You do not know half as much as you presume, bear, but even that exceeds my expectations.
I agree the last three teams we played were versus poor defensive teams Cal being the most deficient, but most will tell you that there was a significant difference in how well Stanford moved the ball starting with the Big Game through our bowl game. UCLA had no solution for the Stanford offense notwithstanding all their defensive NFL talent (Cal scored 34 points with its "prolific" offense vs UCLA, but Stanford with its "struggling" offense scored 31? Perhaps Cal just couldn't take advantage of that top10 team's suckiness). Maryland was outclassed from the beginning. All three of those games were WITHOUT Ty Montgomery who was injured early in the Cal game.
Our defense lost starters, but definitely not our 2-deep. That is just false and easily verifiable by looking at last year's roster and comparing it to this year's. If that is too much of a chore, just scroll up and review the Stanford Defense summary post. If you are still wondering about our depth, look up the recruiting classes since 2012.
No predictions from me concerning this game. Just looking forward to a great game!
Oh...and the only joke I have heard concerning Stanford is that Cal might actually beat them this year. Ha! Thanks, I will come back and read this whenever I need a chuckle through next season.
Talent is a lot different than experience my friend. I know you're panicking because Stanford is in a downward spiral. You are very naive if you dont think your defense will take a HUGE step back, and as well as your offense finished the season, they won't make up the gap that got you to your 7-5 record last season. If you think they will, then you don't have nearly as much respect for your defense last year as you should.
I think my prediction that Stanford will get 6 wins is extremely fair.
UCLA had a lot of stars on their defense, but their numbers indicate that they weren't all that good. As good as Cal's offense was, we struggled against good defensive lines. UCLA, Washington, and Stanford all got the better of us. Our best tackle was playing with two hurt shoulders by the end of the year and our best guard was forced to play the other tackle position. The fact we scored as much as we did was a miracle, as Goff had no time to throw.
PS I will never forgive Skov's absolute cheap shot on Goff as a true freshman. Once of the dirtiest hits I've ever seen. The fact he was able to play on the rose bowl vs mich st was disgusting and a true showing of the higher ups of the pac12. Whether it is this, or their ridiculous one sided officiating for Oregon and Stanford.
Btw, reading through your defense post, it sounds like you don't even think they will be very good. Not only is experience an issue, but also depth. Could be a long year for the cardinal.