AB's: As newbies to the pac-12 we've had Utah appointed our rival, I don't like appointed rivals, who should we pick a fight with?
DA: Unfortunately, everyone else’s appointed rival is a pretty natural geographical rival, too. Picking on Washington State is your best bet for winning the most; picking on USC is convenient because no one likes USC.
AB's Can you explain the tree to me?
DA: Many people don’t know that Tree is not the official mascot of the university—he’s the mascot the band chose and brings to games. When Stanford ditched the Indians nickname in the early 70s, the students suggested a variety of new nicknames and eventually agreed on the Robber Barons. The administration vetoed that, settled on the Cardinal, and the band decided to take matters into its own hands by creating Tree. He’s created anew every year and is emblematic of much of the way the school likes to present itself—an irreverent, more fun version of the Harvards and Princetons of the East Coast.
AB's What high jinks if any can we expect from the band or will they simply mock us for losing to Wazzu?
DA: Expect a lot of that. But from the little I know about Boulder, it stands for all the same things that the band does. So I frankly have no idea what they’ll be up to.
Ok on to football:
AB's: Viewing from a far you guys haven't missed a beat with Coach Shaw at the helm, long term do you think he is the solution, or was Coach Harbaugh lighting that won't strike twice?
DA: Maybe both. Shaw has done a good job, but the real tests of his administration won’t arrive until late October and November. And regardless of how well he does, Harbaugh will always be a legend on the Farm. His years at Stanford have to collectively be some of the best in the history of the conference in terms of building a program back up from virtually nothing.
AB's: What differences if any do you see in this years team vs last year's Orange Bowl squad?
DA: The wide receiver play has certainly diminished since last year, when Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen were playing very effectively. Luck’s targeted tight ends more often this year, and Tyler Gaffney appears to have beaten out sophomore Anthony Wilkerson for the back-up tailback spot. The secondary has regressed a bit since last year, due partially to the loss of Richard Sherman, and losing the ultra-versatile Owen Marecic to the NFL has limited options on some short-yardage situations. But new players—especially true freshman linebacker James Vaughters—have helped fill in some gaps from last year. Overall, it’s too early to tell if the team is better or worse than it was in 2010.
AB's: Any causes for concern among the early performances from this team?
DA: Stanford might not be able to simultaneously shut down the run and the pass on defense, which will become a bigger problem against Oregon and USC. When the coaching staff wants to stop the run, it can; when it wants to stop the pass, it can. But the secondary hasn’t proven that it can be ready for whatever the other team calls, and the play of the defensive back 4 ought to be the biggest worry for the team and its fans.
AB's: Obviously we and the world know about Andrew Luck (nice catch), who don't we know about on this Stanford team that we should keep an eye out for Saturday?
DA: His favorite target lately, tight end Coby Fleener, is a fun guy to watch. He had a miraculous catch of his own last week and carries a big share of the receiving burden for the Card.
AB's: How do you see the game playing out? Early blow out? CU staying in it as you look ahead to your road show down with Wazzu? (we are f'd aren't we?)
DA: If precedent means anything, CU should be in the game (within 10 or so points) at halftime. After that, Stanford will probably blow the game up. Stanford’s first halves have been particularly sluggish even against Duke and UCLA, so Colorado ought to be able to get on the board for 7-14 points in the opening 30 minutes. By the end of the game, I think Stanford will have opened up a margin of around 25-30.
AB's: Enough about how much better your team is than ours, where should the CU fans set up to tailgate?
It won’t compare to the tailgating culture at a lot of big-time programs in total number of people and party atmosphere, but relaxing, eating and talking about football underneath the Eucalyptus trees that surround Stanford Stadium has to be one of the most pleasant and beautiful tailgating scenes in America.
