It was a whirlwind Saturday night for Andrew Luck and Stanford.
The 56-48 triple overtime win over USC was capped by a wild celebration in front of a small group of Cardinal fans before the Heisman front runner was whisked away to talk to ESPN’s Chris Fowler on a Game Day set that seemed to appear magically on the Coliseum turf.
Luck, exhausted, teetered a bit before collapsing in his chair next to Fowler. But, just like in the game, he gathered himself up and managed to finish strong, saying all the right things before a national audience. By the time he made it to post-game presser, he was ready to call it a night.
“I just need a few minutes to digest it all,” he said afterward to the assembled media who wanted to know what it was like to play in such an exciting game.
Heisman voters shouldn’t have any problems digesting Luck’s performance. He threw for 330 yards and three scores on 29-of-40 passing and rushed for another 36 yards and a touchdown against the Trojans. He made one truly bad throw all game–a fourth-quarter pick that USC corner Nickell Robey took to the house. It could’ve been fatal to his team, but he promptly regrouped and led them back when it counted.
It’s that calm under pressure that will impress the Heisman electorate the most when the ballots go out. Without Luck’s steadying presence and clutch play, Stanford would’ve joined Clemson and Kansas State as once-undefeated teams who were dumped on the season’s ash heap on Saturday. And we’d be talking about LSU-Alabama rematches.
Instead, thanks to Luck, the Cardinal might be in the driver’s seat to play for their first national title. And, thanks to tonight’s win, Luck is in the driver’s seat to win Stanford’s first Heisman since 1970.
And USC’s pass defense was ranked where? In the 90s I think…though, shockingly during the Luck slobber-fest, you don’t hear that mentioned. This wasn’t exactly USC circa 2005. I just pray Stanford makes it to the NC game against either LSU or Alabama…then the Heisman voters who vote for Lucky will look like the Geno Torreta voters in ’92. Sat was the first Stanford game I’ve seen this year (first decent game they’ve played, so not a shock)…Luck looked like a very good QB…but not the world beater the talking heads try to make him out to be. I think people are just enamored with the fact he returned to school when he could have been the #1 pick in the draft. Very good QB? Yes. The “best since John Elways?” Um…just don’t see it.
CM, I’ll give you one thing – you are consistent. Luck is a great QB, in a great system, who was basically brought up by a football dad and taught by a great football coach – Harbaugh. Look at what Harbaugh is doing with Alex Smith in SF! Proof is in the pudding. Seriously though, to read week and week out your opinion which spews more anti-Luck than clear logic is over the top. How can your opinion matter more than those who actually get paid to have one? Are you a football scout, did you play and become a hall-of-famer like Steve Young and John Elway? Elway and Young have both said that Luck is one of the few who possess the skills he has right now, which is more than hundreds of others at similar points in their college careers. Whether or not he continues to be on a trajectory of “greatness” will only show itself in the pros, but how can you really argue against it at THIS point? No one gave Tebow 1/4 the love of Luck and he went on to WIN the Heisman – but what a failure he is THUS far. I only hope you have the sack to retract your spew later if in fact you are wrong as much as you think you are right.
HP I feel like you’re slacking this season with your posts. I check in everyday. In seasons past i feel like you have had more coverage, thoughts, clever lists, etc. Either way I appreciate the work you put in, and I enjoy reading.
I’m not really “anti-Luck”…I think he’s a very good QB. But for the same reasons Kellen Moore shouldn’t win the Heisman, Luck shouldn’t win it. Both play pitiful competition. Playing USC and Notre Dame “sounds” like a big deal…until you realize that it’s not USC 2005 or Notre Dame 1988. I do think Luck and Trent Richardson are the two “finalists”….if TR goes out this Saturday and lays an egg in the “Game of the Century” against LSU and Bama loses…then yes, I will defer to Luck winning the Heisman.
CM you are talking about two 2010 Heisman finalists, so Luck and Moore were/are both obviously in the conversation. Last year I thought it was a toss up between Luck and Moore and basically laughed at the award when Cam Newton received it. I say this not because he isn’t a wildly talented athlete, who was a major cog in his team’s machine, but more so because I am a purist. The basic question is, how can you give such a prestigious athletic award to an individual lacking in integrity? It just doesn’t fit. It’s amazing how successful Newton is when others like Gerhart and Ingram are struggling though, right? Well, on to my point.
I wouldn’t say either is playing “pitiful competition” as there are many data crunchers and human opines who have the teams ranked 4 and 5 in the country. Obviously they are playing better talent than a team such as Houston. By the way, nine touchdowns by any QB is damn impressive, I don’t care where you are playing! No matter how you slice it, Stanford would not be as successful as they have been over the last 2 season without Luck. Alabama without Richardson would still be a very good and dominant team. I bet they could plug in the backup and he would pile on some yards. Like many RB’s before him, it’s the LINE that makes him great, not so much his talent. Emmitt Smith would never have been a Hall of Famer without that massive Dallas line blocking for him. Don’t get me wrong, Richardson is a good RB but he is no Barry Sanders – an individual who was great for Ok St not only at RB but PR/KR’s! Sanders went on to the Lions who were horrible in every aspect except what Sanders did for them with no space and his own two legs. He is no Bo Jackson – another RB who could carry an otherwise unremarkable team on his shoulders by creating plays that the line didn’t give him. He is no Ernie Davis, a RB who played both ways when asked to and was great at both! What I am simply saying is that Luck is the best college athlete to date this year by playing great team ball AND individually with what would be considered a lesser team around him. He has great TE’s and a quality line, but lacks a stellar RB, has no NFL capable WR to throw to, and a rough around the edges D. All this and yet Stanford could be on track for a NCG with Luck at the helm. Any other QB and it’s totally different – that’s what a Heisman Trophy quality candidate looks like. Oh and by the way, he seems like a great kid, who goes to class, cares about his team and doesn’t steal laptops or have a dad asking for money from schools. Again, that’s what a Heisman winner looks like.