Cupcake City: First Look At Stanford

by Nestor on Aug 27, 2007 3:26 PM PDT in Football Comment 8 comments

Well, Karl Dorrell couldn't find a better opponent to kickoff his "Show Me" season this Saturday. Bruins get to take on a joke of a ~~D-2~~ D-1 football program, which lost to San Jose State last season and to UC Davis (that's right UC Davis) the year before.

I don't need to go over again how talented and experienced our guys are. We can keep this thing simple. UCLA should be able to beat the tar out of this sorry team even if McLeod Bethel-Thompson was starting for us this Saturday.

Let's go over some notes re the joke Cardinal offense from CFN.com:

Key player to a successful season: Senior QB T.C. Ostrander. Can he actually run the show? He's the only real option at the moment, but the coaching staff would love more competition and someone else to emerge as a possible challenger. Ostrander has good size and has been around long enough to know what he's doing. Now he has to start completing more than half his passes and throw more touchdown passes than interceptions, neither or which he did last year. [...]

Best Offensive Player: Senior WR Mark Bradford. Whoever is taking snaps for the Cardinal this fall will benefit immensely from the return of fifth-year seniors, Bradford and Moore, after injuries cut short both of their 2006 seasons. At 6-2, Bradford is a polished route runner with reliable hands and the fluid stride to make plays behind a secondary.

Some of you have already read this Wilner post from San Jose Mercury News, which had this bit on Ostrander:

The hour-long stretch of practice I witnessed Friday was preposterously ragged, filled with dropped passes and errant throws by T.C. Ostrander. My first thought: This team might go 0-12.

But to be fair, the Cardinal was one day removed from a 120-plus play, heat-of-the-day scrimmage, and the players were probably tired. I was a little surprised to see them back out there in full pads, actually.

Oh, and during that scrimmage, Harbaugh said, Ostrander "played at a very high level."

Surely Wilner was exaggerating a bit. But you get the idea. If our vaunted defense, who we have heard about the entire off-season, cannot shut down and dominate this quarterback, what are they going to do rest of the season?

Oh, and, by the way, Stanford's most talented offensive weapon - Bradford - is all banged up:

Stanford wide receiver Mark Bradford has yet to play in one-year-old Stanford Stadium. There's a chance his debut in the remodeled facility again might be delayed.

Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh would not commit Monday that Bradford, the fifth-year senior who missed nearly the entire 2006 season with a foot injury, will be ready to play Sept. 1 against UCLA.

Bradford has sat out the past few days of practice with what is believed to be tendinitis in his left knee. Harbaugh, increasingly reluctant to talk about injuries as opening day approaches, didn't shed much light on Bradford's prospects beyond saying, "He'd be playing if he could."

Asked whether Bradford will be available for the opener, Harbaugh replied, "I don't know right now."

What we do know is that Stanford WR's should be absolutely no match for our secondary. As for the Stanford OL, which was responsible for the worst rushing attack in the Pac-10 and gave up an eye popping conference leading 50 sacks, that still remains a question mark heading into the first game (from the Wilner post linked above):

I'm also becoming convinced that three players hold the key to the season, and they are all offensive linemen: Center Tim Mattran, who missed the `06 season with a sprained ankle, tackle Allen Smith and guard Alex Fletcher.

If those guys play well -- they're more gifted collectively than the group of linemen who were seniors last year -- then the OL will be respectable.

And if the OL is respectable, then offense should function.

And if the offense functions, Stanford should be competitive in five or six games.

And if Stanford is competitive in five or six games, it could win two or three.

Which brings us to Stanford defense, which apparently is even more pathetic than their joke offense:

As bad as the offense looks, there are just as many questions, if not more, on the defensive side of the ball. Scott Shafer, an up-and-coming defensive innovator who revived the unit at Western Michigan, is being counted on to do the same thing at Stanford. He has an uphill battle ahead of him this season.

The Cardinal will be switching to a more conventional 4-3 defensive front from the 3- 4 they ran last season. In some ways that will help them cover for some peronsell loses that will hit a team already lean on talent. The defense lost it's three best players from the worst unit in the Pac-10. That included their only standout player, Michael Okwo, a first-team All-Pac-10 linebacker.

Besides Okwo, Trevor Hooper and Bo McNally were the other two leading tacklers and both safeties will be missed from the secondary. The best candidate at the free safety spot is sophomore Austin Yancy who was a backup receiver last year. That's a telling sign of how hard up Stanford is for athletic players. Ben Olson definitely has the arm strength to stretch the field and I think Norvell will try and take advantage of this thin secondary.

Last year, the Cardinal gave up 211 yards rushing per game. That's an embarrassing number and that was with Okwo in the lineup. They are going to have to find a way to slow down opposing running backs this year if they are going to stand a chance at winning any games. Sophomore linebacker Clinton Snyder and nose tackle Ekom Udofia look like promising players who could help revive this unit down the road.

In the spring game, the defense looked decent, but you expect the defense to be ahead of the offense when a new system is installed. We'll have to see how they perform in the fall and if any new stars can emerge. Considering the recruiting hand-cuffs that the Stanford administrations has put on the program, I won't be holding my breath. The Bruins have an athletic advantage at almost every position.

Well, there should be no excuse for the Bruin offense not dominate this feeble bunch on Saturday. We have heard enough hype about Norvell up this point. Dorrell's got a brand new OL coach driving the former one out of town. So our OL, with their talent and experience, should be well set up just to dominate, and blow the feeble Stanford LD out, and open up huge holes for Markey, Bell, and Ramirez. It should also provide Southpaw Jesus enough time to pick apart their weak secondary and get in rhythm. The Bruin offense should look comfortable against this sorry bunch, and if for some reason we get to see Dorrell settling for FGs rather than TDs in the redzone, it will set an ominous tone for rest of the season.

Meanwhile, keep in mind when you read rest of Bruin Roar's Stanford preview it notes that talented Stanford WRs - Bradford and Moore - as healthy. Obviously, the health of Bradford is in question, and Moore doesn't sound all that well. Plus, if the Bruin defense is really all that they (and their DC) are cracked up to be, this offense, then these guys should pose minimal challenges to Horton, Keyes, Brown, Van, Verner and co. They should absolutely annihilate them all over the Farm this Saturday. I will end this note from CFN:

Where's a true cupcake when you need a more manageable opener? Stanford is going to eventually make strides offensively under Harbaugh, but drawing a stingy UCLA defense that returns ten starters is no way to build confidence. The Cardinal can forget about running the ball on the Pac-10's top run defense, and QB T.C. Ostrander doesn't have the tackles to prevent All-American DE Bruce Davis from tormenting him all afternoon. This is a Stanford team that needs plenty of time before it becomes more than just a speed bump, and it's not going to have the offensive punch in place.

The Bruins need to blow the Cards out by at least 21 points or more. If UCLA football has truly arrived in Dorrell's "Show Me" season, we expect the post game thread on Saturday Night to be titled, "Cupcake City." Anything less would be a troubling sign for Mr. Make A Move from Westwood. And if you think we are setting the bar a little too high for Mr. Make Move, you may want to click on this. That's right, the WWL has pegged Stanford as one of the 10 worst programs in college football.

Like I said, cupcake city baby.

GO BRUINS.

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My prediction? 40-9.

Based on:

(a) Our offense clicking early, but then getting bogged down with some red zone problems. 2 TDs, but 2 FGs in 1st half; 3 offensive TDs, 4 FGs in all.

(b) Our D scoring once on a pick-off.

(c) Our D settling for a couple of more FG tries by the 4th quarter, while giving MBT and Forbath as much garbage time as possible.

(d) A 20-3 half time lead for us. Good, but not great... yet.

(e) Stanford getting a TD against our 2nd unit D, but botching an effort to salve the home crowd with a 2-point conversion in the new stadium.

(f) SPJ hits about 8 different receivers as we go to a LOT of no-FB sets and slants to get SPJ's rhythm going early, with tough-guy Everett and the tall-guy Cowan leading the charge with about 4-5 catches apiece.

(g) We still get a 30-point win, with areas we STILL need to improve.

MIM

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Aug 27, 2007 3:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Throw in 5 sacks...

... with BD getting 2, as the D-hype builds in earnest, and is earned.

MIM

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Aug 27, 2007 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I will take that*

by Nestor on Aug 27, 2007 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, that should be our "O"...

... not our "D" settling for a couple of 4th quarter FG tries.

MIM

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Aug 27, 2007 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We should win this game in a walk. BUT

as long as Karl Dorrell is running things, I wouldnt be shocked to see Stanford hang around for a while oor cover the spread.

by BillyZoom on Aug 27, 2007 4:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'll be there on Saturday...

and I'll try to get some pics up here for you guys. As you said, this should be a back-shed beatdown, but with Dorrell and company, you never know. I was at the game two years ago when we should have beaten them by 20+, but had to come back to win by scoring 3 touchdowns in less than 4 minutes.

My prediction...UCLA 31, Stanford 13

by norcalbruin95 on Aug 27, 2007 4:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't Underestimate ANY team

i say this, i dont care who we play. it could be cupcake U or power house U. i want this team to prepare and play as if it was playing the # 1 team in the nation. week in and week out.

no excuses

by uclaov1 on Aug 27, 2007 6:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You are right - no team should be underestimated..

If the Bruins play as we expect them - the offense alone should put up at least 4 scores. The defense should add a multitude of sacks and turnovers - perhaps an interception or two returned for TDs.

AND I expect to see Mc B-T put in to get some serious time under center for game experience. I don't want to see KD leave him on the bench just to see him thrust in to replace an injured SPJ in a critical situation with a "Deer in the headlights" moment.

Every player in uniform the sideline must be prepared and coached to go in confidently at a moments notice to perform at his best.

by bruinhawk on Aug 28, 2007 3:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs