[Spiny_Norman]

I was looking more closely at Stanford on defense because my sense when I left the stadium was that they really had played better than one might have thought despite USC's big plays and 48 points.

If you skip the drives that began in 3Q, these are USC's drives in regulation:

Quarter Plays  Yards  Result
1Q            6          23      Punt
1Q            12        55      FG
2Q            3          7        Int
2Q            7          43      Punt
2Q            6          23      FG
4Q            3          6        Punt
4Q            4          13      Punt
4Q            5          42      End of half

I see in the numbers a defense that did a very credible job against a talented offense for most of the game.  When they needed to come up big to give Stanford a chance to win, they shut down USC late in regulation.  They also played well in the first half and proved to have just a little more stamina than USC's players at the end when it counted most.  We know there are problems, weak areas that are a concern against a team like Oregon that can exploit them.  But USC may be the most talented offensive team that Stanford will face all year and the defense stood up to them pretty well.  I hope that the team can take care of business in Corvallis (easier said than done, Stanford has won very few times there over the last 15 years) with no more injuries.  Then we'll see what happens against the Ducks.  I am not confident, but my glass half-empty view is changing to glass half-full.

[Spiny_Norman]

I was looking more closely at Stanford on defense because my sense when I left the stadium was that they really had played better than one might have thought despite USC's big plays and 48 points.

If you skip the drives that began in 3Q, these are USC's drives in regulation:

Quarter Plays  Yards  Result
1Q            6          23      Punt
1Q            12        55      FG
2Q            3          7        Int
2Q            7          43      Punt
2Q            6          23      FG
4Q            3          6        Punt
4Q            4          13      Punt
4Q            5          42      End of half

I see in the numbers a defense that did a very credible job against a talented offense for most of the game.  When they needed to come up big to give Stanford a chance to win, they shut down USC late in regulation.  They also played well in the first half and proved to have just a little more stamina than USC's players at the end when it counted most.  We know there are problems, weak areas that are a concern against a team like Oregon that can exploit them.  But USC may be the most talented offensive team that Stanford will face all year and the defense stood up to them pretty well.  I hope that the team can take care of business in Corvallis (easier said than done, Stanford has won very few times there over the last 15 years) with no more injuries.  Then we'll see what happens against the Ducks.  I am not confident, but my glass half-empty view is changing to glass half-full.