Stanford WVB is a 1 seed with Nebraska, Wisconsin and Pitt and is #2 overall with Nebraska getting the top seed. They open up on 12/1 with Fresno State. Winner plays the winner of Houston and UCSB on 12/2.

NCAA WVB Bracket

Looked great until last week. Still looked really good across 95% of the surface last night. Have to assume thousands of cal fans on it last week contributed to the wear. Didn't get a ton of rain either but I didn't see anyone falling due to the field this year and it looked basically pristine until last week, whereas it looked like a mess at the end of the season the last few years.

Whatever changes they made in the offseason seemed to work.

Long, well written article from the Athletic behind NY Times paywall.

Couldn’t help but notice some similarities. At least Shaw for a while met or exceeded our expectations. And for less $$$

https://theathletic.com/5085961/202...-am-firing-record/?source=user_shared_articleJimbo Fisher’s failures left Texas A&M well short of national championship drives

I've been a season ticket holder on and off most of my life. Many of my gap years had nothing to do with the state of Stanford FB and more to do with other circumstances in my life. That was until the second half of Shaw's tenure, when my tailgate crew disbanded and most of us gave up our seats. With this season in the books -- on that note, as curious as I've been to see it unfold under a new coach, I was also counting the days till it ended -- I'm now looking forward to getting back into the fold, starting next season.

Like most Cardinal faithful, I'm used to the ebbs and flows of Stanford FB, but, win or lose, bowl or no bowl, I need to be entertained by the play and play calling and I prefer to have even the slightest hope that the team can win on any given day, even if outmanned. Both these boxes were checked more than I expected this past season -- that the latter one was at all surprised me. Unlike some, I imagine, I'm also intrigued by the new slate of opponents, both conference and non-. I was/am disappointed to see the conference dissolve, but I was getting tired of its leadership, its network, its refs, and even some of the teams Stanford played year in, year out. The ACC, whatever else one might say about Stanford joining it, offers turning a page on all that.

So, that's me and why I'll be renewing my season tickets after a prolonged break. What about you?

Read that here.

Read that here. As you guys can tell, I took a lighthearted approach to this. Still would be good if Cal covers the cost of any damages, tho.

Sagarin says we had the toughest schedule in the country.

Cameron missed another free throw!!!

What's that - 2 in this month already?

Golly is she special.

The Taylor offense did not get installed.

There is no resolution regarding a QB for the future. (I'm now officially off the Daniels train...and deciding whether to buy a ticket.)

It is not clear there will be a legitimate P-5 RB on the roster next season.

The offensive line is beyond horrific and may lose its two best performers.

There are two decent WRs, but they do not get open anywhere near elite status. The number of times they are not open on replay is significantly higher than the opposite.

The defensive line got trampled three weeks in a row and appears inhabited by players that might require fborg81 to watch 20-plus replays to distinguish... if he can stomach the job. (We should be paying him.)

Our preseason bevy of edge rushers can't get near the QB.

The team has no demonstrable safeties.

There is a pulse at ILB and CB if the opponent can't run or throw.

Worst of all: There are precious few signs of improvement.

We basically sat this year out, waiting for a future that may or may not be better than what we just witnessed. I'm tempted to say it can't get worse, but I said that after last year, too, snd I was kidding myself.

This a program desperately needing to turn over its roster but lacking the obvious tools to do so.

And does that necessarily mean anything?

Stanford plays at 4:30pm pst in game 4 on ESPNU. Earlier today North Carolina beats Northern Iowa 91-69 in Game 1:

Harrison Ingram 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assts.
Cormac Ryan 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assts.

ESPN announcing crew player of the game: Harrison Ingram

Bogus roughing the passer call allows UW to kick field goal.

From the OC Register:

“It feels great,” Elijah Brown said of the victory, which came under first-year coach Frank McManus. “A lot of hard work, just going day out, day in, and it was just really a team effort.”
“We did it by keeping our heads down, keep working, changing up some of our signals, changing up some of our game plans, and just staying together as a family,” Brown added.

Read and watch that here.

Read that here.

Read and watch that here.

Read and watch that here.

Beat Nebraska in the quarters 2-1 in overtime. Will play in their semifinal on Dec. 1st. Will this be the first championship this school year to keep the streak going?!! The college cup will be in North Carolina and UNC is ahead of BYU 3-0 in their quarterfinal match, so will have the 'home field' advantage and they are the host school for this year's and next year's college cup.

Alrighty, here are my injury notes in advance of Saturday's game against Notre Dame. Aaron Armitage and CJ Hawkins once again are inactive. Not gonna play.

Jimmy Wyrick is on the active roster, though he has been for much of the season and not gone on to play, so not much to glean from that. David Bailey active and will play. Simione Pale active and likely will play, though he seemed to struggle a bit in Big Game. Scotty Edwards is active. I take that as an arrow up for him. Especially since he appeared to be a game time decision going into Big Game.

Guys who are not on the active roster for the game, also not on the inactive list (guys in between) are Casey Filkins, Alaka'i Gilman, John Humphreys, Sedrick Irvin, Joshua Thompson, and Benjamin Yurosek. Don't expect any of those guys to play. Not ruling them out entirely, but just don't expect them to play. It'll be a pleasant surprise if any of them is a go. I don't want to say much beyond that though I will say I've heard Humphreys is done for the year and then I saw Irvin in a sling on Tuesday. Very safe bet we won't see either of those two.

Anyone else of note I didn't mention, you can assume is a go.

You can check out what I said about the Cardinal here.

Read and watch that here.

Ok, so here’s the deal with Kanaan Carlyle:

From what I can officially report, it’s a game by game situation and it’s not injury related. That’s all I can officially confirm/report. He could be back next game, he could be back for the Battle 4 Atlantis, you get the idea.

Now, reading between the lines, it appears to be an academic matter that might require him to sit out the fall quarter. Overtime Elite didn’t exactly offer elite academics. I sense we have another KZ Okpala situation on our hands, but I guess time will tell.

Read that here.

Read that here.