:idea: :!: Most of us out west have thought that Stanford was the best team out here all along. The real upset wasn't Stanford's beat-down of Oregon tonight. The real upset was Utah beating Stanford earlier...
If they had played us last night we would have lost by 30. Let's pray for a let down but after last year's finish I don't think we can count on that. Does Stanford have that more talent than us? Or is it something else?
Jim, Things are beginning to get interesting, at least from my perspective, for Ohio State. LSU upsetting Alabama is almost too much to ask for in one week! :roll:
It happens every year... no matter how great teams look there are rarely more than two undefeated at the end... Stanford brought the big-boy pants to that game. Smash-mouth old school seems to be anathema for Oregon...
I can't wait for Corey's analysis! :twisted: I'm actually torn about the upset. On the one hand I was hoping that the Stanford/ND would give us a chance to derail their Championship hopes, but on the other hand there has been so much hype surrounding Oregon I really wanted to see an undefeated Oregon play Alabama, if for no other reason than to see Corey's analysis if Oregon lost. :twisted: Also I have to admit that I was just as enthralled with Oregon as anybody, watching them when they are on is like poetry in motion and I love the way Mariota plays. But for a second year in a row they can't man up vs mini-Alabama. So maybe it's a good thing that they won't (likely) be in the Nat'l Champ game. Last year after the Irish got stomped by 'Bama and Oregon looked great taking apart KState in the Fiesta Bowl there was a lot of Oregon should have played Alabama then we'd have had a real game stuff. Maybe it would have been another stomping.
Might as well toss in that Baylor game, which started ugly for both teams but finished with a flourish for the Bears once they got untracked. Granted the OU squad this year is hardly a vintage Stoops team, Blake Bell is an ordinary QB, even against our depleted ND defense he needed his defense to make some plays early to give him a cushion otherwise we'd have beaten them in South Bend. Baylors schedule even with last nights win is not good, but I fully expect them to jump over Ohio State in the rankings. I don't think they can run the table though, I actually think that Texas will go in there and beat them to ruin their season. But I'm starting to warm up to the idea that maybe Art Briles would be a better choice for Texas than Nick Saban. Art grew up in Texas played HS ball in Texas, coached HS ball in Texas very succesfully, has been working Texas high schools for Texas Tech, Houston and now Baylor. He knows Texas HS Coaches, if he was at Texas he would take back the state from A&M, esp after Sumlin takes the U$S money and runs to the West Coast. :twisted:
Let's look at the favorites by Sagarins strength of schedule through November 2. Alabama: 47 Florida St: 54 Ohio State : 81 Baylor: 93 Stanford: 12 Oregon : 62 In my view, Alabama and FSU are in that "sweet spot" of schedule strength. Not too tough to risk serious damage while not a total joke like Louisville (104) Baylor (93) or Nebraska (101). Undefeated Northern Illinois is at 134. Who could possibly take them seriously? Local favorites are: Tennessee: 2 Florida: 9 Purdue: 11 Notre Dame: 31 Texas A & M : 46 Michigan: 61
Stanford might move up, but I doubt Baylor gets by OSU. Even if they do... Ok St is going to beat them this coming weekend, so it will be a short trip to the top of the mountain. And Terry... I'm ignoring your silliness!
Stanford definitely played Bama Ball last night. Doesn't bode well for ND vs. Stanford but at least the Irish have seen that movie back in Jan.
I don't consider this Stanford team anywhere near the equal of Alabama last January. That eam was as good as any I have ever seen that night and would have done a similar number on anyone. With that said, I do not see the Irish beating Stanford. I hope I am wrong.
When their heads were in it ( until the last 5 minutes ).... Stanford was stifling.... outstanding..... a machine. It was appalling to me to watch an offense that absolutely knew what it was doing and how to go about it and with the talent to make it happen. I say appalling because it made me nauseously realize just how far the Florida offense has fallen. We look like a poorly coached high school team compared to what Stanford did on offense last night. I am not exaggerating this point.... we are so far gone on offense it's pathetic and I'm actually now for getting rid of Muschamp today.... before a struggling offense stinks it up in front of me tomorrow in Gainsville.
There's not much analysis to it. 2 things interesting that I took from the game were: 1. It's not smash mouth, they beat smash mouth teams as well. It's heart and smash mouth. Oregon really seems to have a problem with that and it's something that goes back to the Kelly days. Say what you want about Bellotti, but his teams showed up in games like that for 4 quarters. The new guy (granted, it is year 1 and this was his first real test like this) and Kelly both seem to have an issue bringing an intensity level to match that of a physical team playing with unrelenting determination. 2. The Oregon offense is predicated on taking what the defense gives you. Interestingly enough, when you look at the games they lose, the defense gets superior pressure right up the gut and almost concedes the perimeter. In the passing game, they clog the coverage between the hashes and to the short side, giving up the long out timing pattern to the sideline. Every Oregon QB that I can remember under Kelly (and now Marriota) have the worst time throwing that ball. Granted, it's a tough pass to throw especially since that's really the 4th or 5th read in that offense. (thus enabling pressure to get to you) How many times in an Oregon loss do you see one pass after another shoot the ankles or sail high with a WR flailing his arms in the wind out of frustration? You'd think Oregon would make an adjustment, OR BETTER YET, simply Lombardi that **** and do what you do daring the defense to stop you. Despite getting their ass kicked for 95% of the game, Oregon still almost found a way to come back and win it. Let's not also lose track of the fact that Oregon turned the ball over twice inside the redzone (inside the 5 if I'm not mistaken) Still, you have to give all credit to Stanford. Their defense is stout, fast and physical. I absolutely love their 7, 8 and 9 man lines. They get into trouble (oddly for Stanford) when they throw the ball at all. Stanford stayed committed to who they are, Oregon did not. Stanford won. If anyone watched the Stanford-Utah game, you saw Utah stacked the box and dared Hogan to beat them. They did a slightly better job of stopping the run against the Cardinal than Oregon did, but what hurt Stanford was their commitment to trying to get Hogan's passing game on track. The way to beat Stanford is to get up on them and hope their OC/HC blinks by throwing the ball.
As I've discussed with Scott, yes, Stanford just demolished a very good Oregon team. And as Corey pointed out, Oregon STILL almost found a way to pull it out. Much of the analysis has pointed out how much of a joke this makes this Oregon team. However, if you've noticed, it took a very physical, determined, team with the perfect plan and the personnel to do it, to pull this off. How many teams out there, THIS YEAR, are there? I count three, if I'm being generous. If Alabama is what we're being told they are (we'll see tomorrow) then they are one. Stanford showed, AGAIN, they are another. LSU? Maybe. Florida? Their defense, yes. Their offense, no. I still think Oregon could easily beat all but maybe four teams in the nation. Then, we have to look at Stanford. Stanford is freaking good, and I have thought that since their first few games where their defense was just insatiable. Then they went up against UW and Utah who are average to above-average teams. As Scott pointed out, Stanford is almost custom-built to take down Oregon. However, this same team, would have a chance of losing to about a dozen top teams because of how they match up. Plus, they don't always seem to play with the intensity they did against Oregon. I think both of these teams are top 10 at worst, and more likely top 5. They both have their down side, but when they are hot, they are both damn good. Yesterday was a great day of football. We know more than we did yesterday. And knowing is half the battle! I still want an eight team playoff!
Appreciate you throwing us in the mix WSU but really.... UF is way way back in the pack this year..... relegated to trying to beat Vandy so we can play in the Poulan "He went to Jared" Lost my friggin Compass Bowl...
Alabama plays a team tomorrow that is almost its mirror image. It still would not surprise me for Alabama to lose 2 games. LSU can be tough and they match up against us well, and Auburn is improving and well they are Auburn and we are Alabama. Alabama has played almost flawlessly the last 2 games against inferior (sorry Tom) competition, but we cannot afford to start this game like we did against Ole Miss for instance. We'll see. These games are why I really love college football.