Danny Payne, Pregame editor: OK, so we’ve had a week to dissect Stanford, so initial thoughts. Go.
Ryan Rodriguez, football reporter: A lot like we were saying against Michigan State — it’s a really similar football team, which is weird, because Michigan State was a Big Ten team, and it’s not surprising to say they’ve played a similar team they’ve seen before. But when you think about how different the Pac-12 is, Stanford runs the ball extremely well and has a dominant offensive line — two things that really are not typical of your standard Pac-12 offense.
Charlie Green, football reporter: They’ve got a lot of standout seniors on this team too. Two standout seniors on that offensive line, two first-team Pac-12 players and one national first-teamer in Joshua Garnett at guard. They have standout defensive players that are seniors. They’re a veteran group that are built from the line out on both sides of the ball. Similar philosophy to Michigan State
Payne: And you didn’t even mention Christian McCaffery or Kevin Hogan in that.
On Hogan’s NFL future
Green: I think the stereotype with those type of Stanford guys is that they have the IQ or the football sense — they’ll get played up like they have the IQ. He’s also an athletic guy, and that goes a long way, too.
Payne: That comes with David Shaw and the whole culture of the program, just the way it’s perceived — you see the Alabamas and Floridas and SEC teams of the world as guys that have all the talent, and then you have your “smart guy” programs, I guess is a fair way to describe Stanford.
On Stanford’s identity
Green: I really like watching Stanford play. They’re one of those teams that sort of plays that Big Ten brand of football in a conference that you don’t see a lot of that.
Rodriguez: They’re like a hybrid of it almost because they pass a lot, too, and they run a lot of weird formations and utilize a lot of players in ways that I don’t see a whole lot of other teams do. They’re an entertaining team to watch — no matter who they play, it’s always going to be an entertaining game with them.
Green: They play defense, and they put up points, so it’d be interesting to see how they’d be doing in the Big Ten this year. I think pretty well. I don’t think they’d have two losses.
Payne: Eh. It depends what their schedule would look like too, if they were in the East or the West. That plays a part in it.