[81alum]

The game was a poor game for all the reasons others have said--quarterbacking, playcalling, coaching, etc.  But there is another issue.  I am concerned that our style of defense is not able to consistently stop a quick pass/spread attack. 

Multiple spread teams now have exposed a fairly easy way to neutralize the strengths of our defense.  WSU gained 25 first downs and 401 yards passing!  Every time they ran the ball they got absolutely stuffed--doesn't seem to have mattered much.  We sacked them 10 times for 64 yards in losses, intercepted a pass for a pick 6,  and seemed to have some good secondary play--but despite all of this WSU moved the ball on us and dominated time of possession.  Look at the receiving stats for WSU.  Half a dozen guys caught half a dozen passes each--mostly in the 8-12 yard range.  Arizona and WSU have now completely exposed our style of defense as being generally ineffective against the quick pass. 

Our defense is perfectly suited to crush any team which emphasizes running the ball or throwing long drop-back passes--like we do.  But the quick pass is our Achilles heel.  This looks really, really bad for our prospects against Oregon.  Heck, if Colorado, Oregon State, or UCLA don't already have spread offense in their  playbooks, I bet they will be installing it and practicing it just to neutralize Stanford's defense.

Derek Mason is probably my favorite Stanford coach, but he needs to be more creative about finding a solution to this. 

[81alum]

The game was a poor game for all the reasons others have said--quarterbacking, playcalling, coaching, etc.  But there is another issue.  I am concerned that our style of defense is not able to consistently stop a quick pass/spread attack. 

Multiple spread teams now have exposed a fairly easy way to neutralize the strengths of our defense.  WSU gained 25 first downs and 401 yards passing!  Every time they ran the ball they got absolutely stuffed--doesn't seem to have mattered much.  We sacked them 10 times for 64 yards in losses, intercepted a pass for a pick 6,  and seemed to have some good secondary play--but despite all of this WSU moved the ball on us and dominated time of possession.  Look at the receiving stats for WSU.  Half a dozen guys caught half a dozen passes each--mostly in the 8-12 yard range.  Arizona and WSU have now completely exposed our style of defense as being generally ineffective against the quick pass. 

Our defense is perfectly suited to crush any team which emphasizes running the ball or throwing long drop-back passes--like we do.  But the quick pass is our Achilles heel.  This looks really, really bad for our prospects against Oregon.  Heck, if Colorado, Oregon State, or UCLA don't already have spread offense in their  playbooks, I bet they will be installing it and practicing it just to neutralize Stanford's defense.

Derek Mason is probably my favorite Stanford coach, but he needs to be more creative about finding a solution to this.