You better hope Stanford turns into Paul Finch from American Pie because we need to go Cougar hunting on Saturday. David Shaw is arguably the most recognized and respected Pac-12 coach; only Washington’s Chris Peterson is in the conversation. But it’s the other Apple State coach who gives David Shaw fits.
If it weren’t for a missed field goal by WSU in 2015, Mike Leach would be the only coach ever to beat David Shaw three times in a row. And the loss two years ago was flat-out embarrassing. That game holds the distinction of being the first and only game I’ve ever left early—and I haven’t missed a game since 2005. Coach, when you play Mike Leach this year, I need you to look across the field like Jason Biggs when he was looking at the pie.
Beyond coaching, our defense needs to show up if we want to win the game. It shouldn’t be that hard to realize that WSU is going to pass. The Cougars are literally first in the country in passing. And when they played Utah, the box score read:
Passing yards: 445
Rushing yards: 0
Let that sink in.
So, what can the Stanford defense do to minimize that prolific WSU pass attack? Get on their receivers and challenge them. Force WSU to beat you with the run (which they rank second-to-last in the country in). Or, if they insist on passing (as they likely will), make quarterback Gardner Minshew throw on the run. Get those Cougars feisty; get them to commit penalties. WSU averages almost eight penalties a game; take advantage of this and force them into third-and-longs. Gabe Reid should play all game; WSU has only given up five sacks all season long, but Reid can make that number grow. Blitz and trust your safety valves will do their jobs. Plus, it’s not illegal to put your hands up when rushing the QB. The magic number defensively is 28. Yes, four touchdowns. Since 1971, WSU has only won against Stanford five times when it got fewer than 28 points. Play defense and trust your offense.
Offensively, it’s time Stanford finally learns and plays to its strengths: PASS THE ROCK. If you can’t run, why not take a cue from WSU and—well—don’t run? Throw for three or four yards. Throwing for 3.5 yards every time will always get you a first down. Even so, Stanford will face third down 13-17 times this game. You have to convert if you want a chance to win this game. The best any team has done against WSU on third-down conversions is 46%. WSU’s pass defense is tremendous. WSU will want to take away the run from Stanford. Mr. Costello, you should be happy to oblige. Make WSU’s tremendous pass defense irrelevant. Show the conference that you are still the QB to be reckoned with.
Special teams, here’s a crazy idea: pull off the fake. There are better odds of me getting with Shannon Elizabeth. But if the situation arises, do it. Other than that, continue to literally destroy the football with your legs.
Finally, I’m looking at the students and fans. There is no more room for studying on game days. Saturdays are for trees. Whether you are 18 or 81, it’s time to show up and cheer. I can’t force the fans to show, but those who are on campus, show up and get loud. I will be there, ready for this party to keep going
Overall, Stanford improved markedly since I last wrote: I mentioned Shaw changing things up… CHECK. KJ Costello running with the football…CHECK. Offensive line playing better… CHECK. Defense bending but not breaking…CHECK. Stanford is considerably better, but we need to be great against WSU. The biggest thing to remember is not to give up after hiccups. You don’t have to be perfect to beat this team. USC had one fewer first down, only converted on 33% of third downs, only had 113 rushing yards, forced 0 turnovers and lost in TOP by over 11 minutes. They won 39-36. IT’S COUGAR HUNTING TIME!!
Comments
Just a few comments, nerdnation
In the second paragraph, you wrote: "If it weren’t for a missed field goal by WSU last year, Mike Leach would be the only coach ever to beat David Shaw three times in a row." That missed FG occurred in 2015. We lost by 24-21 in 2017. If we lose this year, Leach will have his three-game winning streak.
There’s a reason WSU has only given up five sacks so far this season: Minshew gets rid of the ball very fast. Better pass-rushing teams than the Cardinal have not managed to generate sacks, so I do not see this as a winning strategy in Saturday’s game.
Regarding Wazzu’s QB, it is interesting to note that he has Minshew II on his jersey. Odd to think that he is not the only Gardner Minshew on the planet. I thought the name was already rather singular.
Agree that we need more passing and a more varied running game (misdirection, sweeps, fakes, screens). And if we are fortunate, we won’t need to do any cougar hunting. Sometimes, Leach’s teams fall into the cougar trap all by themselves. Let’s see which version of Wazzu shows up on Saturday. How about the one that committed 7 turnovers vs. Cal last year?
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.24.18 12:38pm
This was my fault, actually
> That missed FG occurred in 2015.
nerdnation23 wrote it correctly in the original version he sent me. When I was editing, I inadvertently edited in the mistake. Regardless, it’s now been fixed!
By Matt Vassar on 10.24.18 1:39pm
Ha! Somehow, I doubt this is the game that Shaw abandons the run.
It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Part of the reason that Leach gives Stanford fits is that his defense sells out on stopping the run. They WANT teams to have to lean heavily on the passing game and try to beat WSU through the air. The Cougars want shootouts because their team is generally better at them. If Stanford can establish the run and eat clock, then it takes the rhythm out of the Air Raid.
The problem, of course, is that Stanford has shown zero ability at establishing the run this season. The biggest success Stanford has had against WSU lately has been QB scrambles, which doesn’t bode well for this game because KJ hasn’t been as willing of a runner as Hogan.
I think Shaw is going to stick to his identity and try to run it down the Coug’s throats. If we can’t establish the run, then I don’t believe a passing attack will be enough to match the Cougar offense.
Shaw will be Shaw. Stanford will live by the run and die by the run.
By Walter100 on 10.24.18 1:38pm
I am a WSU alum and respectfully disagree
Blitzing just isn’t an effective strategy. Minshew has a quick release and is excellent at identifying the open man and getting the ball to him. Bringing extra rushers will leave gaps in the coverage which the offense is excellent at exploiting.
The way to stop the air raid is the opposite. Rush three, drop eight. If you look at the last few apple cups, that has been UWs strategy and it has worked. Of course, that was with an immobile QB who was resistant to checking into the run game, so we will have to see if that strategy is still effective.
Where the defense has made hay is in using quickness and technique to get tackles for loss and take away the run due to down and distance limitations. First and ten becomes second and thirteen and the other team starts passing. Second and five becomes third and eight, etc. The Coug defense is usually good against one dimensional offenses for this reason.
There is enough quickness and athleticism to limit explosive run plays so this has been effective. But our lack of bulk on the DL should insure you can regularly five-ish yards most of the time. The key will be (a) to be effective enough in the pass game to support the run game if that makes sense, and (b) to not shy away from running on third and medium/long,
By TheClaymore on 10.24.18 3:27pm