The transfer portal is open - and it's wild:

Look, am I going to compare a highly successful NFL coach like Kyle Shanahan to .. Troy Taylor, a guy who was coaching High School not too long ago?

Not really, comparing is the wrong word, but I think something can be learned from what we are seeing with the 49ers right now

Everyone knows Kyle Shanahan is an incredible offensive mind. This is also what Troy Taylor was advertised as

Guess what -- the 49ers offense looks like absolute garbage this year because their OL is depleted (38th PFF ranked Center) and they lost their best receiver. Christian McCaffrey cant even get 3 yards on a simple rush

Point being: with subpar personnel, even the most innovative offensive minds can get brutal results. This gives me (some) hope that with better personnel the results can look a LOT different

I am mostly playing devils advocate here because I don't particularly like Troy Taylor, but I think the point is valid

Preview is here.

I was at the Target in Redwood City with Stanford men’s hoops for their Hoopin’ With Santa event. The guys seemed to have a good time. I interviewed Evan Stinson, Tallis Toure, and Aidan Cammann to get their thoughts on the event. Kyle Smith was there, too. An all-around positive experience for the guys and the families they were helping.

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Is it time to wonder if maybe HCTT has too much on his plate being Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, and QB Coach?

There can't be much precedent for this across Power 5 CFB

It's similar to the Shanahan model, though even he hires a QB Coach

Was it coaching change, NIL money or something else?

What if Stanford said no to leaving program without coach's approval or a head coaching change? 4 year contracts with buyout options, guaranteed money and incentives including 5 years to get a degree.

Read that here.

Every time Troy noted a Stanford advantage. Vs U T San Antonio… they choked. Happily we won breaking our 2 pt losing streak and breaking UTSA 7 game win streak. Final 62-57 Stanford. Ohio State next Friday up in DF Chase center.

Happily, we got just enough of a lead in 1st & 3rd Qtrs to overcome UTSA winning 2nd & 4th qtrs.

Troy has to avoid getting overly optimistic/giddy!

Great find @akhockey7 -- I think this article deserves its own thread

https://stanforddaily.com/2024/11/20/stanford-athletics-football-illusion-of-success/

Kaushik really does thread the needle here. We all generally know this, but he spells out so well how the Stanford Athletics Dept pats themselves on the back for Olympic sports success when we have a built in monopoly.

If you are an elite Fencer, why would you not get a free world-class education on the most beautiful campus in the world? Especially when you have no better options in terms of leveraging your athletic Fencing ability (money, fame, etc.)

Stanford Athletics is very much playing with fire in terms of letting MBB and Football fall this far. No major conference wants a Football team as bad as Stanford's has been this year

Preview is here.

Except he can't recruit the impact player nearly as well. I hope we learned from that debacle and move on quickly.

This is hideous for Stanford. Ayonmanor is 2nd Team All-ACC WR. I'll let y'all see who else made it for Stanford, including Honorable Mention.

With apologies to BBKIA, if I relay this incorrectly . . .

It was the beginning of fall practices for the football team in the late 1990s (may even have been the summer of 1999). The QBs on the roster were Todd Husak and Joe Borchard (also a star on the baseball team). Joining these two for the first time was the #1 QB recruit in the country from a small-ish town (Loomis?) in California: Randy Fasani. [The room would soon be supplemented with Chris Lewis, also an incredibly highly-rated QB].

Word has it that Joe's reaction to seeing the #1 recruit after the first day of QB drills: "I'm not worried."

Ahhh . . . the good old days. Where kids, including QBs, were unafraid - indeed, welcomed - competition to earn time on the playing field. And while I'm sure there was some hard feelings and perhaps even animosity, there also was great respect. Husak interned at our firm that summer, and when Terry and I took him (and other non-football interns - had to be NCAA compliant) to lunch, we'd ask who stood out in practices. This is an exact quote from Husak - who delivered the observation in chuckling admiration: "Joe Borchard is a stud!" [I remember thinking right then: 'we're going to have a good season!'].

It also was nice to have such an embarrassment of riches in the QB room: all those guys could play. Now? A hint that the job isn't guaranteed and they're off to another school. A shame.