01-02-2014, 12:03 PM
Yesterday was painful, but not without some high points. Here are a few general impressions:
First, the other side. I found the Michigan State fans enthusiastic but polite. Their band showed some old-style sportsmanship by starting off with a salute to Stanford, playing "Come Join the Band." That gesture deserved something like it in return, maybe a taunt at Ohio State or Michigan. Instead we responded with the couch-burning number. Maybe our band could find a way to say something good about opponents or spoof their rivals. I would exclude from this idea those who have forfeited any claim to civility, including Notre Dame, Cal and USC.
As for the game itself, the main development IMO was that as the game progressed MSU increasingly dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Whoever dominates the line of scrimmage usually wins the game. MSU's QB Cook impressed me by not getting rattled when he threw the pick-six. He came right back and marched his team down the field for a TD. MSU's pass defense looked better than ours. Cook repeatedly hit receivers who were wide open for the catch, although our guys usually tackled them quickly. Hogan had to throw into narrow windows all day.
With respect to Stanford's play-calling and other coaching decisions, it's easy to look back and criticize. I don't want to do that because the world we reconstruct with hindsight -- and hindsight bias -- is not the world the coaches and players experienced at the time. I saw little that I could criticize as irrational ex ante. I think we could've gone to the pass more in the second half as it became increasing clear that they were stuffing the run. But I would offer this as more of a comment than a criticism.
My son plays D-III football and knows a lot about the game. He and I have been through the wars with Stanford. We spent yesterday together at the Rose Bowl, with good seats for a change. This loss was bad for both of us. We love Stanford and we love this team. When I dropped him off at a friend's house after the game he said that close games come down to a few plays and they can go either way. Those plays have broken our way often over the last four years. Yesterday they didn't. I agree with that. Â
First, the other side. I found the Michigan State fans enthusiastic but polite. Their band showed some old-style sportsmanship by starting off with a salute to Stanford, playing "Come Join the Band." That gesture deserved something like it in return, maybe a taunt at Ohio State or Michigan. Instead we responded with the couch-burning number. Maybe our band could find a way to say something good about opponents or spoof their rivals. I would exclude from this idea those who have forfeited any claim to civility, including Notre Dame, Cal and USC.
As for the game itself, the main development IMO was that as the game progressed MSU increasingly dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Whoever dominates the line of scrimmage usually wins the game. MSU's QB Cook impressed me by not getting rattled when he threw the pick-six. He came right back and marched his team down the field for a TD. MSU's pass defense looked better than ours. Cook repeatedly hit receivers who were wide open for the catch, although our guys usually tackled them quickly. Hogan had to throw into narrow windows all day.
With respect to Stanford's play-calling and other coaching decisions, it's easy to look back and criticize. I don't want to do that because the world we reconstruct with hindsight -- and hindsight bias -- is not the world the coaches and players experienced at the time. I saw little that I could criticize as irrational ex ante. I think we could've gone to the pass more in the second half as it became increasing clear that they were stuffing the run. But I would offer this as more of a comment than a criticism.
My son plays D-III football and knows a lot about the game. He and I have been through the wars with Stanford. We spent yesterday together at the Rose Bowl, with good seats for a change. This loss was bad for both of us. We love Stanford and we love this team. When I dropped him off at a friend's house after the game he said that close games come down to a few plays and they can go either way. Those plays have broken our way often over the last four years. Yesterday they didn't. I agree with that. Â
