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Blogging With the Enemy: Wisconsin Badgers, Part 2

The Rose Bowl is three weeks from today, believe it or not, and there's been a fair amount of news out of Madison as the Badgers prepare to head west to take on our Mighty Card. A head coach has defected, a legend has decided to temporarily take his place, and -- shocker! -- Boise State's Chris Peterson sits atop Wisconsin's wish list. (As an aside, what exactly does Peterson have to do to convince people he's staying in Boise?)

But back to the Rose Bowl. As I continue to scour the globe for the greatest minds in Badger Nation, I've come across Mike Fiammetta from Bucky's 5th Quarter, a comprehensive Wisconsin site, and he happily agreed to chat. (And if you're wondering what the 5th Quarter is, just keep reading.) Mike sheds light on Wisconsin's mysterious five losses, explains their huge showing in the Big Ten championship game, and makes a prediction in the end. Great stuff, top to bottom. Enjoy!

Blogging With the Enemy: Wisconsin Badgers, Part 1

Yes, I realize the Rose Bowl is almost a month away, but it's never too early to start thinking about Wisconsin. Stanford and Wisconsin squared off in the 2000 Rose Bowl, and while Stanford fans are likely looking for a little payback, I'm not sure the revenge angle will resonate in a locker room full of players who would have had to hold their mothers' hands to cross the street to get to that game.

Either way, I'll have a lot of material here in the coming weeks previewing what promises to be a great game between the Cardinal and the Badgers, and I'm hoping to feature a variety of experts to give their opinions about both sides. First up is Andy Coppens from Madtown Badgers.

Since Wisconsin plays in the far-off Big Ten and their games this year usually kicked off while I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and hustling my daughter off to her soccer game, I thought it might make sense to start with an introduction to the Badgers and their fans. Don't worry, though. We'll dig deeper as the game gets closer. For now, meet the Badgers!

Blogging With the Enemy: UCLA Bruins

When commissioner Larry Scott and the Pac-12 wrapped up their $3 billion television deal last year, everything changed. No one has complained about the money, and even though the jury is still out on the Pac-12 Network, the conference has to be happy with the increased visibility gained through national telecasts on FOX and ESPN, but it hasn't been perfect.

Take a look at this Saturday's game between Stanford and UCLA. Back in October there was a lot of complaining in Mighty Card Nation about the scheduling of Big Game in the middle of the season, but then it was only about tradition. Now we see there's a practical reason to keep things as they were.

By scheduling an interdivisional matchup on this final weekend of the regular season, the Pac-12 has fallen into a terribly awkward situation. UCLA has already clinched the Pac-12 South and a spot in the conference championship game. Stanford needs a win to win the North and take a seat on the other side of the table. If all we were talking about were two teams playing each other six days apart, that would be bad enough. But it gets worse. Both teams have an incentive to lose.

Blogging With the Enemy: Oregon Ducks

We know what's at stake this evening in Autzen Stadium. A Stanford win will bring a bit more clarity to the BCS situation and the clear the path for the Cardinal to put themselves in the Rose Bowl without any questions. A loss? Most will say that's the more likely result, but if it's not a disastrous loss Stanford could still find its way to Pasadena with a little help.

Regardless of the result, what I'm most interested in is seeing how the Stanford defense holds up against the relentless pace and precision of the Oregon offense. So much is made of Oregon's no-huddle offense, but that isn't just a gimmick; this is a highly-skilled offense with athletes who will likely be impact players even at the next level. The last two years the Cardinal defense has looked overmatched. I don't know if the Stanford offense is ready to play in a game of this magnitude, but I think the defense is. I look forward to finding out if I'm right.

But enough from me. I give you Matt Takimoto from Addicted to Quack, with a report on the Ducks. Great stuff, as usual...

Blogging With the Enemy: Oregon State Beavers

This has been a long, strange season to say the least. After the peaks and valleys of September, the Cardinal settled into something of a malaise in October as fans lost faith in the quarterback and questioned the head coach. But November has brought a new quarterback and newfound optimism. 

This Saturday Kevin Hogan and the Stanford Cardinal will host the Oregon State Beavers in what is essentially a Rose Bowl elimination game. Assuming that Oregon finishes the season unbeaten (beating both Stanford and Oregon State along the way), the Ducks will likely head to the National Championship game, leaving the Rose Bowl short a team. There are dozens of variables that come into play, but it isn't a stretch to imagine the Rose Bowl committee choosing the next-best available Pac-12 team, and the winner of Saturday's game will have the inside track towards making that claim.

Oregon State boasts in impressive 7-1/5-1 record, but how good are they really? The Beavers made an early statement when they beat Wisconsin, a team that was much more highly regarded on September 8th than they are now, and two weeks later beat UCLA, a team that wasn't yet playing to its potential. Aside from that they have no real signature wins, nothing like Stanford's win over USC, for example.

If they're to get this win, it will start with their defense. As excited as Stanford fans were about Kevin Hogan's performance last week, his success came at the expense of perhaps the worst defense in the conference. The Beavers have a defense to rival Stanford's. The Cardinal may lead the nation in yards rushing allowed, but OSU is only four slots back in fifth place overall.

The similarities continue on the other side of the ball. Just like Stanford, the Beavers are breaking in a new quarterback. Sean Mannion had the reins early on, but injuries and poor performance opened up an opportunity for his back-up, and Cody Vaz has taken advantage. He threw for 332 yards in his season debut against BYU four weeks ago, and he totalled 267 yards and three touchdowns in the OSU win over Arizona State last week.

This game is coming at the perfect time for the Cardinal. After a week of practice as the #1 quarterback, Hogan will get to measure himself against one of the top defenses in the country as he attempts to lead Stanford to its second big win of the season. But enough from me. Cliff Kirkpatrick covers Oregon State for the Corvallis Gazette-Times, so he knows more about the Bears than I could ever hope to learn. He was nice enough to field a few questions from me. Take a read...

Blogging With the Enemy: Colorado Buffaloes

When the Colorado Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 for the 2011 season, they did so after a mediocre Big 12 season that saw them finish 5-7 overall and only 2-6 in conference. Since arriving in the Pac-12, things have gone downhill.

Last year the Buffs managed just two conference wins over Arizona and Utah and finished at 3-10 overall, and it's gotten worse this year. Were it not for a miraculous 4th-quarter comeback against Washington State (the Buffaloes trailed 31-14 before scoring three touchdowns in the final 7:06 to steal a 35-34 win), Colorado would be winless this year, and their losses haven't been close.

For the most part, it's the defense that has been the problem. In their seven defeats they've been outscored by an average of 32 points, and they've let opposing teams break out in spectacular fashion. How spectacular? Take a look:

• Fresno State running back Robbie Rouse racked up 144 yards on just nine carries, and the Bulldogs scored on two plays of more than 90 yards, the first time a team had done this in one game since 2004. Fresno State 69, Colorado 14.
• UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley threw for 281 yards while passing for two touchdowns and running for two more. UCLA 42, Colorado 14.
• Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly threw for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Arizona State 51, Colorado 17.
• USC quarterback Matt Barkley completed 19 of 20 passes, including six touchdowns. USC 50, Colorado 6.
• The Oregon Ducks scored 56 points in the first half, including two touchdowns each from Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas. Oregon 70, Colorado 14.

What does all that portend for this week's matchup with the Cardinal? With the recent struggles the Stanford offense has been having, this might be just what the doctor ordered. Most fans were expecting a relaxing win over Washington State last weekend, and when that didn't materialize, even Coach Shaw was forced to consider different options. Kevin Hogan has been promised 15 to 20 plays, and this week seems like the ideal time to open up the Hogan Package.

For more on the Buffs, here's some deeper insight from Jon Woods of the Ralphie Report. (You can view my side of the Q&A over at his site, and you can also read a few quick hitters from me over at Pacific Takes.) Anyway, here you go...

Blogging With the Enemy: Washington State Cougars

For the first time in what seems like months, the Cardinal can take a breath. Or can they?

One of the things I miss about the 2010 and '11 teams is the Sure Victory. The games where you knew there was no way -- no way in the world -- that the game would even be close. Even though those games are gone for now, it's difficult to complain about a team that's 5-2 and poised to make a run towards 7-2 before facing its next ranked opponent.

But as I said, no win is promised. The Washington State Cougars come to town in desperation mode. They've lost four straight games, two to the ranked Oregon schools, but that streak includes a disturbing 35-34 loss to Colorado, the worst team in the Pac-12, and another to Cal, the team that Stanford just destroyed. The Cougars sit at 2-5 and are yet to win a conference game, but players are still talking about winning four of their last five games and qualifying for a bowl game. Quarterback Jeff Tuel has reclaimed the starting job he lost earlier this season, and spoke with confidence earlier this week. "A bowl game still isn't out of reach, believe it or not. People from the outside looking in can say it is, but it's not with us. With the position I'm in it's my job to take us there, and I'm going to keep  believing until it's out of reach."

Even a loss to the Cardinal won't technically put it out of reach, but it would certainly start the music playing on Washington State's season. This is head coach Mike Leach's first season in Pullman, and though I haven't heard any reports of him locking players in closets, but I have to believe the expectations were a bit higher for him and his high-octane Air Raid offense.

The Cougs have been throwing the ball with success, averaging 322.3 yards per game in the air, good for ninth in the nation, but their rushing attack has been predictably anemic. Of even greater concern, however, is their run defense. Two weeks ago they allowed Cal to rush for 318 yards; last week Cal managed less than one percent of that total (three yards) against Stanford.

So looking into my crystal ball, here's what I see: Stanford runs the ball about 50 times, and Stepfan Taylor gets 30 of those carries while gaining somewhere in the neighborhood of 195 yards. Back up tailback Remound Wright might even have a big day with 40 or 50 yards of his own. Stanford 31, Washington State 10.

Then again, what do I know? I can really only tell you one side of the story. For the Cougar side, I checked in with one of GMC's oldest friends, Lucas Nurmi of the WSU Football Blog, who drops some serious Cougar knowledge. (As usual, you can read my answers to his questions about the Cardinal over on his site.) Read on...

Blogging With the Enemy: California Golden Bears

A year ago the Pac-12 Network seemed like a dream come true. Conference comissioner Larry Scott promised that every Pac-12 football and basketball game would be broadcast nationwide, and he delivered a contract that would funnel a quarter billion dollars to the conference's member schools each year.

The reality has been different. The Pac12-DirecTV impasse means that hundreds of thousands of Stanford fans -- myself included -- don't get to watch every game, and Big Game has inexplicably been moved to the middle of October. It is what it is.

This edition of Big Game probably comes at the perfect time for the Cardinal. After the disappointment of the Robbery at South Bend, there would normally be worries about an emotional hangover, so it's fortunate that the team has had the Axe to think about all week as they prepared to travel across the Bay to play the Cal Bears.

The Bears have had an up and down season, losing their season opener in disappointing fashion to Nevada, narrowly missing a huge road upset at Ohio State, and then crushing UCLA at home more recently. Cal hasn't beaten Stanford since 2009, when this year's seniors were freshmen, so I'm guessing they'll be even more motivated than usual to beat the Cardinal and reclaim the Axe.

To learn some more about the Bears, how their season has gone, and what they anticipate for the future, I contacted the good folks over at California Golden Blogs, and three of their experts were happy to answer a few questions. (You can click here to check out my responses to their questions. For even more, you can also check out Pacific Takes, where I helped out with a midseason look at the Cardinal.) Enjoy...

Blogging With the Enemy: Arizona Wildcats

There are few teams in America that need to play a football game as badly as Stanford does. After last Saturday's disheartening road loss to Washington, quarterback Josh Nunes and the Cardinal return home to Stanford Stadium where they'll take on the new-look Arizona Wildcats.

When Mike Stoops was hired away from Oklahoma in 2004, optimism was high. After all, Stoops had been the defensive coordinator under his older brother Bob for four years, and during that time the Sooners had gone 55-11, including a national championship and three Big 12 championships. 

The Stoops Experiment lasted a long time in Tucson, but it was ultimately a failure. In seven and a half seasons (Stoops was fired after six games in 2011) he posted a terribly mediocre record of 41 wins and 50 losses, a far cry from what was expected.

Enter Rich Rodríguez. After being cast off by the Michigan Wolverines, Rich-Rod has landed in the desert, bringing with him his spread offense and quirky defense. Initially things looked good, espcially after the Wildcats beat #18 Oklahoma State by three touchdowns in early September. But U of A is up to their old tricks of late, having lost a 49-0 blowout to Oregon two weeks ago and a 38-35 last minute heartbreaker to Oregon State last Saturday.

After this weekend's game against Stanford, the Wildcats will be halfway through a brutal six-game stretch during which they'll face six straight ranked opponents. Washington, USC, and UCLA are still waiting, so it could be argued that Saturday's game is the most important on Arizona's schedule. A win would give them much-needed confidence as they prepare to run the rest of their gauntlet, while a loss could send them into a death spiral from which they might never recover.

So as we prepare for this pivotal game, let's take a look at what the other side is saying. For the second year in a row, Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Desert Storm has been good enough to answer some of my questions about the current state of the Wildcats. (You can read my answers to his questions about the Cardinal right here.) Check it out, because it's great to learn -- knowledge is power!

Blogging With the Enemy: Washington Huskies

If you're a Washington Husky, there are two games on your schedule that are highlighted immediately each year: Washinton State in the Apple Cup and the University of Oregon. Those geographic rivals will always take top billing, but if the Cougars and Ducks occupy Husky fans' every waking thought, it's the Stanford Cardinal that lurks in the darkest corners of their nightmares.

Stanford has beaten the YouDub (or do we spell it the EweDub?) four years in a row, and outscored them 106-21 over the past two. Leading up to the 2011 game, Husky players and head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke openly about the need to atone for the previous year's 41-0 home shutout, but they were physically, emotionally, and spiritually broken after yielding 65 points and a Stanford-record 446 yards rushing in another loss.

So what will this year bring? What can we expect to see from the Huskies this year? I obviously don't know, so I went to two people who do. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times and John Berkowitz of UW Dawg Pound (you can find my answers to his Cardinal questions over there) were both kind enough to answer my questions about the Huskies. Enjoy...