a travesty

What were the replay officials looking at? The NW player gave Costello a forearm shiver to the throat and chin, knocking his helmet off. The NW player wasn’t just falling down.

By atg_commish on 08.31.19 9:13pm

Apparently it was Big 10 refs in the replay booth.

So….we shouldn’t be surprised they refuse to review it.

By Blackjoy on 09.01.19 1:42pm

Any update on KJ?

By drkato9 on 09.03.19 3:42pm

Report is "questionable" but...

He’s definitely going to play. As he was leaving the field, you could hear his voice on TV and he said, "I’m fine." The blow just took his helmet off and I think he tried to play it up a bit on the field.

By Blackjoy on 09.03.19 3:59pm

Thanks.

I read that Little is out for up to half the season with a knee injury. Ouch.

By drkato9 on 09.03.19 9:10pm

Yeah

That injury to Little will really hurt the OL performance for sure.

"Thankfully", SC is in a bit of a bind now as well without Daniels.

Looking ahead, I think a lot of people think we will win next week (line has already moved to SC -1, which on the road is basically a tossup). We should be 2-0.

After that, there is the optimist case and the pessimist case.

A pessimist case probably has us losing at UCF and then losing to Oregon, for 2-2, winning at the Beavers and then losing to UW for a 3-3 first half. Middle of the road case, if we can win one of UW and Oregon (the optimist case of winning both would be even better but will be really challenging I think), for a 4-2 first half, then I think we would be in good shape for a good second half run into the finale against ND — perhaps being 8-3 going into that game (pessimist case would only be 7-4 into that game because the second half of the season is much easier this year).

Disaster case (losses to USC, UCF, Oregon, Washington, WSU, Cal and ND) would of course be a disaster, but is also unlikely despite how absolutely brutal the early schedule is. My sense is that we likely end up with 7-5 or 8-4, with 9-3 being the great stretch result given the schedule and the bottom probably the unlikely disaster scenario of 5-7.

By Brendan Ross on 09.04.19 6:59am

Defense definitely raises the floor of this team; ceiling has dropped due to the little injury

If KJ plays USC, we win by 10. If Mills plays, then its going to be a very close game for sure. Considering back-to-back roadies followed by Oregon and Washington, I wouldn’t rush KJ back at all. He holds the key if we have any chance of staying in contention for the north, i.e. beating oregon and washington.

I wouldn’t rule out a very 2017-like season where we lost to SC, wazzu and a spiky SDSU on the road and still ended up winning the north because of the tie breakers against Oregon and Washington. But, it could also turn out to be 2014-ish when we squandered a tremendous defense with a sputtering offense and lost to SC, ND, Utah in painstakingly close games.

Basically, anywhere between 7-5 and 9-3 is ultimately what we will end up with.

By layman on 09.04.19 9:46am

For what it's worth

Apparently this writer thinks Costello is a full go… Not sure how valid this is though.
https://twitter.com/Emilnem/status/1168996940794748928?s=19

By t_smak on 09.04.19 1:39am

Looks like KJs neck was yanked n an awkward position just before the back of his head hit the grass. I would sit him for a week just as a precaution..

By Slot_Man22 on 09.05.19 12:27am

KJ should sit a game just as a precaution

Look guys I know you mean well but Mills is a beast. It’s not easy coming off the bench in any sport especially if you haven’t played n 3 years. If KJ plays we’re good but if Mills plays i think you all will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. He’s a winner and it will be showcased Saturday if called upon.

By Slot_Man22 on 09.05.19 12:25am

has shaw ever said "questionable"

and then the player actually played?

By hutre67 on 09.05.19 8:47am

Questionable

Exactly… the Cardinal staff is most likely requiring KJ to follow concussion protocol. The season is still young.. better to heal now rather than later

By Slot_Man22 on 09.05.19 4:28pm

KJ has been ruled out.

No doubt Shaw using a CYA approach. I have a heard time believing Costello failed any of the tests given to check for a concussion, but if he did fail them, then this is obviously the right thing to do.

By Blackjoy on 09.05.19 7:13pm

i think CYA is a little cynical

i really, genuinely believe that shaw really, genuinely cares for his players’ well-being first and foremost, and that he’s keeping KJC out out of an abundance of precaution.

By hutre67 on 09.05.19 10:00pm

It's a reality of the times.

My statement is based on the the belief that Costello passed all the tests and had no symptoms of a concussion or lingering injury. If Costello legitimately failed some test, then my statement is withdrawn.

But assuming Costello has zero symptoms, if Costello got back out there and something happened to him, Shaw and Stanford would face all kinds of scrutiny because Costello technically took a blow to the head. Shaw/Stanford seem to have a protocol where any blow to the head essentially knocks the player out of the next game, regardless. The fact that it is automatic, is a CYA policy.

By Blackjoy on 09.06.19 10:03am

I don't mean that in a cynical way.

I’m sure Shaw would not send out a concussed player even if he knew no one would know. My point is the policy is about avoiding liability if there are no exceptions to its use.

By Blackjoy on 09.06.19 10:06am

Out Of An Abundance Of Caution

I don’t disagree with Blackjoy at all. I am sure that other coaches on other teams would have KJ in there if he had passed his concussion protocols but Shaw will do what is in the player’s best health interest and what minimizes the Stanford football program to negative exposure. It is actually a pretty adult decision in what is, after all, a student athlete driven college football game. The concussion protocols should be a "minimum test".

I actually was a little surprised that KJ was not out to start the second half last week. It was not a helmet hit. And when he finally bounced up, he looked fairly ok. But I am a long ways away to make any sort of medical assessment, and would never want a player to risk his health (more than is usual in a college football game) because he does not have all of his faculties or is more susceptible to further damaging injury.

Davis Mills it is then. Heck, he has been around a long time. Let him air it out (but please no read options).

By hoyaparanoia on 09.06.19 4:19pm