After giving up 35 points to Oregon State last week, Stanford has surpassed Arizona as the worst defense in the Pac-12 (how many point Arizona gave up recently is not at all relevant, shhhh).
I don't know if this fits in the article, but I wanted to comment on the large number of children of former NFL players on Stanford. As best as I can tell:
Player - Father
1. RB EJ Smith IV - Emmitt (James) Smith III (Hall of Fame RB)
2. LB Jake Lynch - John Lynch (Hall of Fame SS)
3. RT Myles Hinton - Chris Hinton (13 year pro OT)
4. TE/DE Tucker Fisk - Jason Fisk (12 year pro DT/NT)
5. CB Kyu Blu Kelly - Brian Kelly (10 year pro CB)
6. CB Jimmy Wyrick - Jimmy Wyrick (5 year pro CB)
7. Zach Buckey - Jeff Buckey (4 year pro OL)
8. LB Gabe Reid - Spencer Reid (2 year pro LB)
9. QB Ari Patu - Saul Patu (2 year pro DE + arena league)
10. OC Drake Nugent - Terry Nugent (1 year pro QB)
11. LB Lance Keneley - Matthew Keneley (1 year pro DT)
12. FB Houston Heimuli - Lakei Heimuli (1 year pro RB)
13. LB Aeneas DiCosmo - Anthony DiCosmo (practice squad + arena league WR)
Probably more likely for certain positions, too. EJ Smith is clearly a talented running back, whereas it seems very rare for QB's kids to pan out. But if your dad was a defensive lineman or a pro wide receiver or something, seems a lot more likely that you have those inheritable traits of size, speed, athleticism, etc.
I’m guessing it’s also a heuristic the staff uses when recruiting. If a guy can grind it into the NFL, he’s probably raising his kids to be hard-working and disciplined, too. Plus, they probably grew up with more academic (and financial, obv) resources, which sets them up better to play school in college.
In all fairness, most logic goes out the window in rivalry games, and teams are motivated to overperform. In Wilcox's first Big Game, Cal was a 17.5 point underdog, and Stanford didn't even score that many total points (Cal lost by 3, 17-14). I never like to bet on rivalry games because the scores usually swing wildly one direction or the other against the spread.
Personally, I think Shaw will do what he always does, try to grind things to a halt, minimize possessions, and try to score on their few possessions and just get a stop or two on ours.
I'm just more pessimistic on this game than most Cal fans (yes, they've lost seven, but six of those teams are 0.500 or better and the seventh is Washington, who also beat us), but this preview makes me feel like we can exploit their run defense (with the big questions being our O-line being out and if COVID affects our run game).
Nice coverage. Now I feel a bit better about the game. We should be running the rock, but like you say we'll probably see Musgrave trying to air it out on 3rd and 2 when we should be giving the ball to Brooks or Moore.
Thanks I was trying to remember that name! After he was drafted out of college, the onion or similar site quoted him as saying “I’m happier than I’ve been in 30 years!”
I don't know if this fits in the article, but I wanted to comment on the large number of children of former NFL players on Stanford. As best as I can tell:
Player - Father
1. RB EJ Smith IV - Emmitt (James) Smith III (Hall of Fame RB)
2. LB Jake Lynch - John Lynch (Hall of Fame SS)
3. RT Myles Hinton - Chris Hinton (13 year pro OT)
4. TE/DE Tucker Fisk - Jason Fisk (12 year pro DT/NT)
5. CB Kyu Blu Kelly - Brian Kelly (10 year pro CB)
6. CB Jimmy Wyrick - Jimmy Wyrick (5 year pro CB)
7. Zach Buckey - Jeff Buckey (4 year pro OL)
8. LB Gabe Reid - Spencer Reid (2 year pro LB)
9. QB Ari Patu - Saul Patu (2 year pro DE + arena league)
10. OC Drake Nugent - Terry Nugent (1 year pro QB)
11. LB Lance Keneley - Matthew Keneley (1 year pro DT)
12. FB Houston Heimuli - Lakei Heimuli (1 year pro RB)
13. LB Aeneas DiCosmo - Anthony DiCosmo (practice squad + arena league WR)
Not sure what it all means. Sometimes the legacy dudes pan out, sometimes they don't. Depends on inherited genes.
Probably more likely for certain positions, too. EJ Smith is clearly a talented running back, whereas it seems very rare for QB's kids to pan out. But if your dad was a defensive lineman or a pro wide receiver or something, seems a lot more likely that you have those inheritable traits of size, speed, athleticism, etc.
I’m guessing it’s also a heuristic the staff uses when recruiting. If a guy can grind it into the NFL, he’s probably raising his kids to be hard-working and disciplined, too. Plus, they probably grew up with more academic (and financial, obv) resources, which sets them up better to play school in college.
Don't you dare give me hope.
In all fairness, most logic goes out the window in rivalry games, and teams are motivated to overperform. In Wilcox's first Big Game, Cal was a 17.5 point underdog, and Stanford didn't even score that many total points (Cal lost by 3, 17-14). I never like to bet on rivalry games because the scores usually swing wildly one direction or the other against the spread.
Personally, I think Shaw will do what he always does, try to grind things to a halt, minimize possessions, and try to score on their few possessions and just get a stop or two on ours.
I'm just more pessimistic on this game than most Cal fans (yes, they've lost seven, but six of those teams are 0.500 or better and the seventh is Washington, who also beat us), but this preview makes me feel like we can exploit their run defense (with the big questions being our O-line being out and if COVID affects our run game).
To be fair, I also thought we'd pick apart Wazzu through the air and run it down Arizona's throats...
Nice coverage. Now I feel a bit better about the game. We should be running the rock, but like you say we'll probably see Musgrave trying to air it out on 3rd and 2 when we should be giving the ball to Brooks or Moore.
Better coverage than the Stanfurd backfield.
Leave it to Bob to completely derail the comments section with something not even remotely related to the article. Good job Bob
Ummm pretty sure that was a joke
Yes, I was just joking that he looked like a 35 year old. He's class of 2018, so he's probably 21-22.
The medical term for this is Greg Odenism.
Thanks I was trying to remember that name! After he was drafted out of college, the onion or similar site quoted him as saying “I’m happier than I’ve been in 30 years!”
I had forgotten his name so had to look it up. But I could never forget those forehead creases. This was The Onion quip:
https://www.theonion.com/greg-oden-on-final-four-appearance-im-happier-than-ive-1819588526
Regrettably, alcoholism really did age him, though he is now sober and getting coaching experience at TOSU as a grad student.
If you understood humor or sarcasm you would not have made your comment.