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From "" at Black Heart Gold Pants:
ROSE BOWL STATS PREVIEW: WHEN STANFORD HAS THE BALL
"On a per drive basis, we get more evidence that both units are very talented on this side of the ball, but Stanford's offense seems to be a little stronger. The Cardinal are literally a top five team in the country in all five of those per drive categories shown above. Points per value drive (points scored on drives starting in your own territory that reach at least your opponent's 30) is their worst category, but their overall points per drive total is just fine thanks to their insane ability to score points on long drives (drives that start inside your own 20). Even on drives where they don't score, they still tally a bunch of yards in the process. But they score, and they usually score touchdowns when they do put points on the scoreboard.
As for Iowa, their bend-don't-break defense is good at keeping points (particularly touchdowns) off the scoreboard, while making it difficult for their opponents to put together long scoring drives against them. The Hawkeyes are above average in every defensive per-drive category, but they don't appear to have a distinct advantage over Stanford's offense in any one area."
Comments
Excellent Interview, Nick
I agree with your take on the game and Stanford’s prospects for a win. I share your concern about Shaw falling into conservative mode in a big game against a very physical team. We know how that played out last time (2014 Rose Bowl against Michigan State). The keys to a Stanford victory are:
1) Effective O-line play. Without that, it could be a long afternoon.
2) A varied offensive attack (not just McCaffrey off-tackle or through the middle of the line): we need screen passes, TE slants, a few long balls, maybe even a McCaffrey pass to Hogan. One-dimensional won’t do it against the Hawkeyes. The offensive game plan that was used against Notre Dame would be a good choice; but the team needs to keep it going in the second half and not get conservative. That almost cost us the game against the Irish.
3) Great play from the DL and the linebackers to blunt the Hawkeye running attack. I hope Harris and Holder are back again in the secondary, because they will also be needed to ensure we only bend a little and don’t break on any long balls.
4) No special team gaffes and no turnovers.
With that combination, I could envision a very workmanlike victory on the order of 37-28 or thereabouts. I still have horrible memories of that last quarter against MSU in the Rose Bowl. I will never know what Shaw was thinking on that final drive, but this year’s team has offensive weapons and a playbook that hopefully will exorcise that ghost from our Rose Bowl past.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 12.30.15 3:10am