[Phogge]

On both sides of the ball there is little depth. There are no Ben Gardner’s no Josh Mauro’s no David Yankey’s. One five star guy is hurt and the other one got schooled tonight. The right tackle holds and gets beaten regularly.

I think Ben was a two star, Josh and David three stars. Shaw can’t afford any more classes with little D line help in particular. Williams broke contain on the majority of his runs tonight.

Pitchers and catchers report in 19 weeks. The Masters is seven months away.

[Phogge]

On both sides of the ball there is little depth. There are no Ben Gardner’s no Josh Mauro’s no David Yankey’s. One five star guy is hurt and the other one got schooled tonight. The right tackle holds and gets beaten regularly.

I think Ben was a two star, Josh and David three stars. Shaw can’t afford any more classes with little D line help in particular. Williams broke contain on the majority of his runs tonight.

Pitchers and catchers report in 19 weeks. The Masters is seven months away.

[BostonCard]

The great thing about sports is that there is a always a new season full of hope around the corner.

BC

[BostonCard]

The great thing about sports is that there is a always a new season full of hope around the corner.

BC

[Snorlax94]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

[Snorlax94]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

[stupac2]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

[stupac2]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

[GK3]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

I think our biggest problem is the offensive line.  Neither tackle can handle a quick defensive tackle.  That makes KJ step sooner than he wants to, and then finds the center and guards being pushed back into his face.  I give a pass, sort of, to the defensive line, as they were on the field way too long in this game.  ND has big, fast, strong guys on both sides of the ball and by the 4th quarter are guys were simply too beat up.  Unless we can figure out a way to block for the running game, it isn't going to get much easier.  We haven't been able to block for the running game against anyone, even UC Davis.  Washington is going to be very difficult.  I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.  They guys behind him are decent runners, but they need an offensive oline who can open holes for them. 
We have to take pressure off our defensive guys by controlling the time of possession and that seems impossible at this point.  I don't think it is scheme but more a question of talent.  Whether coaching gets involved in this question is another issue.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make the running game effective?

[GK3]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

I think our biggest problem is the offensive line.  Neither tackle can handle a quick defensive tackle.  That makes KJ step sooner than he wants to, and then finds the center and guards being pushed back into his face.  I give a pass, sort of, to the defensive line, as they were on the field way too long in this game.  ND has big, fast, strong guys on both sides of the ball and by the 4th quarter are guys were simply too beat up.  Unless we can figure out a way to block for the running game, it isn't going to get much easier.  We haven't been able to block for the running game against anyone, even UC Davis.  Washington is going to be very difficult.  I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.  They guys behind him are decent runners, but they need an offensive oline who can open holes for them. 
We have to take pressure off our defensive guys by controlling the time of possession and that seems impossible at this point.  I don't think it is scheme but more a question of talent.  Whether coaching gets involved in this question is another issue.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make the running game effective?

[Austroturf]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

[Austroturf]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

[GK3]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

What about Washington?  Do they have a conference or division loss?  We have beaten Oregon, now called the Miracle in Eugene, need to beat UDub at their place plus deal with WSC, OSU, Cal and Utah.  I don't think we can put a W in the book for any of these games at this point.  We need to find out a way to run the ball and keep our defense off the field.

[GK3]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

What about Washington?  Do they have a conference or division loss?  We have beaten Oregon, now called the Miracle in Eugene, need to beat UDub at their place plus deal with WSC, OSU, Cal and Utah.  I don't think we can put a W in the book for any of these games at this point.  We need to find out a way to run the ball and keep our defense off the field.

[Austroturf]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

What about Washington?  Do they have a conference or division loss?  We have beaten Oregon, now called the Miracle in Eugene, need to beat UDub at their place plus deal with WSC, OSU, Cal and Utah.  I don't think we can put a W in the book for any of these games at this point.  We need to find out a way to run the ball and keep our defense off the field.

As Snorlax wrote, UW, Colorado and Stanford are all undefeated in conference play and hence control their destiny in Pac-12 play.  But three one-loss teams (USC, ASU and WSU) also control their own destiny in the Pac-12 because their one loss came at the hands of teams in the opposite division.  Regarding Stanford's remaining schedule, I don't think we can take any single win for granted.  We should be heavily-favored against OSU and UCLA; and we should be slightly favored against Utah, ASU, WSU and Cal.  UW will most likely be favored to beat us in their own house.

[Austroturf]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

Because their conference losses were to teams in the other division, USC, ASU and WSU also control their own destiny in the Pac-12.  Winning the rest of their conference games would give them the division championship and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

What about Washington?  Do they have a conference or division loss?  We have beaten Oregon, now called the Miracle in Eugene, need to beat UDub at their place plus deal with WSC, OSU, Cal and Utah.  I don't think we can put a W in the book for any of these games at this point.  We need to find out a way to run the ball and keep our defense off the field.

As Snorlax wrote, UW, Colorado and Stanford are all undefeated in conference play and hence control their destiny in Pac-12 play.  But three one-loss teams (USC, ASU and WSU) also control their own destiny in the Pac-12 because their one loss came at the hands of teams in the opposite division.  Regarding Stanford's remaining schedule, I don't think we can take any single win for granted.  We should be heavily-favored against OSU and UCLA; and we should be slightly favored against Utah, ASU, WSU and Cal.  UW will most likely be favored to beat us in their own house.

[OutsiderFan]

Shaw needs to do some serious reflection to determine why his OL are seemingly regressing.

Little was better as a True Frosh. Herbig looked like a disaster last night. Hall, after playing well against Oregon, looked like he was on roller skates.   They keep on rotating Fanaika and Hamilton at LG.  

But the sight that made my eyes the most sore was routinely seeing Book back to pass, and ALL THREE Stanford DL playing patty cake with ND OL. WTF was that? Nobody was trying to push them back, nobody was playing with any leverage, and they weren't even trying to angle past them.  They were all standing up, like little kids jumping up to try to get something an adult holds over their heads and knows they can't reach.  

Reminded me of Stanford at Washington in 2016 for total LOS dominance on both sides of the ball by opponent. Not a good look.

[OutsiderFan]

Shaw needs to do some serious reflection to determine why his OL are seemingly regressing.

Little was better as a True Frosh. Herbig looked like a disaster last night. Hall, after playing well against Oregon, looked like he was on roller skates.   They keep on rotating Fanaika and Hamilton at LG.  

But the sight that made my eyes the most sore was routinely seeing Book back to pass, and ALL THREE Stanford DL playing patty cake with ND OL. WTF was that? Nobody was trying to push them back, nobody was playing with any leverage, and they weren't even trying to angle past them.  They were all standing up, like little kids jumping up to try to get something an adult holds over their heads and knows they can't reach.  

Reminded me of Stanford at Washington in 2016 for total LOS dominance on both sides of the ball by opponent. Not a good look.

[d4cohn]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

I think he meant SC, who did, albeit thanks to more Coug special teams magic, beat WSU at home.

[d4cohn]

Sheesh I am pretty damn down right now but I am not quite that resigned.

Stanford has played 4 of the scariest 5 games on its calendar (on a preseason basis) and went 3-1 on those. The victory at Oregon is looking pretty key right now.

This team still controls almost all of its fate. 

They control their own destiny for a conference championship and The Rose Bowl. In the conference, only Stanford, Washington and Colorado are in this position.

You think SDSU is scarier than WSU?

At any rate I largely agree with you. What's the quote? "Things are never as good as they seem after a win, and never as bad as they seem after a loss." Something like that.

I think he meant SC, who did, albeit thanks to more Coug special teams magic, beat WSU at home.

[Goose]

Shaw needs to do some serious reflection to determine why his OL are seemingly regressing.

Little was better as a True Frosh. Herbig looked like a disaster last night. Hall, after playing well against Oregon, looked like he was on roller skates.   They keep on rotating Fanaika and Hamilton at LG.  

But the sight that made my eyes the most sore was routinely seeing Book back to pass, and ALL THREE Stanford DL playing patty cake with ND OL. WTF was that? Nobody was trying to push them back, nobody was playing with any leverage, and they weren't even trying to angle past them.  They were all standing up, like little kids jumping up to try to get something an adult holds over their heads and knows they can't reach.  

Reminded me of Stanford at Washington in 2016 for total LOS dominance on both sides of the ball by opponent. Not a good look.

I think that was our "cover all the receivers, force the qb to run, and maintain containment by not rushing across the LOS and giving up contain". So I think the DL was doing what they were expected to do. It just didn't work very well. Unfortunately, neither did any of our other defenses.

[Goose]

Shaw needs to do some serious reflection to determine why his OL are seemingly regressing.

Little was better as a True Frosh. Herbig looked like a disaster last night. Hall, after playing well against Oregon, looked like he was on roller skates.   They keep on rotating Fanaika and Hamilton at LG.  

But the sight that made my eyes the most sore was routinely seeing Book back to pass, and ALL THREE Stanford DL playing patty cake with ND OL. WTF was that? Nobody was trying to push them back, nobody was playing with any leverage, and they weren't even trying to angle past them.  They were all standing up, like little kids jumping up to try to get something an adult holds over their heads and knows they can't reach.  

Reminded me of Stanford at Washington in 2016 for total LOS dominance on both sides of the ball by opponent. Not a good look.

I think that was our "cover all the receivers, force the qb to run, and maintain containment by not rushing across the LOS and giving up contain". So I think the DL was doing what they were expected to do. It just didn't work very well. Unfortunately, neither did any of our other defenses.

[UltimateCard]

I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.

Story in SI says he rolled his ankle...and cryptically suggests he may not have fully recovered from last year’s injury.
https://www.si.com/college-football/2018...notre-dame

[UltimateCard]

I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.

Story in SI says he rolled his ankle...and cryptically suggests he may not have fully recovered from last year’s injury.
https://www.si.com/college-football/2018...notre-dame

[muiron]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make the running game effective?
[/quote]

What happened to fullback football? I didn't count last night - and I sure as hell am not going to watch that game again to do so - but how many of our snaps had a fullback in the backfield? Might have helped, both with the run game and with pass protection. (Of course, maybe I'm wrong and we had a fullback in 2/3 of the time - but I don't think so.)

[muiron]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make the running game effective?
[/quote]

What happened to fullback football? I didn't count last night - and I sure as hell am not going to watch that game again to do so - but how many of our snaps had a fullback in the backfield? Might have helped, both with the run game and with pass protection. (Of course, maybe I'm wrong and we had a fullback in 2/3 of the time - but I don't think so.)

[Austroturf]

Related, but slightly different topic:

My observation is that Pac-12 line play has deteriorated in recent years.  This appeared painfully evident during last year's bowl games (UW vs. Penn State; USC vs. Ohio State) and this year in OOC play (UW vs. Auburn; USC vs. Texas; Stanford vs. Notre Dame).  I don't know whether anybody else has noticed this, but this seems to be the weakest part of Pac-12 football right now.  We produce excellent QBs (Darnold, Rosen, Herbert), running backs (Love, Freeman, McCaffrey) and receivers (Smith-Schuster, Ross); but line play is where the Pac-12 teams seem to get exposed.  Other conferences seem to be putting much more stock in their O- and D-lines.  Any thoughts on this?

[Austroturf]

Related, but slightly different topic:

My observation is that Pac-12 line play has deteriorated in recent years.  This appeared painfully evident during last year's bowl games (UW vs. Penn State; USC vs. Ohio State) and this year in OOC play (UW vs. Auburn; USC vs. Texas; Stanford vs. Notre Dame).  I don't know whether anybody else has noticed this, but this seems to be the weakest part of Pac-12 football right now.  We produce excellent QBs (Darnold, Rosen, Herbert), running backs (Love, Freeman, McCaffrey) and receivers (Smith-Schuster, Ross); but line play is where the Pac-12 teams seem to get exposed.  Other conferences seem to be putting much more stock in their O- and D-lines.  Any thoughts on this?

[JPR36]

I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.

Story in SI says he rolled his ankle...and cryptically suggests he may not have fully recovered from last year’s injury.
https://www.si.com/college-football/2018...notre-dame

I seriously doubt if the person who wrote that has any idea whether he had fully recovered from last year's injury.

[JPR36]

I doubt we see Love back next week.  Playing him hurt further risks his chances at an NFL career.

Story in SI says he rolled his ankle...and cryptically suggests he may not have fully recovered from last year’s injury.
https://www.si.com/college-football/2018...notre-dame

I seriously doubt if the person who wrote that has any idea whether he had fully recovered from last year's injury.

[slide]

On both sides of the ball there is little depth. There are no Ben Gardner’s no Josh Mauro’s no David Yankey’s. One five star guy is hurt and the other one got schooled tonight. The right tackle holds and gets beaten regularly.

I think Ben was a two star, Josh and David three stars. Shaw can’t afford any more classes with little D line help in particular. Williams broke contain on the majority of his runs tonight.

Pitchers and catchers report in 19 weeks. The Masters is seven months away.

looks like we are taking a gap year on hand-in-the-dirt DL recruiting.  help on the way for OL after a 1 scholarship OL class last year.

it is odd that there is no more urgency on upgrading line play and numbers. there are so few linemen that we can no longer hold "young guy scrimmages" on Fridays.

[slide]

On both sides of the ball there is little depth. There are no Ben Gardner’s no Josh Mauro’s no David Yankey’s. One five star guy is hurt and the other one got schooled tonight. The right tackle holds and gets beaten regularly.

I think Ben was a two star, Josh and David three stars. Shaw can’t afford any more classes with little D line help in particular. Williams broke contain on the majority of his runs tonight.

Pitchers and catchers report in 19 weeks. The Masters is seven months away.

looks like we are taking a gap year on hand-in-the-dirt DL recruiting.  help on the way for OL after a 1 scholarship OL class last year.

it is odd that there is no more urgency on upgrading line play and numbers. there are so few linemen that we can no longer hold "young guy scrimmages" on Fridays.

[OutsiderFan]

looks like we are taking a gap year on hand-in-the-dirt DL recruiting.  

This is simply insane. If DL with the size and transcripts they want aren't out there, go beat the bushes for some guys who maybe aren't big enough out of high school, but can pack some weight on over a year or two.

[OutsiderFan]

looks like we are taking a gap year on hand-in-the-dirt DL recruiting.  

This is simply insane. If DL with the size and transcripts they want aren't out there, go beat the bushes for some guys who maybe aren't big enough out of high school, but can pack some weight on over a year or two.

[BobK]

Well except for one that is.
And to make outsider happy he could end up 50 lbs heavier than when he was offered

[BobK]

Well except for one that is.
And to make outsider happy he could end up 50 lbs heavier than when he was offered

[qwerty49]

I would like to see a starting DL of Booker, Williams and Swann.

[qwerty49]

I would like to see a starting DL of Booker, Williams and Swann.

[BobK]

We often play a 2-4-5. Probably more than half the time

Obviously the rush on the QB or pressure against the run must come from the LBers and Anderson needs to decide pressure or drop back.

[BobK]

We often play a 2-4-5. Probably more than half the time

Obviously the rush on the QB or pressure against the run must come from the LBers and Anderson needs to decide pressure or drop back.