Phil Steele was on multiple ESPN shows yesterday and when asked about which team everyone should watch who will probably start the season at bottom of Top 25 polls and/or just out that has a good shot at reaching the Final 4, his choice: Stanford.
He talked about how inexperienced the OL was last year but toward the end of the season...they were on a roll (finished season with 3 wins by an average score of 38-14...with all 3 games had 200 plus yds rushing AND passing).
He obviously talked about Stanford's big 5th year QB Hogan. who completed 66% of his passes last year, has a 11-6 record vs Top 25 teams...top RB's coming back...great TE's...and solid defense.
Said Stanford could easily climb the polls this season...as Stanford gets to host Oregon and Notre Dame in November...should win season opener at Northwestern...plus they also get to host Arizona, UCLA and Washington...with their only real Pac-12 road test early vs USC.
It was a good question and an even better answer as there are not many analyst out there that can talk freely about players, team's strengths/weaknesses off the cuff...especially for a non Top 5-10 team.
He talked about how inexperienced the OL was last year but toward the end of the season...they were on a roll (finished season with 3 wins by an average score of 38-14...with all 3 games had 200 plus yds rushing AND passing).
He obviously talked about Stanford's big 5th year QB Hogan. who completed 66% of his passes last year, has a 11-6 record vs Top 25 teams...top RB's coming back...great TE's...and solid defense.
Said Stanford could easily climb the polls this season...as Stanford gets to host Oregon and Notre Dame in November...should win season opener at Northwestern...plus they also get to host Arizona, UCLA and Washington...with their only real Pac-12 road test early vs USC.
It was a good question and an even better answer as there are not many analyst out there that can talk freely about players, team's strengths/weaknesses off the cuff...especially for a non Top 5-10 team.
