10-04-2026, 02:29 PM
5. I thought based on eye test that Warren was quite bad, inaccurate throughout and should have had two interceptions against the minimal production that kept us out of the red zone all game. Total QBR was less harsh, pegging him at 78th of 113 QBs this week. In their algorithm, his running and penalties (lack thereof) were his saving grace. PFF was much harsher, but I trust Total QBR more. It was not a strong game for Warren but he's low on our list of problems. He's now 69th on the season in Total QBR. High on our list of problems are guards and tight ends, garbage on the year and garbage yesterday. I am not surprised the tight ends are as weak as they've ever been in Stanford history. I am surprised Pale is this horrible. He has now been back three games and is simply too atrocious to play, the worst graded regular on our roster (Black and Howard with worse grades in less significant action). Williams and House are clearly among our five best linemen. Pale to the bench, please. The best lineman is Prongos. Nice to have him back, hopefully that makes a big difference in the winnable games. Among skill position players, it remains morbidly interesting that Irvin is arguably better this year than Ford. Nico Brown clearly rates with Warren and Prongos (and High, but not yesterday) as guys who help this offense. [Moving the chains (first down) leaderboard: Brown (3), Irvin (2), Ford (2), Joseph (also drew a pass interference), Warren, Onovughe, Thorpe, Altahir]
6. The defense gets the excuse of playing without Nicholson, Rose, and Galvan. That explains a lot. Far from all of it. But those are significant holes and even with them the defense wasn't as bad as the offense in this game. That is damning with faint praise, however, in assessing Kris Richard's miserable first five games. Those three plus BMO and Green unquestionably (and Tafiti an arguable addition to the case) formed an objectively good core for a defense. SP+ is the most evidence-based preseason algorithm on such things and it figured our defense for #57. Flash forward to five games of actual results and we are #115, worse even than the offense on the year. Richard has been an absolute joke. Five games in it's the definition of insanity that we keep playing a man heavy, stunt/blitz low defense acting like our personnel has a chance. I never would have thought that with two years of Bobby April, a year of Andy Thompson, and now Kris Richard that it would be the Thompson meat in the sandwich that stands out as the only competence in a desert of defensive dereliction. But that's what we've seen. While the defense has been unspeakable and yesterday reinforced the overwhelming impression of indefensible tackling and effort, it should be said that the best players on the defense played fine yesterday. BMO, Green, and Kaminski graded well. We just had too many weak links to name (most egregiously Mattingly, Bryant, and Howard, and Cooper continues to never and I mean never make plays). Green got trucked on a touchdown or two but he showed up seven times positively contributing to success rate, and that includes three in garbage time, so that's an erstwhile star struggling to play with passion this season who gave us good sustained effort yesterday. He wasn't the problem. Neither was Kaminski (not to say he set the edge well in defending Gio Lopez). BMO never is the problem. Tafiti made a few plays but I so wish there was more there. Some signs of life from Harmon and Jackson may be something to build on.
7. I don't view our special teams as special but they continue to seem incidental in the big picture of a dumpster fire program. Kenney missed a 46 yard field goal after the gift of the muff and made a 43 yarder. At this point in our struggles I take a 40+ yard make as a confidence building (and try not to think about all the 50+ yarders I see other teams make when I'm watching the rest of college football). Flintoft had net punts of 40 to the 33 resulting in a muff giving us the ball (phenomenal result but punt was average), 41 to the 35 (ok), 43 to the 48 (good), 43 to the 50 (good), 40 to the 18 (ok), and 45 to the 25 (good). With Stanford being early pioneers in scholarships to specialists, specialists not making a lot of money anywhere, and our guys having been relatively big recruits, it continues to feel like we're not getting differentiation here. Warford left with an injury, something to watch. Chris Davis Jr., who I hate to watch miscalculate returns vis-a-vis fair catch yardage (gave up 3 yards of position on a 22 yard return and 7 yards on a 15 yard return), did have a big 42 yard return wiped out by a Jernegan hold. Thorpe cost the team 20 yards of field position when the game was still in doubt by not fielding a punt. Edwards (who has been benched into oblivion on defense) recovered the muff, enabled by Tre Williams blocking the Demon Deacon into it. Williams and Tate teamed up for a special teams tackle.
8. Game balls: Niki Prongos, Jay Green, Tre Williams, Kodi Whitfield/Tank Williams (not sure I've ever given a co-game ball but, truly, how are we supposed to distinguish between them?)
9. It sucks when a team reaches one of these rock bottom points and has a no-hoper game upcoming. There's really no point. Luck and Pritchard already have existential wherewithall and morale questions suffocating the team. Now we face an opponent we'd do well to lose to by less than 40. That sucks. The real question is what kind of fight, resolve, finish, ruthless and relentless defense, blah blah blah we show against Elon and NC State. One has to just hope that another 13 days, at least, of feeling down in the dumps serves as impetus for the conversations that need to happen among Levin, Martinez, Donahoe, Luck, and anybody else who matters. This will fail forever until the instituton accepts that there is no way out of this other than recognizing it's complete system failure that requires a fundamental rethink - resources, admissions exceptions, mass turnover led by transfers, accountability, rejection of glib and smug confidence in our culture. We do not have a foundation for the rebuild. We are not improving. Admitting you're powerless is the first step to recovery.
6. The defense gets the excuse of playing without Nicholson, Rose, and Galvan. That explains a lot. Far from all of it. But those are significant holes and even with them the defense wasn't as bad as the offense in this game. That is damning with faint praise, however, in assessing Kris Richard's miserable first five games. Those three plus BMO and Green unquestionably (and Tafiti an arguable addition to the case) formed an objectively good core for a defense. SP+ is the most evidence-based preseason algorithm on such things and it figured our defense for #57. Flash forward to five games of actual results and we are #115, worse even than the offense on the year. Richard has been an absolute joke. Five games in it's the definition of insanity that we keep playing a man heavy, stunt/blitz low defense acting like our personnel has a chance. I never would have thought that with two years of Bobby April, a year of Andy Thompson, and now Kris Richard that it would be the Thompson meat in the sandwich that stands out as the only competence in a desert of defensive dereliction. But that's what we've seen. While the defense has been unspeakable and yesterday reinforced the overwhelming impression of indefensible tackling and effort, it should be said that the best players on the defense played fine yesterday. BMO, Green, and Kaminski graded well. We just had too many weak links to name (most egregiously Mattingly, Bryant, and Howard, and Cooper continues to never and I mean never make plays). Green got trucked on a touchdown or two but he showed up seven times positively contributing to success rate, and that includes three in garbage time, so that's an erstwhile star struggling to play with passion this season who gave us good sustained effort yesterday. He wasn't the problem. Neither was Kaminski (not to say he set the edge well in defending Gio Lopez). BMO never is the problem. Tafiti made a few plays but I so wish there was more there. Some signs of life from Harmon and Jackson may be something to build on.
7. I don't view our special teams as special but they continue to seem incidental in the big picture of a dumpster fire program. Kenney missed a 46 yard field goal after the gift of the muff and made a 43 yarder. At this point in our struggles I take a 40+ yard make as a confidence building (and try not to think about all the 50+ yarders I see other teams make when I'm watching the rest of college football). Flintoft had net punts of 40 to the 33 resulting in a muff giving us the ball (phenomenal result but punt was average), 41 to the 35 (ok), 43 to the 48 (good), 43 to the 50 (good), 40 to the 18 (ok), and 45 to the 25 (good). With Stanford being early pioneers in scholarships to specialists, specialists not making a lot of money anywhere, and our guys having been relatively big recruits, it continues to feel like we're not getting differentiation here. Warford left with an injury, something to watch. Chris Davis Jr., who I hate to watch miscalculate returns vis-a-vis fair catch yardage (gave up 3 yards of position on a 22 yard return and 7 yards on a 15 yard return), did have a big 42 yard return wiped out by a Jernegan hold. Thorpe cost the team 20 yards of field position when the game was still in doubt by not fielding a punt. Edwards (who has been benched into oblivion on defense) recovered the muff, enabled by Tre Williams blocking the Demon Deacon into it. Williams and Tate teamed up for a special teams tackle.
8. Game balls: Niki Prongos, Jay Green, Tre Williams, Kodi Whitfield/Tank Williams (not sure I've ever given a co-game ball but, truly, how are we supposed to distinguish between them?)
9. It sucks when a team reaches one of these rock bottom points and has a no-hoper game upcoming. There's really no point. Luck and Pritchard already have existential wherewithall and morale questions suffocating the team. Now we face an opponent we'd do well to lose to by less than 40. That sucks. The real question is what kind of fight, resolve, finish, ruthless and relentless defense, blah blah blah we show against Elon and NC State. One has to just hope that another 13 days, at least, of feeling down in the dumps serves as impetus for the conversations that need to happen among Levin, Martinez, Donahoe, Luck, and anybody else who matters. This will fail forever until the instituton accepts that there is no way out of this other than recognizing it's complete system failure that requires a fundamental rethink - resources, admissions exceptions, mass turnover led by transfers, accountability, rejection of glib and smug confidence in our culture. We do not have a foundation for the rebuild. We are not improving. Admitting you're powerless is the first step to recovery.