Yes, win every game, which we can do.

This is the year to do it because we have the top ten schedule strength and the awesome home schedule. In EVEN years the road schedule flips to nightmare (like 2014). And Hogan is showing the real value of a 5thY QB.
Any one-loss Pac12 team makes the Playoff, and then anything can happen. For us that means beating Out Lady (NDAM), which bumps them out of Playoff. Just get in.
We will be favored now I’m every game. Not next year; THIS year!

By ADPATERSON on 10.08.15 2:32pm

Agree ADP

The formula is simple: win every game from here on out. Obviously easier said than done, especially with the Pac-12 doing flips and somersaults at a furious, breakneck pace. Cal sneaks past Washington in Seattle, the Huskies take down their old coach in the Coliseum, the Trojans plaster the Sun Devils, who thump the Bruins in the Rose Bowl. There is plenty of mutual demolition in the conference right now; and Stanford needs to stay above the fray. An undefeated (or one-loss) Utah versus a one-loss Cardinal in the Pac-12 championship game would bode well for a playoff spot for either team. If we stay healthy, play to our potential, see an improving defense in the course of the season, there is no reason this should not be our year. But even if we win the Pac-12 and exact some revenge against Utah for losses in the last two years, a slip-up versus ND would throw us out of the discussion. Yes, it’s got to be this year, not next year.

By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.09.15 8:01am

After yesterday, it may take a whole lot more help

Michigan walloped NW, which is very bad for us considering the Wolverines only loss is to Utah.

Baylor and TCU (inexplicably) are still undefeated and there’s a high probability only one of them ends the season with one loss — to the other team. The same could be said for Clemson and FSU. And then there’s the possibility that the second place SEC West and Big Ten East teams will only have one-loss as well, although that would be harder to justify than a one-loss Pac-12 champion.

The biggest thing in Stanford’s favor is that the Big Ten has a lot of opportunities to gorge on itself, like the Pac-12 has done the first half of the season. The SEC East doesn’t look like it will send a rep to the playoff, but if the East rep wins the SECCG (e.g. Florida) it’s basically an assurance at that point that Stanford won’t get in, even if Stanford win’s the Pac-12 because it’s very likely that the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC also have one-loss or undefeated champions.

At this point, Stanford has to win out and hope that a multiple-loss team wins one of the other P5 conferences or hope the committee considers the Big 12 winner to have too weak of an OOC schedule to justify them being in the playoffs again.

That NW loss looks really, really ugly after Michigan shut them down yesterday.

By RedOscar on 10.11.15 9:34am

Wow, yeah...

My initial response to the question was that Stanford would absolutely make the playoff if it wins out but it does seem like some help will be needed. Baylor, Clemson and Ohio State will likely be favored to win the remainder of their games. If that happens, then there is only one spot left…and it’s hard to see Stanford getting in over the SEC champ unless the latter has more than one loss. Throw in that Baylor’s most likely probable loss is to TCU, who would get in if it was undefeated.

One interesting scenario: if Stanford and Michigan both win out, who has the more impressive resume? Stanford would be 12-1 but it’s one loss would be to the same Northwestern team that Michigan just blasted. Michigan would be 12-1 with a loss to a Utah team that is most likely to be Stanford’s opponent in the Pac-12 title game (and in this scenario, Stanford beats the Utes). I have no idea how the playoff committee would approach that.

By Omagus on 10.11.15 11:34pm

It would depend on Utah's, Cal's, Notre Dame's, MSU's, and Ohio State's final week ranks

Whoever is ranked higher would have the better chance of getting in, since a 12-1 Michigan team means they beat the (currently undefeated) Spartans and Buckeyes. If Utah were to lose a game between now and the conference championship game, there’s a distinct possibility that it could still be ranked lower than both MSU and tOsu, even if the Utes were to appear in the conference championship game.

In that case its not so much who has the better loss but rather who has the better win. Michigan would have wins over a highly ranked Buckeye and Michigan State team while Stanford would have wins over Cal, Notre Dame, and possibly Utah. Since the common team analysis (Northwestern) goes in UM’s favor, and UM has two more opportunities for wins over top-5 opponents while Stanford could have zero if Utah doesn’t go to Levi’s, the choice is fairly easy and the Wolverines get the nod.

By RedOscar on 10.12.15 8:40am

We Need To Win Out Like Ohio State Did Last Year

We need to be dominant and blow teams out as much as we can. There will be other one loss teams, with perhaps a loss of "higher quality" than our NW loss. But at least we lost early, with some wiggle room for the committee to work with. Our strength of schedule and out of conference games will help us.

Too early to sweat it. Just win.

By hoyaparanoia on 10.11.15 2:33pm

Yes

It’s futile to consider scenarios when the most important one is not yet in place, and that is winning out from here on. I probably sound like David Shaw here, but the only thing that the team can control is its performance on the field. Win every game, and then see where we are when the dust settles. That said, the schedule and the team have never been so favorably aligned for Stanford to make a run at the NC:
- Oregon is down this year;
- Cal looks good, but beatable;
- Our toughest games are at home (UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame);
- Our offense appears to have found a rhythm;
- The D is improving;
- None of the South teams looks dominant;

Why not Stanford this year? I think the rest of college football will be chaotic enough that a one-loss Stanford team makes the playoffs. A two-loss Stanford team can only hope for a Rose Bowl consolation. Three losses, and we are Alamo or Holiday material. And I don’t even want to consider four losses.

By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.11.15 4:02pm

Totally Agree

Having recovered from the depths of the Northwestern loss, the stars are aligned for Stanford to make a real run. The fact that Oregon should not pose a threat is a huge factor. UCLA and ND have been exposed, and we should take care of business against everyone else – and mostly at home. Our failings over the past few years have come from an offense that occasionally sputtered due to execution and game planning issues. This appears to have changed (hopefully). We have become explosive and powerful………..with too many weapons to have a completely down day. We still need to win the games, but our path looks very bright.

Utah would be a tough opponent in the PAC 12 Championships. They always are for us, Booker is a beast and Travis Wilson is experienced.

I have to believe that under almost any scenario a one loss Stanford team and PAC 12 Champion gets a spot in the playoffs. Is there any way that such a team should be placed behind even a zero loss Clemson, FSU, Baylor or TCU? But to make that case strongly, we have to blow out teams for the rest of the year – and point to the many "near losses" of these unbeaten or one loss teams.

By hoyaparanoia on 10.11.15 5:06pm