Darius Tahir (@dariustahir) compares the experience level of this year's Stanford team to recent Cardinal squads, as well as future opponents Notre Dame and Oregon.

In an earlier post I asserted as a reason for optimism that the current team was a young one. The lesson here is, always check your numbers—in this case, they come back wishy-washy, and you can (at the moment) look at them and decide what you want.

I've taken the most recent Stanford depth chart and compared them to two different baselines: first, previous Stanford teams through the excellent part of the post-Walt-Harris era (i.e. 2009 onwards) from past media guides; and second, against Notre Dame and Oregon, probably the two best teams remaining on the schedule.* The raw data’s here, if you're interested.

* I used media guides because otherwise I’d have to use late-season depth charts, which seems like a more inappropriate comparison than the media guides. As for the two rival team comparisons—Notre Dame’s depth chart is the most recent available; Oregon’s is from a few days before its first game.

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The Cardinal opened as 7-point favorites against Washington. | Pacific Takes

Thursday's matchup is the start of a brutal three-game stretch for the Huskies. | SB Nation Seattle

Stanford moved up to No. 9 in the USA TODAY Coaches' Poll. | SB Nation

Stewart Mandel says Oregon State is the Pac-12's dark horse. | SI

Josh Nunes isn't Andrew Luck, but he also isn't half bad. | Joseph Beyda

The Stanford women's soccer team defeated Arizona State, 3-0, in it's Pac-12 opener. | GoStanford

The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team snapped No. 11 Stanford's five-game winning streak Sunday. | GoStanford

No Stanford game this week, but Rule of Tree carries on with our Pac-12 picks.

Warning: there may actually be a correct Lock of the Week today.

As always, spreads come from SB Nation's odds page.

Oregon State at UCLA (-7.5)

Jack: Oregon State. If the Beavers can stop Montee Ball, they can stop Jonathan Franklin.

Jacob: UCLA. Beavers' W over Wisconsin doesn't look as incredible now, and I don't think they can score enough to keep up with UCLA.

Scott: UCLA. Oregon State's win over Wisconsin looks less and less impressive every week.

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Before the season started, I sat down with David Shaw for the first radio show of the season and asked him "What will be the difference in Stanford being a program like Tennessee after losing Peyton Manning (they won the national championship the next year with Tee Martin) and not like Texas after losing Colt McCoy or Florida after losing Tim Tebow?"

His response was very straightforward and unwavering: "Because we built this program to not rely on just one player. We have a system set up that allows for all of our guys to be successful, and we reloaded after Toby Gerhart and will do the same after Andrew Luck."

I remember being a little hesitant to buy in immediately because I witnessed up close just how great Andrew Luck has been and how much he meant to this team from a leadership and playmaking standpoint. What Stanford proved Saturday against USC is that it isn't one guy who is going to make up for Andrew Luck, it is everyone who gets an opportunity to step on the field.

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Tavita Pritchard ran off the sideline and hopped and almost skipped his way across the field, a huge smile on his face and his eyes wide.

Six years after he beat USC for the first time, he had beaten them again.

Back then, he was a junior who authored the most absurd upset in college football history. This time, he wore a black, short-sleeved, dri-fit pullover and a hat - the official uniform for a coach.

In just six years, Pritchard's team has gone from a downtrodden, absurdly awful football team to one with a BCS bowl trophy and a four-game win streak over USC - an unprecedented rise that has made schools and coaches all over college football scratch their heads.

"How did they do that?"

Now, those coaches are starting to catch on.

How should a team try and duplicate Stanford's rise to success and continued excellence? By imitating the man who directed Pritchard's first win over USC six years ago: Jim Harbaugh.

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Stanford doesn't play this week, but that doesn't mean you can't. Rule of Tree is back at it on Sporcle with two more quizzes.

For you historical buffs, test your knowledge of Stanford football head coaches since 1924.

If you're newer to Stanford football or want to get to know this year's team a little better, try your luck at the current Stanford football depth chart.

Let us know how you do!

David Shaw didn't exactly celebrate Saturday's win. | SF Chronicle

Kevin Danna sits down with Shaw in Stanford Football Weekly. | GoStanford

Shaw on fans rushing the field: "I don't want to treat it like a national holiday. We won a football game, great. We've got another one in about 10 days." | GoStanford

On Stanford football's "powerhouse" status. | Sam Fisher

The Trojans are still shocked over their loss to the Cardinal. | AP

Zack Jerome has a few nice things to say about Stanford in his Arrogant Game Recap. | Lost Angeles

In a Q&A, Stepfan Taylor talks about what he has to do to win the Heisman. | CBS Sports

Chiney Ogwumike was named to the preseason Wade Watch List. | GoStanford