After two straight losses early in the season, I doubted Stanford could win the PAC-12 North, and I’m sure I was not alone; fans questioned Shaw’s conservative play calling and his choice behind center. Even David Shaw himself mentioned in his opening remarks Saturday night that he doubted whether his team would see USC again for a rematch. But here we are on Thanksgiving weekend, thinking about the PAC-12 Championship game next Friday versus the Trojans and thinking about how much better of a team Stanford is now than in September.
Stanford battled on both sides of the ball on Saturday, and it wasn’t till late in the game that they slipped away from the Irish.