In this edition of YouTube recommendations, we rediscover the Stanford vs. Washington State game played in rainy Seattle. Stanford dominated the Cougs three weeks after they beat USC, something we failed to do two months later. When you watch this game, it's immediately evident how far we fell from our peak of physicality and athleticism to what we saw in the final three seasons under Shaw.
Our defense looked like an SEC defense, and Connor Halliday was pounded into the ground so many times that he had to leave the game and couldn't walk. The backup was also battered. We humiliated their offense with our superiority. Jordan Richards' INT TD was a classic example of how to create a turnover and a big play for the defense. Trent Murphy beat the hapless left tackle and sawed Halliday in half, causing a floater that Richards played like a center fielder. Murphy later got his second consecutive interception at the line of scrimmage in the Seattle game (2012 vs. UW and 2013 vs. WSU), returning both for touchdowns. Skov and Tarpley were beasts—so instinctual, physical, and passionate. Carter at CB tackled better than most safeties and covered well.
It sucks that H. Anderson and Gardner were banged up that season. It would have been an unfair unit to compete against if the whole group had been 100% all season. Fortunately, Mauro was also excellent, and Parry played well as he got more reps.
This game was a good example of the good and the bad from the offense that season. The offensive line was excellent, Ty Montgomery was a stud, Gaffney was a tireless, if remarkably unspectacular, workhorse, and Cajuste emerged as a big playmaker. The WSU game was Cajuste's breakout moment. He had a spectacular game, one I can't remember he ever matched in terms of production. Hogan's running ability was invaluable, but his weaknesses as a young passer were evident. His downfield accuracy was inconsistent, and his arm strength was average.
We had multiple big plays when Hogan could camp behind the line and complete deep passes to Rector and Cajuste. It's fun to watch how big and skilled our linemen were. Fleming at right tackle was a mountain. David Yankey was great at guard and young Andrus Peat took over left tackle. Wilkes developed into a good player and Danser was solid.
The state of the tight end room was as bad as I remembered. Luke Kaumatule getting snaps was Exhibit A of our desperation. Man, I really don't know why Hewitt got shoved aside into irrelevancy. His targets plummeted, and he could have started at tight end. It's fascinating that he had the most receptions in 2011 when the offense was loaded with exceptional tight ends but almost nothing when we had zero. I'm not being snarky. I know how fans on this forum felt about Hewitt's usage that season. It was just such an eyebrow-raiser when I watched this video. Hewitt only played 10 games. Maybe he had a lingering injury issue that limited him at times. I don't recall. It seems so, well, dumb. Lee Ward was more than capable at fullback.
Trigger warning @fborg81
Michael Rector only played eight games (injured?) and had only 14 receptions. His targets probably weren't much more than that, either. And yet, he averaged 30.8 yards a catch. What a remarkable first impression as an RS freshman.
I'm trying to be mostly positive, but I have to say that our offense having a delay of game on the first drive immediately after a 30+ yard reception was wild. Then, two plays later, we took a timeout to avoid another delay of game. Incredible.
Our defense looked like an SEC defense, and Connor Halliday was pounded into the ground so many times that he had to leave the game and couldn't walk. The backup was also battered. We humiliated their offense with our superiority. Jordan Richards' INT TD was a classic example of how to create a turnover and a big play for the defense. Trent Murphy beat the hapless left tackle and sawed Halliday in half, causing a floater that Richards played like a center fielder. Murphy later got his second consecutive interception at the line of scrimmage in the Seattle game (2012 vs. UW and 2013 vs. WSU), returning both for touchdowns. Skov and Tarpley were beasts—so instinctual, physical, and passionate. Carter at CB tackled better than most safeties and covered well.
It sucks that H. Anderson and Gardner were banged up that season. It would have been an unfair unit to compete against if the whole group had been 100% all season. Fortunately, Mauro was also excellent, and Parry played well as he got more reps.
This game was a good example of the good and the bad from the offense that season. The offensive line was excellent, Ty Montgomery was a stud, Gaffney was a tireless, if remarkably unspectacular, workhorse, and Cajuste emerged as a big playmaker. The WSU game was Cajuste's breakout moment. He had a spectacular game, one I can't remember he ever matched in terms of production. Hogan's running ability was invaluable, but his weaknesses as a young passer were evident. His downfield accuracy was inconsistent, and his arm strength was average.
We had multiple big plays when Hogan could camp behind the line and complete deep passes to Rector and Cajuste. It's fun to watch how big and skilled our linemen were. Fleming at right tackle was a mountain. David Yankey was great at guard and young Andrus Peat took over left tackle. Wilkes developed into a good player and Danser was solid.
The state of the tight end room was as bad as I remembered. Luke Kaumatule getting snaps was Exhibit A of our desperation. Man, I really don't know why Hewitt got shoved aside into irrelevancy. His targets plummeted, and he could have started at tight end. It's fascinating that he had the most receptions in 2011 when the offense was loaded with exceptional tight ends but almost nothing when we had zero. I'm not being snarky. I know how fans on this forum felt about Hewitt's usage that season. It was just such an eyebrow-raiser when I watched this video. Hewitt only played 10 games. Maybe he had a lingering injury issue that limited him at times. I don't recall. It seems so, well, dumb. Lee Ward was more than capable at fullback.
Trigger warning @fborg81
Michael Rector only played eight games (injured?) and had only 14 receptions. His targets probably weren't much more than that, either. And yet, he averaged 30.8 yards a catch. What a remarkable first impression as an RS freshman.
I'm trying to be mostly positive, but I have to say that our offense having a delay of game on the first drive immediately after a 30+ yard reception was wild. Then, two plays later, we took a timeout to avoid another delay of game. Incredible.
