Okay, how about a little Q&A just before the Sun Bowl?

A long-missed cultural exchange about the opponent. Thanks to GoMightyCard for reaching out to me for a little chat. You can find my responses to his questions here. Neither of us brought up Walt Harris, which was probably for the best.

Here’s what I asked him about the Stanford Cardinals.

1. Broad stroke question. Both the ACC and Pac-12 were seen as being down this year. The Pac-12 seemed to have it worse in perception. As there was no Clemson to bail out the rest of the conference. Add in the issues of conference money, the debacle with the replay/officiating interference, Larry Scott and of course the ongoing issues of the Pac-12 network. With all that, what is the feeling at least from Stanford regarding the conference and the future?

I was thinking about this while watching the semifinal games on Saturday, and I think you nailed a few things there. First of all, the worst thing about the Pac-12 is Larry Scott, who has bungled any number of things ranging from scheduling to officiating to the absolute mockery of the Pac-12 Network. Beyond that, though, the conference suffers tremendously for not having a marquee team. USC was one of the top programs in the country for about a decade, then Oregon took over the conference for a while before Stanford’s rise to power. Even though neither Stanford nor Oregon ever won a national championship, they each landed consistently in the top ten and at least seemed like they’d be competitive with the top teams around. This year there’s no team that can make that argument. It’s a shame that Washington State’s offense fell apart in the snow against Washington, because the Cougars deserve to be playing in the Rose Bowl, and I think their offense could keep up with the Buckeyes, but this has certainly been a down season. I would say, however, that things are looking up. Oregon should be great next year, and has been the case more often than not, the winner of the Stanford-Oregon game should be in the Rose Bowl.

2. Is it fair to say that with Bryce Love preparing for his future, that Stanford will be looking to win this game with the passing game and defense? What can you tell us about the Stanford passing games other then the fact that the receivers are tall?

For the first time since Jim Harbaugh arrived more than a decade ago, Stanford simply isn’t a running team. Even when Bryce Love was marginally healthy this season, the offensive line, long a strength of this team, was never able to open running lanes with any consistency. There were injuries from tackle to tackle and multiple different starting lineups, but the bottom line was this — the 2018 offensive line has not been good at run blocking. They’ve been much better at pass protection, however, and David Shaw has begrudgingly responded to this by adjusting his play calling and throwing the ball more than ever before.

Part of this, of course, is because of junior quarterback K.J. Costello and what’s probably the best group of Stanford receivers and tight ends in at least twenty years. Senior wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside has been one of the best receivers in the country this season, and not just because of his success around the goal line. (He’s Costello’s favorite red zone target; watch for him on end zone fades and boxouts and jump balls.) JJAW is also great between the twenties, where he expertly uses his body to shield defenders and give Costello a nice target. Beyond Arcega-Whiteside, watch for deep threats Osiris St. Brown and Michael Wilson. The tight ends, led by Kaden Smith and Colby Parkinson, are just as important in the Stanford passing game. Both of them are huge, and Costello excels at accurately placing the ball exactly seven feet high, where his tight ends can easily gather the ball in stride above the leaps of smaller defenders. While Arcega-Whiteside will occupy defenders on the sideline, Smith and Parkinson will run seam routes all day.

The biggest concern here is the loss of senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin, who’s probably been the most consistent player on the Stanford offense over the past four seasons. A knee injury against Cal in the final week ended his Stanford career.

3. Stanford had a slightly disappointing season, based solely on expectations. Yet, it seems that Stanford beat the teams they should and lost to the teams they should. Was this a year where expectations were a little higher then reality or was it something else?

This was a strange season. The way you describe it here is certainly one way to see things, and the more reasonable fans agree with you. Of course, just like with any program that isn’t Alabama or Clemson, there are plenty of fans who see this season as the final straw as they call for the firing of David Shaw. (This, by the way, will never happen.) But when you look at Stanford’s four losses, they weren’t awful. If they had beaten Washington and Washington State, as they easily could’ve, they might be playing in Pasadena instead of El Paso. Basically, it took the team too long to figure out who they were.

4. What can you tell us about the Stanford defense? The strengths, weaknesses. key players?

Ah, the Stanford defense. The secondary is the strength of this unit, led by sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo, an all-conference selection who is one of the top defensive backs in America. We began to hear things about him last year during his redshirt season, and he grabbed the starting spot almost immediately this year and has been flat out great. He has the necessary speed and instincts to succeed, but when you add his length and ball skills (Notre Dame wanted him as a wide receiver) you get a special player. He had two highlight reel interceptions against Cal, the first of which is probably the best interception I’ve ever seen. Senior Alijah Holder is the opposite corner, and the two of them are probably the best cornerback pair in school history.

If you look at the numbers, however, you’ll see that Stanford’s pass defense ranks among the worst in the country. The problem is that the defensive line hasn’t been able to pressure quarterbacks at all. For the previous two seasons the best Stanford defender was a defensive tackle, Solomon Thomas in 2016 and Harrison Phillips in 2017. Both of those players are enjoying success in the NFL right now, and there has been no replacement. Not only is there no impact player on the line, there is no depth. There is, however, youth. We’ve seen flashes from pass rushing freshmen Thomas Booker and Andres Fox, as well as sophomores Ryan Johnson and Dalyn Wade-Perry, so there’s definitely hope for the future. For Monday, though, this is a concern.

5. How do you see the Sun Bowl playing out?

All of that being said, I still feel good about the Cardinal’s chances in this one, mainly because I feel so good about the Stanford offense. It’s been fun to watch Costello improve over the course of the season, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he’s used the last four weeks of practice to improve further. This is an offense that should score 30 points every time out, especially in games like this one, where the opponents will likely be scoring as well. So I’ve got Stanford winning in an old-fashioned Texas shootout — 38-31.