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What Andrew Luck Still Means to Stanford Football

There have been many important figures throughout the rich history of Stanford Football, players and coaches who have carved their names into Pac-12 and NCAA record books while establishing the program on a national level. Recent names like Bryce Love, Christian McCaffrey, and David Shaw spring to mind easily, but people of my generation will quickly mention Troy Walters or Steve Stenstrom or Bill Walsh; older fans will include John Elway, Jim Plunkett, and John Brodie; and historians will remind us of Pop Warner.

It's an impressive list of college football luminaries, but the single most important figure in Stanford Football history is Andrew Luck.

Draft Weekend Recap

Andrew Luck (Round 1, Pick #1, Indianapolis Colts)
Taken in the spot he would've occupied had he left college a year ago, Luck fell in the laps of the Indianapolis Colts. How eager were they to get started on the Luck Era? They jettisoned Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL. You know all that, of course. Robert Griffin III was the second pick, and Luck and RG3 will be forever linked. After finishing one and two in the Heisman balloting four months ago, it was no surprise that they were the top two picks in this draft. There were some voices calling for the Colts to choose RG3 over Luck, but most rational minds saw this as nonsense. Even so, the two will be compared constantly, beginning with the first preseason games in August and extending for the duration of their careers. Griffin, however, will likely see more success this year, as his Washington Redskins are a much better team right now. When Luck stands in the huddle this fall, most of the faces looking back at him will be first- and second-year players. One face, however, will be familiar -- but more on that later.

Andrew Luck's Greatest Hits

For the last six months I've been telling myself that I should try to come up with a list of the greatest plays of Andrew Luck's career. The Catch, the Catouse, the rambling scramble against Wake Forest, the naked bootleg against Washington, the throw from his knees against Arizona State. You know them all. Well, the folks at the Cardinal Channel have done it much better than I ever could have. So if you're having trouble with the idea that Luck's time at Stanford is now officially over, take a look at this video of the top fifteen plays of Andrew Luck's career. I suggest you watch it at least twice. Enjoy.

The Return of the King!

Stanford sources have confirmed what few thought possible even as recently as forty-eight hours ago. In a move that has sent ripples through the entire football world, from Palo Alto, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, and Eugene in the NCAA to Indianapolis, Washington, and Denver in the NFL, Andrew Luck has announced that he will be returning for a fourth season at quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal.

In a brief press release issued through Stanford University's Athletic Department, Luck made his intentions clear: "I love Stanford University, and I'm not ready to leave. I know this decision comes as a surprise. I also know that many people have made plans based on my assumed departure to the NFL, and I regret that. But I have to do what I believe is best for me, and right now nothing could be better than playing quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal."

Oklahoma State 41, Stanford 38 (OT)

If you woke up on Tuesday morning hoping to find it had all been a dream, hoping to learn that the football had managed to stay inside of the left upright on the field goal attempt at the end of regulation, I'm sorry to disappoint you. The kicker who had been so accurate all season wasn't able to make that field goal. The defense that had been so stout all season -- and effective on Monday night -- wasn't able to get Oklahoma State off the field when they had to. The offense, easily one of the best in the nation, couldn't get the ball in the end zone for the touchdown that would've assured victory.

It wasn't a dream. What you saw really happened.

But if you can put those final fifteen minutes out of your head for just a moment, you have to realize that this was a great, great game played by a wonderful team led by the best quarterback you'll ever see.

Once More, With Feeling

When your team is playing in a BCS bowl game, usually there's cause for nothing but celebration. The Fiesta Bowl is the reward for a wonderful season and a space on the national stage, but more importantly if offers the Cardinal the opportunity for one more signature win.

The downside, of course, is that we're saying goodbye to Andrew Luck. Win or lose, I'll have a lot more to say about Luck over the next several days, but for now I can only suggest one thing. No matter where you are -- the other side of the world, the other side of the country, or Glendale, Arizona -- watch Andrew Luck carefully tonight. Study every pass, listen to every play call, focus on each play action fake, and remember the way he flips a towel over his shoulder when the defense takes the field. 

Only four quarters remain in Andrew Luck's career, and I'm guessing we'll never see another quarterback like him at Stanford or any other university. So set your DVR, gather the children, and take it all in. No matter what happens tonight, it will be special.

Andrew Luck: Sport Science

I know Andrew Luck is good, and you know Andrew Luck is good, but here's the science to prove it, courtesy of ESPN's Sport Science. Enjoy...

Does the Heisman Matter?

For weeks I had looked at the lull between the Notre Dame game and the Heisman Trophy ceremony in much the same way that David Shaw did -- that would be the time when I would use this space to hammer home my belief that Andrew Luck deserved to win the Heisman.

Sure, his numbers weren't as prolific as pass-happy quarterbacks Case Keenum and Matt Barkley, his overall game wasn't as electric as Robert Griffin III, and he didn't play in the SEC like Trent Richardson, but he was more than all of that. All season long it seemed clear that the voters would see that. They'd understand that Andrew Luck was the greatest football player in America, and the votes would fall to him in a landslide.

But then his statistics took a dip in the second half of the season, just as America was falling in love with RG3. Even so, Luck still led in all the relevant polls, and most experts predicted that he would wrap up the Heisman with a quality performance in a Stanford win over Oregon on November 12. Luck fumbled the ball once, threw two interceptions (though one was meaningless and not his fault), and the Cardinal lost by twenty-three points. The Heisman was lost.

Redefining the Quarterback; Defining the Heisman

Here's the short version, a slick -- and incredibly cool -- video package presented by the athletic department. Must watch.

And now here's the long version, something which I believe is unprecedented. A thirty-minute press conference by head coach David Shaw, dedicated almost exclusively to promoting Andrew Luck as the only candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Every year one coach or another touts his player for the award, but usually in a few statements in an interview. You'll likely remember Jim Harbaugh's twenty-second pitch for Toby Gerhart after his three-touchdown performance in his final game against Notre Dame.

But here, Shaw did something different. He met with the media who follow the Cardinal on a daily basis and laid out his case for Luck, complete with a Power Point slideshow and even a peek at the Stanford playbook. He cited one call, "15 DART OPTION KILL 14 BOOK OPTION ALERT HOUND 800 THUNDER 'X' OMAHA," and explained that it actually represents three different plays. Luck makes that call in the huddle, then comes to the line to read the defense and decide which of those three plays presents the best option. If none of those three plays will work, he checks into a fourth.

Shaw's main point is that while people naturally tend to look at statistics when evaluating and comparing players -- and Luck has some impressive statistics -- these numbers pale in comparison to everything else he does on the field.

"Andrew's making the decision at the line of scrimmage," explained Shaw. "I studied quarterbacks for nine years in the NFL; I never heard of a guy -- ever -- doing this in college. Never seen it. Never heard of it." 

He went on like this, building his case brick by brick, and concluding without a doubt that Andrew Luck is the best player in college football. In all, he spent about twenty-five minutes of the half-hour press conference pushing Luck's candidacy.

He had me at "hello."

 

Week 5 Progress Report: The Offense

I have to admit that I'm starting to wonder about the relevance of these grades. After all, if you were to take a high school senior out of calculus and slip her into an algebra class, shouldn't she be expected to get an A? That's kind of like what's going on with the Cardinal.

But even though there hasn't been much competition yet, it's still worth our time to take a closer look at each unit and how things went on last Saturday. So here we go...