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Joined: Oct 2011
Just stating the obvious here, but I'm so excited by this victory I can't help myself :)
This is the single most validating victory in the brief David Shaw era. For all the whisperers (and shouters) who have said Stanford will sink back to the days of Walt Harris and Buddy Teevens: TAKE THAT!!! This goes a long way towards ending that talk, and showing people that the coaches have been developing a PROGRAM, not just a good team that relied on a couple of admittedly excellent guys, Harbaugh and Luck. Congrats to everyone involved.
Also obvious: this defense is shaping up as very likely the best of the past few wonderful years. We all knew the front-seven would be great, but the defensive backfield is suddenly showing some great potential. Both Reynolds and Richards are growing into their roles; we suddenly have enviable depth at CB; Kyle Olugbode will presumably be back sometime to add greater depth to our safety positions, along with young Hoffpauir, and of course Usua Amanam. Oregon is a different kind of beast, but I suddenly feel like we have the athletes to keep up with them.Â
I'm actually still not totally convinced that Nunes is right for the QB spot, but he certainly earned some more time, particularly with his play in the second half. The OL should continue to improve, and if Peat can nail down the LT spot, then Yankey can settle back at LG, and that will help a lot. Nunes and the coaches have to figure some way to involve the receivers more. But this is relatively minor quibbling after a great win.