One question I have for you or anyone in the know is WHY did Stanford look so much better prepared than Iowa?
That is a GREAT question. If I truly knew the answer, I'd apply immediately to join the coaching staff ; )
My thoughts (mind you, these are not excuses!) as to what may have played a role:
1) Stanford's experience with the stadium environment and grass surface (2 games in 2012, 1 game 2013, 1 game 2014). My kid mentioned that the grass surface required him to put a lot of pressure down on his plant foot in order to get a good grip, more so than usual. The Hawks practiced on the soccer fields adjacent to the LA galaxy field, where the grass was much longer and had a sandy base. It's been 25 yrs since the Hawks played, so none of the current team had any experience with this particular stadium's atmosphere.
2) stanford had far fewer bowl-prep practices than the Hawks, so perhaps they were more fresh? I wonder whether this affected the play of our O/D-lines, cuz they got manhandled. This, more than anything else, was what shocked me the most about the game. I was certain we'd control the line of scrimmage. : (
3) coaching staff (and players) did not truly appreciate McAffrey's (sp) speed, prior to the game. As a ST coach, I routinely advocate for a coffin-corner punt against dangerous returners that our team faces. For whatever reason, this type of punt is no longer seen in the college or pro games. Not sure why. I'd have advocated its use in the RB.
4) it didn't seem like we adjusted to the DL pressure CJB was facing in the game
I'm a ST coach, and have no experience in offensive or defensive play-calling. That being said, my thoughts on solutions to these problems:
1) request that the team be supplied with a practice field that has a surface identical to the game surface (I know, I know, that would be likely $$$$)
2) I know that KF occasionally visits other team's facilities/programs in the off-season. I specifically think it would be worth it for them to visit with former Stanford coaches (or coaches familiar with Stanford's program) in the off-season, to pick their brains about bowl prep. I think our regular season prep is great, but with all the additional intangibles prior to bowl games, they may require a different approach.
3) consider coffin-corner punting when facing dangerous returners
4) consider incorporating analytics into pre-game scouting, to objectively analyze opponent trends, and scheme accordingly. This can be applied in-game as well, of course. For example, once it became apparent our OL couldn't contain the rush, consider a screen pass, draw, etc, to exploit their aggression against them (Sun Tzu philosophy).
Disclaimer: these are my thoughts, not anyone else's. Also, I have no idea how the UI coaching staff preps the team for games. For all I know, they may have already considered these things, or discarded them as junk, lol.
