1. That was simultaneously a disappointing game yet also one totally typical of our season. It was disappointing because it was a winnable game that we didn't win (or even come all that close due to the frequency of getting in our own way), ostensibly our biggest rivalry game of the year yet one where we didn't come out with much fire outside a few notable performances, and our last real chance at a home win. [We are the only team in FBS not to have a home win this season. In the last 1,485 days we have won three games at home (one against very lowly Colgate). Nobody gets to enjoy home football games less than Stanford fans.] It was typical because this is how we typically play. That was our median performance of the season, a performance befitting our quality as a team. [With Sagarin now updated, the final results of our games this season have been befitting the #77 (at Hawaii), #209 (at USC), #184 (Sacramento State), #35 (Arizona), #135 (Oregon), #49 (at Colorado), #193 (UCLA), #40 (Washington), #26 (at Washington State), #193 (at Oregon State), and #125 (Cal) teams in the nation.] We are who we thought we were. At the same time, I do think we're seeing enough to put this team ahead of the 1960, 1983, and 2006 teams, and that wasn't a guarantee given how bad the roster is. We're treading water while we wait for some life rafts.
2. We have been modestly competitive this season against middling teams and that was again the case yesterday. The game could have gone differently were it not for the jaw-dropping amount of penalties (100 yards!) or if a few close officiating calls on massive momentum swingers went the other way. Alas, the penalty-prone Stanford team is not an anomaly. We are an extremely undisciplined team, 115th in penalty yards per game. This is the second game this season with 100 penalty yards and the fifth time with 8+ penalties. Shaw had 100+ penalty yards four times in 12 years. We shouldn't be obsessed with avoiding penalties nor should we play timidly, but it's time to acknowledge that against Sacramento State, UCLA, Washington, and Cal, penalties played a big role in losing and/or letting the game get out of control. I really do think Stanford could have been in this game with even just an average number of penalties. I don't want to dwell on that, though, because Cal was the better team and our performance was typical for us in many respects.
3. The best thing about this game for us (aside from our All-American of course) was some defensive fight. Cal's 2.45 points per non-garbage drive made the #52 offense in the country look like the #43 offense. Cal is the seventh best offense we've played in 11 games and, predictably, we did better against them than we have typically done this season. We also did slightly better on a yards per play basis than most teams do against Cal's offense, the fifth best defensive performance against them and below their average yards per play on the year (and well below our average allowed, but again that also has to do with Cal being a mediocre offense by our schedule's standards). This was our best defensive performance since the Washington game.
4. There was much less to like on offense. Our 1.36 points per non-garbage drive made the #124 defense in the country look like the #9 defense. Cal is fighting it out with Colorado and USC for the worst scoring defense on our schedule so being held to 15 points is profoundly pathetic and when you consider that nine of them were impressive kicks by our All-American that is really a horrendous offensive game. We have played six defenses better than Cal on a yards per play basis on the season yet only three defenses have stifled us worse than this in terms of yards per play. Bad offensive game.
2. We have been modestly competitive this season against middling teams and that was again the case yesterday. The game could have gone differently were it not for the jaw-dropping amount of penalties (100 yards!) or if a few close officiating calls on massive momentum swingers went the other way. Alas, the penalty-prone Stanford team is not an anomaly. We are an extremely undisciplined team, 115th in penalty yards per game. This is the second game this season with 100 penalty yards and the fifth time with 8+ penalties. Shaw had 100+ penalty yards four times in 12 years. We shouldn't be obsessed with avoiding penalties nor should we play timidly, but it's time to acknowledge that against Sacramento State, UCLA, Washington, and Cal, penalties played a big role in losing and/or letting the game get out of control. I really do think Stanford could have been in this game with even just an average number of penalties. I don't want to dwell on that, though, because Cal was the better team and our performance was typical for us in many respects.
3. The best thing about this game for us (aside from our All-American of course) was some defensive fight. Cal's 2.45 points per non-garbage drive made the #52 offense in the country look like the #43 offense. Cal is the seventh best offense we've played in 11 games and, predictably, we did better against them than we have typically done this season. We also did slightly better on a yards per play basis than most teams do against Cal's offense, the fifth best defensive performance against them and below their average yards per play on the year (and well below our average allowed, but again that also has to do with Cal being a mediocre offense by our schedule's standards). This was our best defensive performance since the Washington game.
4. There was much less to like on offense. Our 1.36 points per non-garbage drive made the #124 defense in the country look like the #9 defense. Cal is fighting it out with Colorado and USC for the worst scoring defense on our schedule so being held to 15 points is profoundly pathetic and when you consider that nine of them were impressive kicks by our All-American that is really a horrendous offensive game. We have played six defenses better than Cal on a yards per play basis on the season yet only three defenses have stifled us worse than this in terms of yards per play. Bad offensive game.
