two teams appear to be ready to take on Alabama, to be fair, and Stanford did not exactly dispatch Davis with the verve you'd hope for from a top team. On the other hand, top teams sometimes look sluggish against lesser opposition for lots of reasons; one would think Costello won't just entirely forget how to play football for an entire quarter in the future. Still, gotta project, right?
We know -- or think we know -- that Stanford's offense is exceptionally talented at every position. (see e.g. this Aug. 22 tweet from Todd Husak: https://twitter.com/ToddHusak/status/103...2611292162). We've actually seen Stanford's defense perform very well against reasonably credible opponents. Finally, we've seen all the individuals on the special teams perform really well in 2017. Stanford teams under David Shaw seem to consistently improve over the course of the season. So...you'd think this is all going to come together, right?
OREGON: We've seen Oregon knock over three tomato cans, more-or-less in the fashion you'd expect a pretty good team to. (30 ppg margin, 2.34 yards per play more). On the other hand, you'd also expect a pretender to do much the same. So...gotta project, right?
We know -- or think we know -- that Oregon has an NFL-caliber quarterback in Herbert. Of course the NFL frequently picks stiffs that, for some unknowable reason, it thinks fits the stereotype for the position (Josh Allen! Christian Hackenberg!), but it ain't nothing. Oregon returns most of its skill players from last year's pretty good offense. So Oregon is...probably good on offense?
Defensively, Oregon was solid last year, and returns maestro DC Jim Leavitt. Only three of last year's top 10 tacklers departed. So Oregon is...probably at least solid and perhaps better?
My guess is that Oregon is probably a top-25ish team at worst. I'm not sure how good Stanford will be, and how fast "will be" will arrive. My instinct is that Stanford's best is better than Oregon's best.