11-10-2020, 10:19 PM
OK, let's consider the most recent four seasons for head-to-head and recruiting.
Won/loss (2016-19): Stanford 2 wins, UND 2 wins,
Recruiting battle (2017-20): Stanford 22, UND 12
Ian Book was not recruited by Stanford in 2016, although he received offers from UND (obviously), Boise State, Idaho, UNLV and WSU. Ian Book went to high school in El Dorado Hills in El Dorado County, off of US 50. Randy Fasani went to high school in Loomis in Placer County, off of Interstate 80. More to the point, in the 2016 recruiting class, Book was the #20 pro-style passer, #58 overall recruit in California and #517 recruit nationally. That year Stanford received a commitment from KJ Costello, who was the #3 pro-style passer, #7 in California and #47 nationally. Stanford also offered Jake Bentley, who went to South Carolina.
I agree that UND's football team has been superior to Stanford's the past two years. There's no point putting lipstick on a 4-8 pig, and along with everyone else I am really concerned about the 2021 recruiting class and strength and conditioning, esp. to the extent that it impacts the frequency and severity of injuries.
But I also strongly feel that Shaw has more than earned the right to turn the program around and restore it to some semblance of its former glory. Kelly made wholesale changes after UND's 4-8 season, and it's clearly paid off. Shaw has not made changes, and time will tell if that decision was wise or foolish. But I say give him time before declaring total and absolute failure.
Won/loss (2016-19): Stanford 2 wins, UND 2 wins,
Recruiting battle (2017-20): Stanford 22, UND 12
Ian Book was not recruited by Stanford in 2016, although he received offers from UND (obviously), Boise State, Idaho, UNLV and WSU. Ian Book went to high school in El Dorado Hills in El Dorado County, off of US 50. Randy Fasani went to high school in Loomis in Placer County, off of Interstate 80. More to the point, in the 2016 recruiting class, Book was the #20 pro-style passer, #58 overall recruit in California and #517 recruit nationally. That year Stanford received a commitment from KJ Costello, who was the #3 pro-style passer, #7 in California and #47 nationally. Stanford also offered Jake Bentley, who went to South Carolina.
I agree that UND's football team has been superior to Stanford's the past two years. There's no point putting lipstick on a 4-8 pig, and along with everyone else I am really concerned about the 2021 recruiting class and strength and conditioning, esp. to the extent that it impacts the frequency and severity of injuries.
But I also strongly feel that Shaw has more than earned the right to turn the program around and restore it to some semblance of its former glory. Kelly made wholesale changes after UND's 4-8 season, and it's clearly paid off. Shaw has not made changes, and time will tell if that decision was wise or foolish. But I say give him time before declaring total and absolute failure.
If there's one thing people have learned in Berkeley, it's that you can't put "Cal football" and "Rose Bowl" in the same sentence. The words just don't fit. You'd be better off linking "covered wagons" with "Mars travel." (Bruce Jenkins, Cal '70, SF Chronicle, Nov. 11, 2017)