A few thoughts and figures on Stanford’s devastating performance in the Rose Bowl:
- Too much speed, too much excellent execution. It’s one thing to have an advantage in speed, it’s another to put that speed to best advantage. Head coach David Shaw and offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren certainly did that, beginning with Christian McCaffrey’s 75-yard catch and run on the first play.
“For me, underlying this whole entire game plan was utilization of our speed,’’ Shaw said. “We knew we were going to have a chance to get guys in space. But that was one way we thought we could really get the safeties to suck up and isolate Michael Rector down the field, and it worked to perfection.