Shaking the Trees with Go Mighty Card

This week the WSU Football Blog conducted our near annual “Blogging with the Enemy” exchange with the great website Go Mighty Card.  You can check out the WSU Football Blog’s responses as provided by our own Longball at http://www.gomightycard.com/ later this afternoon.

In the meantime, I had the fortune of sitting down with lead writer Hank Waddles at his palatial 12,000 square foot estate in East Palo Alto earlier in the week…

WSUFBblog: In previous years it was almost painful to watch Stanford play because they hit the opposition so darn hard.  However, this year’s team appears to lack the same degree of physicality as past Stanford teams–even though the results yielded by the Cardinal defense are similar to what we have seen in years past.   What is your take on Stanford’s defense?  How do you think they rank relative to previous teams?

Go MIGHTY CARD!: The Stanford defense is definitely different from what it’s been the past few years, but it should be noted that it’s still been effective. In conference play the Cardinal ranks second in scoring defense (24.2 ppg to USC’s 24.0) and first in total defense (372.8 ypg, just a few yards ahead of Utah). Last year, though, those numbers were 19.4 and 306.3, so there’s been a definite drop off.

The linebackers were the heart of Stanford’s defense during that recent stretch of dominance, and Blake Martínez, one of the front-runners for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, continues that tradition. He leads the conference in tackles and is the clear leader of the defense, physically and emotionally. In front of him and behind him, however, are question marks. The defensive line has been effective, with Aziz Shittu, a senior reaching his five-star potential, and Solomon Thomas, a sophomore seeing the field for the first time, asserting themselves as stalwart defenders, but there isn’t much depth behind them. Beginning in 2012, Stanford ranked second, fifth, and fourth in the nation in sacks; this year they’re a bit lower — 104th.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to watch on Saturday, however, will be Stanford’s young secondary. Without question this is the most talented collection of defensive backs in program history, but they’re incredibly young. Of the eleven players listed on the depth chart for this week’s game, there are seven freshmen and sophomores. We saw some growing pains early on with dropped interceptions and pass interference penalties, but they seem to have settled down. Senior cornerback Ronnie Harris is playing the best football of his life, and sophomore Alijah Holder on the opposite side is developing into an all-conference type player. To make things more interesting, this unit has been vocal about embracing the challenge that Luke Falk presents. We’ll see what happens.

WSUFBblog: We think that Kevin Hogan is college football’s equivalent to Russell Wilson–a championship quarterback who often gets unfairly characterized as a “game manager.”   That said, even though Hogan tends to be nails for 10 or so games a year, it also seems like he struggles at least a couple of times a year.  Are his periodic struggles something you all worry about?  And what are the chances that he comes up small this weekend in Pullman?

Go MIGHTY CARD!: Luke Falk has about a thousand more yards passing than Kevin Hogan, but Hogan leads the conference in passing efficiency, and it isn’t even close. Falk is second at 160.4, followed by Cody Kessler (159.3), Josh Rosen (147.9), Travis Wilson (141.7) and Jared Goff (135.7). Hogan sits atop the list at an even 200. He flies under the radar because he doesn’t throw for 350 yards a game, but recently David Shaw has been raving about Hogan’s ability to run the offense and lead the team. The offensive coaches have even stopped running the scout meetings during the lead up to game day; they sit in the back and let Hogan go over the blitz protections that his linemen and running backs will have to learn.

He’s become a coach on the field, but he’s also been an effective passer, completing 72.6% of his passes in conference play. His bad passes are becoming much more infrequent, and he even seems to have broken his old habit of locking onto his primary receiver. Finally, he’s seems to have recovered from the ankle injury he suffered early in the season, and he’s become a running threat again. I’m pretty certain that Hogan won’t impress Washington State fans on Saturday or fill up the stat sheet, but he’ll be incredibly efficient.

WSUFBblog: Similar to the Seahawks, Owusu and company tend to be undervalued as “pedestrian” receivers.  What do you like the most out of that position group generally?  Should WSU fear the re-emergence of the TE this weekend?

Go MIGHTY CARD!: That’s a really good comparison, actually, and not just because Doug Baldwin is a Stanford alum. There’s a lot of talent here, but no one really stands out — and I think that’s actually a good thing. Devon Cajuste, Michael Rector, and Francis Owusu have been consistent all season, as have the tight ends, led by Austin Hooper. The team’s leading receiver, however, in both receptions and yardage, is running back Christian McCaffrey. That probably says more about his greatness than any deficiency in the receiving corps, but it’s still a bit unusual. McCaffrey does most of his receiving damage when asked to circle out of the backfield to take advantage of a mismatch with a linebacker, but he also lines up as a slot receiver from time to time. Stanford’s also been splitting out another running back, freshman Bryce Love, and throwing wide receiver screens to him, so watch for that also.

WSUFBblog: WSU has shown itself to be particularly vulnerable on special teams.  How are Stanford’s #specialforces generally?  More specifically, how confident are you with your kicker if the game comes down to a 46 yard FG at the end of regulation?

Go MIGHTY CARD!: Christian McCaffrey is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He hasn’t returned a kickoff for a touchdown yet, but he took one back 96 yards against UCLA. Stanford leads the conference in kickoff returns thanks to his presence back deep, but they haven’t been as good returning punts. Some fans have recently begun wondering if the Cardinal might be better off just trying to block every punt rather than setting up for a return, and with good reason — Stanford is dead last in the conference, averaging negative yardage in the punt return game. Place kicker Conrad Ukropina is a bright spot, however. He’s only missed one field goal (a short one that soared over the top of the left goalpost) and is 4 of 4 from forty yards or longer, including a long of 52. Of course, the weather is supposed to be awful, so I’m not sure I’ll feel confident wtih any field goal attempt…

WSUFBblog: Right now Stanford appears to be firing on all cylinders and may be vulnerable to only a couple of teams nationally (e.g., Ohio State and Alabama).  That said, what concerns you most about this Stanford team?  How confident are you that this team will make the College Football Playoff?

Go MIGHTY CARD!: Stanford is definitely playing well right now, and there has been lots of talk in the fanbase about the playoffs. Some national analysts are even beginning to say that the Cardinal controls its own destiny and could clinch a spot in the final four even if four undefeated teams remain. The concern, then, is that the playoffs have essentially already started for them. Any loss — this week against Washington State, later against Cal, or in the finale against Notre Dame — and the dream is over. The good news is that the players seem to be focused on just the game ahead. I really don’t think there’s any danger that they’re overlooking Saturday’s game, for example. Even so, teams with high octane offenses like the Cougs will always be dangerous.

WSUFBblog: Who is going to win? Give us your final score and explanation…

 Go MIGHTY CARD!: I’ve got Stanford winning this one. Washington State has scored 17 points three years in a row against the Cardinal, so I’ll put the score at 41-17. I think the Stanford offense will be too much for the Coug defense, and McCaffrey and company should be able to control the clock enough to keep Luke Falk on the sidelines for much of the night. Really, though, I’ll be happy with anything as long as it’s a win.

Thanks again to Hank for taking the time to talk to us and for putting me up at his house this week!

We’ll be back later this afternoon with Football Friday on a Thursday.

All for now. Go Cougs!