[fullmetal]

I'm not sure if the Williamson missed FG is the best analogy. Williamson makes it, we win the Fiesta Bowl, there is no OT.

JW missed three FGs total in that game, so I guess it's on me for not specifying.  I meant the OT FG attempt, but last regulation time FG miss would still sort of be appropriate.  Without the crabs, the Stanford V4 still had a good chance at winning and certainly a guaranteed first or second place finish. 

Why is it surprising/remarkable that we beat Tennessee and Virginia? We were the reigning NCAA champs and have finished in the top 2 every year since 2021. I would say we're the proven talent and are disappointed we did not defend the NCAA title.

The margin of talent between the top teams is extremely small.  A large percentage of the Texas and Tennessee top boats are under-23 national team athletes from other countries, for example, so they're not chopped liver at all.  It is very much an "any given Sunday" situation from weekend to weekend.  In the case of the 1V8 boat, Stanford had two shots to beat Texas this weekend (semifinal and final), and in both times, Stanford came up short (only the final would have been meaningful).  And in the regular season, the Stanford 1V8 did also lose to Texas at home, so...past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. As BC said, Tennessee beat Texas in the 1V8 at the SEC championship two weeks ago, only to lose to Texas and Stanford yesterday. (Stanford beat Tennessee in late March, but that is an eternity ago in terms of performance. A lot can happen between March and May.)

So yes, we have proven talent (and we certainly graduated talent last year too), but other teams have talent as well.  You can be disappointed that the title was not defended, but you must recognize that something as small as an oar handle not tapped down an additional two inches on the recovery could lead to something like a crab that stops the momentum of a boat.

Last year in the men's collegiate national championship regatta (the IRA), the presumptive favorite (kal) had a crab in the semifinal, preventing them from advancing to the grand final (and limiting their top finish to 7th place).  That one may have been caused by a goose in the proximity of the boat, but all the same, one bad stroke can ruin a race, even at the highest level.  Saw it happen in the Olympics a couple of years ago too.

[fullmetal]

I'm not sure if the Williamson missed FG is the best analogy. Williamson makes it, we win the Fiesta Bowl, there is no OT.

JW missed three FGs total in that game, so I guess it's on me for not specifying.  I meant the OT FG attempt, but last regulation time FG miss would still sort of be appropriate.  Without the crabs, the Stanford V4 still had a good chance at winning and certainly a guaranteed first or second place finish. 

Why is it surprising/remarkable that we beat Tennessee and Virginia? We were the reigning NCAA champs and have finished in the top 2 every year since 2021. I would say we're the proven talent and are disappointed we did not defend the NCAA title.

The margin of talent between the top teams is extremely small.  A large percentage of the Texas and Tennessee top boats are under-23 national team athletes from other countries, for example, so they're not chopped liver at all.  It is very much an "any given Sunday" situation from weekend to weekend.  In the case of the 1V8 boat, Stanford had two shots to beat Texas this weekend (semifinal and final), and in both times, Stanford came up short (only the final would have been meaningful).  And in the regular season, the Stanford 1V8 did also lose to Texas at home, so...past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. As BC said, Tennessee beat Texas in the 1V8 at the SEC championship two weeks ago, only to lose to Texas and Stanford yesterday. (Stanford beat Tennessee in late March, but that is an eternity ago in terms of performance. A lot can happen between March and May.)

So yes, we have proven talent (and we certainly graduated talent last year too), but other teams have talent as well.  You can be disappointed that the title was not defended, but you must recognize that something as small as an oar handle not tapped down an additional two inches on the recovery could lead to something like a crab that stops the momentum of a boat.

Last year in the men's collegiate national championship regatta (the IRA), the presumptive favorite (kal) had a crab in the semifinal, preventing them from advancing to the grand final (and limiting their top finish to 7th place).  That one may have been caused by a goose in the proximity of the boat, but all the same, one bad stroke can ruin a race, even at the highest level.  Saw it happen in the Olympics a couple of years ago too.