[jacketree]

So here we are four days after the game parsing statistics, some still mad at a coach for making that four-day and counting decision in real time. (Too bad he needed a time out to do it, however.)

The decision to punt was not only not a bad one given the alternatives (hope your skittish kicker makes his career long or get at least 7 yards out of an offense that hasn't finished a drive since its first possession), but that decision worked, save Rector's drop of a catchable ball what, inside the 20 with 10 seconds left?

Maybe he could call a better sequence to set up an easier field goal rather than that whatever play to McCaffrey. And maybe he should have saved that timeout.  But in terms of end game strategy that wasn't awful. Just outscored 13-10 in double OT. Making that 51 yard field goal with all that time left doesn't necessarily equal game winner. You can argue the defense was nails that day, but when push came to shove in OT, they weren't. One blown coverage and Utah scored on one play. Could have gone 99 yards if he needed to and that could have just as easily been right after Stanford kicked off with a 3 point lead.

Beyond strategy, conservatism, and whatever anyone wants to throw on the damnation pile, Stanford has lost the mojo (belief, talent, training, experience, motivation, clutchness, luck, Luck) it had that enabled it to win almost all of its close games against teams with equal or better talent.  Stanford is ten games into its schedule and has yet to win a game against any team with a pulse.  (Washington is on life support.)  I suppose we could isolate those who graduated and throw their successors under the bus.  Or the rest of the team for not playing as well as they used to play. Or the coaches for not coaching as well as they used to coach.  Or the..... Or maybe time waits for no one and the Pac12 decided to get better with or without Stanford.  But if they lose out, this is a Teevensesque 7-win drop off one year to the next.  What gives?  Maybe they need an exorcist.

One year after forcing us to leave Big Game before the end of the 3rd quarter because she couldn't take it anymore, Mrs. Jacketree looks forward to this year's game and says it should be exciting because Cal has a good chance to win.  The fact that it has come to this is {your favorite word here}.

[jacketree]

So here we are four days after the game parsing statistics, some still mad at a coach for making that four-day and counting decision in real time. (Too bad he needed a time out to do it, however.)

The decision to punt was not only not a bad one given the alternatives (hope your skittish kicker makes his career long or get at least 7 yards out of an offense that hasn't finished a drive since its first possession), but that decision worked, save Rector's drop of a catchable ball what, inside the 20 with 10 seconds left?

Maybe he could call a better sequence to set up an easier field goal rather than that whatever play to McCaffrey. And maybe he should have saved that timeout.  But in terms of end game strategy that wasn't awful. Just outscored 13-10 in double OT. Making that 51 yard field goal with all that time left doesn't necessarily equal game winner. You can argue the defense was nails that day, but when push came to shove in OT, they weren't. One blown coverage and Utah scored on one play. Could have gone 99 yards if he needed to and that could have just as easily been right after Stanford kicked off with a 3 point lead.

Beyond strategy, conservatism, and whatever anyone wants to throw on the damnation pile, Stanford has lost the mojo (belief, talent, training, experience, motivation, clutchness, luck, Luck) it had that enabled it to win almost all of its close games against teams with equal or better talent.  Stanford is ten games into its schedule and has yet to win a game against any team with a pulse.  (Washington is on life support.)  I suppose we could isolate those who graduated and throw their successors under the bus.  Or the rest of the team for not playing as well as they used to play. Or the coaches for not coaching as well as they used to coach.  Or the..... Or maybe time waits for no one and the Pac12 decided to get better with or without Stanford.  But if they lose out, this is a Teevensesque 7-win drop off one year to the next.  What gives?  Maybe they need an exorcist.

One year after forcing us to leave Big Game before the end of the 3rd quarter because she couldn't take it anymore, Mrs. Jacketree looks forward to this year's game and says it should be exciting because Cal has a good chance to win.  The fact that it has come to this is {your favorite word here}.