I wonder if that pass was meant to be caught 'behind' the line of scrimmage. Lineman were blocking downfield by design? But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties need to be addressed for sure.
To paraphrase a Zen master: "The only way to know Stanford is to be a Stanford person". The rest of us (including a lot of us wanna-bees) must breathe. Namaste
Things that most fans didn't expect from UCLA this week: Unranked Bruins beating the 15th ranked Huskies. UCLA made it to the red zone every time they had the ball in the first half. Thompson-Robinson was the better QB in every level. QB Penix ha 2 interceptions. Huskies had too many penalties, fumbled in their own end zone, resulting in a Bruin TD.
Thanks for the comments on Stanford. Bob Bowlsby is a really smart guy picking Jim Harbaugh and then David Shaw to turn the Stanford program around. Some other ADs in the past would have gone for Greg Roman or Vic Fangio and would have had to fire them after wasting three or four years. The problem Shaw is having is that his formula is no longer working, particularly with the transfer portal. He's a victim of it and can't profit from it. It's hard enough to do the academic work at Stanford let alone try to do it as a transfer. Almost everyone is majoring in computer science or engineering now days. No Micky Mouse classes anymore.
I have trouble thinking Shaw's a "victim" of anything...other than perhaps his own arrogance. This notion that they are somehow "above the crowd" on developing their own breed of student-athlete is off-putting. They've just plain recruited poorly and had some good players transfer out. Plus, the school has shifted into "Berkley-mode". I see him moving to an NFL position soon.
I think Shaw is a great coach. They have been bitten with the injury bug and many key players were out last night. Their high academic standards make recruiting much more difficult and I don’t see that changing. Most of his years, Shaw has dealt with this masterfully; much better than I can imagine any other coach doing. If Stanford really wants to be competitive in the PAC again, changes will need to happen. It will be interesting to see how they adjust.
Well, I have to admit Stanford's academic expectations are "above the crowd." I seriously doubt anyone on the Cardinal roster is fulfilling his academic obligation with an on-line yoga class. (See: OSU).
When I started at Stanford a long time ago, the most popular major was psychology followed by history. Not anymore. You could even major in P.E. back in the '50s. Those days are long gone.
Two alums, former Stanford football head coach Paul Wiggin and all-time great tennis coach Dick Gould majored in P.E. and no doubt enjoyed a few frat keggers along the way. Most Stanford students today are in the computer lab in their free time.
Definitely in Berkeley mode. Except for one year the recruiting has been decent, but he's been losing players to injury, the NFL -- Davis Mills, Walker Little -- and the transfer portal -- K.J. Costello, Austin Jones -- and hasn't been able to replace them. Davis Mills was the top QB in his high school class but he played awful in the one year he started.
I think David Shaw is rigid and has shown little ability to adapt to anything. He has won with great lines and doesn't seem to be able to tailor his schemes to what he has. Don't see Stanford recreating what they had. But maybe he'll grow. But I think he is too arrogant to.
The thought is that both SC and UCLA can’t recruit all their skill guys out here in SoCal and now have easy access to a Midwest pipeline. It’s an easy sell. Still play in front of their friends and parents without having to live in the frozen tundra.
It doesn’t hurt them talent wise…they’ve already been losing their top skill guys to everyone else in the SEC and B1G anyways
I like some of what I saw Saturday night, But I hated some too...I have to wonder if Lanning actually has the attention of his players. 135 yards in penalties is just embarrassing, stupid, and shows a complete lack of discipline. ALL of which is coaching... Or lack of. The next idiotic Duck personal foul or unsportsmanlike penalty, should warrant the bench for at least a half and running stadiums at 5 am. The next false start penalty should entail running stadiums at 5 am. The Oregon player's lack of discipline is keeping the opposition in the game. Which brings me to the grandstanding by this group...it's gone beyond celebrating, and is now taunting, chest pounding running to the center of the field and yelling look at me B.S. Before long that crap is going to cost them a game if Lanning & crew doesn't get a handle on it soon. John called it sloppy, I call it a complete lack of discipline.
I am surprised you haven't addressed the penalties. I recorded the game because we had dinner out with friends and watched the game when I got home I almost turned it off in disgust when I saw how many damned penalties they had in the first quarter. As many as most teams have in a whole game! What's the cause? Stupidity? Or poor coaching? The guys who were committing them were, for the most part, veterans. Against a better team than Stanford that would have been suicide.
Great insight about Stanford, JC. We have friends here in NZ, a couple who met as Students at Stanford with adult children. She's a doctor and he a political consultant. They love Stanford and "Coach Shaw", as they call him. Told us they are glad their boys chose not to play football but would entrust them to David Shaw. They are not calling for a coaching change on The Farm.
I watched the game well past my bedtime and I thought the Fox Sports production was very mediocre. It was obvious the announcers were not even in the stadium and the sound was terrible.
I hope the PAC 10 or whatever we up being will sign with ESPN....still the Gold Standard in game productions.
It’s sort of a running joke and something that Dave Mahler (Softy) in Seattle ribs Petros about every week (not being in person to call the games).
It’s, of course, not his fault at all, but it still totally sucks, I fully agree with you.
It is “ok”, but for those of us who are seasoned and have been around forever…you can tell when they aren’t there as they are missing key visual and atmospheric detail that you only get from being there. It’s always telling when we at home are waiting to see about something…along with the announcers…because we’re both waiting on the right camera shot to “know”
I love the dangerously unpredictable Bo Nix! I love the culture that Lanning is building there. I hope he stays forever like Whittingham has done at Utah.
UTAH dominates the line of scrimmage. On both sides of the ball. As a former college offensive lineman and high school offensive line coach I watch the game differently than the average viewer and analyze game film seven days a week.
I challenge everyone to watch UTAH’s line play. Also, Lanning is building a kick ass defensive line. The Ducks have fundamentally changed the way they move on the DL. Give it a couple of seasons and OMG.
RE: OSU and their QB situation. You raised an interesting question yesterday John about Coach Smith and his lack of qb transfer portal interest or success. Yes, JT Daniels visited, but one has to wonder if this will change next year. Fun fact: Three (3) former USC quarterbacks are starting around the country: JT Daniels-West Vir., Kedon Slovis- Pitt and Jaxson Dart-Ole Miss. Dave M
Ducks with 14 penalties for 135 yards!
That *will* become an issue at a key moment/game if not cleaned up massively
It was sloppy at times, but I liked the overall way UO competed. Let's see how they do in the next couple of weeks. The final 6 are TOUGH.
Most of that slop to me is easily cleaned up; procedure, lineman down field!
I wonder if that pass was meant to be caught 'behind' the line of scrimmage. Lineman were blocking downfield by design? But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties need to be addressed for sure.
I think it’s going to be a fun ride for the Duck fans.
Why does the east coast press hate the PAC 12?
Why is Oklahoma over ranked every year?
How did Colorado get so bad? (Beavers of the 80’s)
Why does Alabama stack their first 3 games with trash?
And other dumb questions.
why do we west coast fans care about the media in other parts of the country? Unless we are whiny cry babies, ignore that (*&^%$#!!! Just win.
re Colorado, Dorrell has "sucked" every place he's been. Why should Colorado be any different?
re Oklahoma has been a power for decades, Going to the SEC is going to change that & the OK fans won't like it.
re Alabama, if you could get away with it, the corrupt media looked the other way every year, and it guaranteed a higher ranking, wouldn't you?
Dorrell just got fired.
I love your questions!!!
Gameday in Eugene for UCLA if both take care of business?
Absolutely.
To paraphrase a Zen master: "The only way to know Stanford is to be a Stanford person". The rest of us (including a lot of us wanna-bees) must breathe. Namaste
Things that most fans didn't expect from UCLA this week: Unranked Bruins beating the 15th ranked Huskies. UCLA made it to the red zone every time they had the ball in the first half. Thompson-Robinson was the better QB in every level. QB Penix ha 2 interceptions. Huskies had too many penalties, fumbled in their own end zone, resulting in a Bruin TD.
Apparently, that Huskies win over Michigan State wasn't such a big deal after all. The jury on UW is back in deliberation.
I think the offense is quite good (but maybe lacking a bit at RB) and the defense is mostly average to above average and also thin
They will win some more games just on having some better skill position talent than the opponent and being able to outscore them.
I stand by my 8-4 prediction for UW.
Thanks for the comments on Stanford. Bob Bowlsby is a really smart guy picking Jim Harbaugh and then David Shaw to turn the Stanford program around. Some other ADs in the past would have gone for Greg Roman or Vic Fangio and would have had to fire them after wasting three or four years. The problem Shaw is having is that his formula is no longer working, particularly with the transfer portal. He's a victim of it and can't profit from it. It's hard enough to do the academic work at Stanford let alone try to do it as a transfer. Almost everyone is majoring in computer science or engineering now days. No Micky Mouse classes anymore.
I have trouble thinking Shaw's a "victim" of anything...other than perhaps his own arrogance. This notion that they are somehow "above the crowd" on developing their own breed of student-athlete is off-putting. They've just plain recruited poorly and had some good players transfer out. Plus, the school has shifted into "Berkley-mode". I see him moving to an NFL position soon.
I think Shaw is a great coach. They have been bitten with the injury bug and many key players were out last night. Their high academic standards make recruiting much more difficult and I don’t see that changing. Most of his years, Shaw has dealt with this masterfully; much better than I can imagine any other coach doing. If Stanford really wants to be competitive in the PAC again, changes will need to happen. It will be interesting to see how they adjust.
Wrong. My friend started at Stanford. He is a surgeon.
Well, I have to admit Stanford's academic expectations are "above the crowd." I seriously doubt anyone on the Cardinal roster is fulfilling his academic obligation with an on-line yoga class. (See: OSU).
When I started at Stanford a long time ago, the most popular major was psychology followed by history. Not anymore. You could even major in P.E. back in the '50s. Those days are long gone.
Two alums, former Stanford football head coach Paul Wiggin and all-time great tennis coach Dick Gould majored in P.E. and no doubt enjoyed a few frat keggers along the way. Most Stanford students today are in the computer lab in their free time.
Definitely in Berkeley mode. Except for one year the recruiting has been decent, but he's been losing players to injury, the NFL -- Davis Mills, Walker Little -- and the transfer portal -- K.J. Costello, Austin Jones -- and hasn't been able to replace them. Davis Mills was the top QB in his high school class but he played awful in the one year he started.
Relax about the NFL. No one would want him.
I think David Shaw is rigid and has shown little ability to adapt to anything. He has won with great lines and doesn't seem to be able to tailor his schemes to what he has. Don't see Stanford recreating what they had. But maybe he'll grow. But I think he is too arrogant to.
Great recap! Man… SC & Utah are scary. Big tests coming. You’re right. These next 6 are going to jack with my blood pressure. Thanks again as always.
This conference is highly entertaining again. Can't wait for Oregon/Zona, USC/WSU, and Utah/UCLA next week.
It's a shame this is ending right when it started getting good again.
What's ending? The conference? I'd bet against that.
I hope you are right! But at a minimum, two of the three games I listed won’t be around soon.
Losing the LA star power and talented teams is a major blow
I totally agree sancho
Those teams make for great matchups and targets that we all like to try to beat.
UCLA has its first repectable team in over a decade and they are a power?
It’s LA, that market, that stadium, the athletes they always have….all the other sports and the academics also.
The LA schools are both jewels.
There’s a lot of reasons the BIG came calling.
When USC goes to the Big 10 will their recruiting get better…or worse?
Riley’s teams do not have great linemen. What will change?
The thought is that both SC and UCLA can’t recruit all their skill guys out here in SoCal and now have easy access to a Midwest pipeline. It’s an easy sell. Still play in front of their friends and parents without having to live in the frozen tundra.
It doesn’t hurt them talent wise…they’ve already been losing their top skill guys to everyone else in the SEC and B1G anyways
I like some of what I saw Saturday night, But I hated some too...I have to wonder if Lanning actually has the attention of his players. 135 yards in penalties is just embarrassing, stupid, and shows a complete lack of discipline. ALL of which is coaching... Or lack of. The next idiotic Duck personal foul or unsportsmanlike penalty, should warrant the bench for at least a half and running stadiums at 5 am. The next false start penalty should entail running stadiums at 5 am. The Oregon player's lack of discipline is keeping the opposition in the game. Which brings me to the grandstanding by this group...it's gone beyond celebrating, and is now taunting, chest pounding running to the center of the field and yelling look at me B.S. Before long that crap is going to cost them a game if Lanning & crew doesn't get a handle on it soon. John called it sloppy, I call it a complete lack of discipline.
Let the kid’s play!! This is football not chess!
Football can get as complicated as chess. That’s one of the things that makes it so great.
Agree. But overthinking once you start to compete is death for a player.
That’s the coaches job during prep week. Then it’s their responsibility to distill it so it’s simple for the players
Agree 100%. That old saying "act like you have been there" doesn't apply to the Ducks
“Be” is better than “act”
Passion over projection.
I am surprised you haven't addressed the penalties. I recorded the game because we had dinner out with friends and watched the game when I got home I almost turned it off in disgust when I saw how many damned penalties they had in the first quarter. As many as most teams have in a whole game! What's the cause? Stupidity? Or poor coaching? The guys who were committing them were, for the most part, veterans. Against a better team than Stanford that would have been suicide.
We’re the Duck penalties O or D
“Yes” - lol
In all seriousness, it’s just an outrageous amount of penalties.
That was a problem last year also (I think?)
Needs attention for sure
Great insight about Stanford, JC. We have friends here in NZ, a couple who met as Students at Stanford with adult children. She's a doctor and he a political consultant. They love Stanford and "Coach Shaw", as they call him. Told us they are glad their boys chose not to play football but would entrust them to David Shaw. They are not calling for a coaching change on The Farm.
I watched the game well past my bedtime and I thought the Fox Sports production was very mediocre. It was obvious the announcers were not even in the stadium and the sound was terrible.
I hope the PAC 10 or whatever we up being will sign with ESPN....still the Gold Standard in game productions.
It’s sort of a running joke and something that Dave Mahler (Softy) in Seattle ribs Petros about every week (not being in person to call the games).
It’s, of course, not his fault at all, but it still totally sucks, I fully agree with you.
It is “ok”, but for those of us who are seasoned and have been around forever…you can tell when they aren’t there as they are missing key visual and atmospheric detail that you only get from being there. It’s always telling when we at home are waiting to see about something…along with the announcers…because we’re both waiting on the right camera shot to “know”
I love the dangerously unpredictable Bo Nix! I love the culture that Lanning is building there. I hope he stays forever like Whittingham has done at Utah.
UTAH dominates the line of scrimmage. On both sides of the ball. As a former college offensive lineman and high school offensive line coach I watch the game differently than the average viewer and analyze game film seven days a week.
I challenge everyone to watch UTAH’s line play. Also, Lanning is building a kick ass defensive line. The Ducks have fundamentally changed the way they move on the DL. Give it a couple of seasons and OMG.
USC will lose to Wazzu, UTAH and UCLA.
The defense sucks.
Has Furd jumped into the NIL world, if not there's one big reason they're struggling.
If Oregon looses Nix to injury they are in a world of hurt because the drop off to #2 QB
is massive and where is #3?
Dorlus reminds me a little of Ndamukong Suh...plays with a serious attitude much like
most D-linemen in the SEC. I hope Lanning can figure out the difference between the passion
and being out of control.
RE: OSU and their QB situation. You raised an interesting question yesterday John about Coach Smith and his lack of qb transfer portal interest or success. Yes, JT Daniels visited, but one has to wonder if this will change next year. Fun fact: Three (3) former USC quarterbacks are starting around the country: JT Daniels-West Vir., Kedon Slovis- Pitt and Jaxson Dart-Ole Miss. Dave M