Note: Caught Looking will likely be on hiatus this week while I'm out of the country for Thanksgiving break. When I return I'll post coverage of the Battle 4 Atlantis from Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and I'll have another special surprise to unveil toward the end of the month. Stay tuned!
After witnessing two consecutive crushing defeats at the hands of the Oregon Ducks, I was thrilled to see the Stanford Cardinal take down the nation's second-ranked team and give themselves a legitimate chance at a Pac-12 championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Once the final whistle sounded, I started to process all this might mean for the Cardinal program - the first league championship since the 1990s, a third consecutive BCS bowl bid (to three different bowls), and the continuation of the program's top-ten status post Andrew Luck's departure for the NFL. Eager to relive the game, I turned on SportsCenter when I got home and was looking forward to hearing some commentary about the win's significance for Stanford. Instead, all anyone was talking about was how Oregon blew their shot at the National Championship game, and how Stanford excelled in their role of spoiler.
Now, there's no doubt Stanford played the role of spoiler on Saturday night. The Ducks are no longer really part of the National Championship picture, and I'll admit that there was an essence of "sweet revenge" to this win. After all, Oregon ruined Stanford's last two seasons - both years, the Cardinal were undefeated before meeting Oregon, and both times Stanford left the game licking their wounds. But for me, this win was about much more than just getting back at a Pac-12 North rival. Traditionally when we talk about the role of spoiler, we think about an underdog team with nothing to play for except for the thrill of ruining a season for a team otherwise destined for great things. That wasn't the case on Saturday night, though, when the Cardinal had a lot to play for above and beyond knocking the Ducks a few rungs down the BCS ladder.
Earlier in the evening, an unranked Baylor team knocked off previously top-ranked Kansas State, and sports commentators everywhere basked in the glory of the Wildcats' suddenly flawed season. In this case, though, Baylor (and its partially empty stadium) wasn't playing for much -at 5-5 with two games remaining, the Bears are scrapping for bowl eligibility and a trip to a lower-tier bowl. Stanford, however, is in a completely different situation. After grabbing Oregon's top spot in the Pac-12 North standings, the Card deserve to be talked about as more than David to the Ducks' Goliath. The Cardinal have established themselves as a program that can compete with anyone in the country, and they should be considered more than a footnote in the story of Oregon's 2012 season.
I've been critical of the Cardinal all season, from their struggles throwing the ball to their questionable play calling in key situations. But despite the team's uninspired early season loss at Washington and a controversial defeat at Notre Dame, I have to admit that I was wrong about this 2012 Stanford team. I figured they'd struggle severely this season, but with just one regular season game to play (next week at a tough UCLA team) it's clear that this is a legitimate college football powerhouse. Now that I've admitted I was wrong, it's time for the sports media to start talking about Stanford as if they're more than the little engine that could. This is a big, powerful engine that might be a few weeks away from adding another BCS bowl victory to its resume.
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