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Senior Day. Nike Pro Combat uniforms. BCS bowl game implications (or more?) on the line. Storied Notre Dame coming to town. There is no lack of storylines heading into Saturday's matchup between the Cardinal and the Irish. Which means there is no lack of distractions either. The pageantry should be fun and exciting as the Cardinal look to close out the regular season with a signature win over a BCS top-25 team. And they will.

Prediction: Stanford 31, Notre Dame 21

Overall: 10-1

Why they'll win: Can anyone see Andrew Luck losing his final regular-season home game? Me neither. And when you take a team with a bad turnover margin (Notre Dame) and put it against a team with a good turnover margin (Stanford), the good usually outweighs the bad. Notre Dame's running depth took a hit with the loss of Jonas Gray, and Stanford might be getting injured tight end Zach Ertz back. Even if he doesn't catch a single ball, his presence forces defenses to significantly alter how they blitz and defend the Cardinal. And if Ertz doesn't return, we saw this past week what the Cardinal are capable of with Ryan Hewitt at the No. 3 tight end spot. Too many weapons and too many mismatches for the Irish to cover them all.

In the spotlight: Assuming Oregon takes care of business against Oregon State, this will be the final game in Stanford Stadium for the fourth- and fifth-year seniors who helped turn Stanford football from a Pac-10 afterthought to a national powerhouse in just a few short years. Not just Luck but also tireless workers such as Michael Thomas, Delano Howell, Griff Whalen, Corey Gatewood, Jeremy Stewart, David Green, Jonathan Martin, David DeCastro, Chris Owusu, Johnson Bademosi, Chase Thomas, Coby Fleener, Max Bergen, Matt Masifilo and others. All of them will have their chance to take a bow. Luck gets a lot of the credit, but these guys should, too.

Out on a limb: After David Shaw's fiery speech about Luck on Tuesday, my first out-on-a-limb thought was that Stanford would come out gunning and Luck would go for 375-plus and four touchdowns. He still might -- but only if that's how the game is being dictated. I'm going the other way. Stanford sticks with what it does best -- running the power, being balanced and using the play-action when the time is right. The Cardinal are more concerned about winning games than about Luck winning a Heisman. Shaw won't sabotage his game plan for an individual award. As always, that's just me going out on a limb ...

Taking stock of the sixth week of games in the Pac-12.

Team of the week: Oregon State finally notched its first win of the season, beating Arizona 37-27. The Beavers jumped to a big lead then watched the Wildcats storm back. But instead of yielding in the fourth quarter in front of their nervous home fans, the Beavers made plays on offense, defense and special teams to win.

Best game: UCLA 28, Washington State 25. Beleaguered UCLA QB Kevin Prince came off the bench for an injured Richard Brehaut -- he was booed by his home fans as he entered the game -- and led the Bruins back from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit. He threw a go-ahead 7-yard touchdown pass -- his second of the game -- to Shaq Evans with 3:26 to play.

Biggest play: Oregon State saw its 30-6 lead almost disappear. Leading just 30-27 in the fourth quarter, the Beavers faced a fourth and goal on Arizona's 2-yard line. Instead of taking the easy field goal, coach Mike Riley went for the jugular. And QB Sean Mannion found TE Joe Halahuni for the touchdown that gave Oregon State breathing room with 5:22 remaining.

Offensive standout: Oregon RB LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries before dislocating his elbow in the fourth quarter of a victory over California.

Defensive standout: Despite being banged up, Oregon State safety Lance Mitchell rolled up seven tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in a victory over Arizona.

Special teams standout: After Stanford fumbled away the opening kickoff, Colorado lined up for a short field goal. But Stanford LB Max Bergen blocked the attempt and returned it 75-yards for a touchdown.

Special teams standout II: Oregon State's Clayton York blocked a second-quarter Arizona punt, picked up the loose ball at the Wildcats' 5-yard line and ran it in for a score (officially, it was a 41-yard return).

Special teams standout III: Oregon State punter Johnny Hekker averaged 46.3 yards on four punts, killing three inside the Arizona 20-yard line. But none was more important than his 63-yard boot that pinned the Wildcats on their 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Arizona had just cut the Beavers' lead to 30-27, but the field position change brought on by this punt changed the game's momentum -- and led to the big play described above.

Smiley face: Just about everything had gone wrong for Oregon State and UCLA this year. But both the Bruins and Beavers kept fighting and overcame fourth-quarter adversity to record wins that could change the trajectory of their seasons.

Frowny face: Arizona special teams. A blocked punt for a TD. A missed 28-yard field goal. A fumbled kickoff. A missed extra point. Just terrible. The Wildcats are 2 of 6 on field goals this year and have missed four PATs.

Thought of the week: No. 18 Arizona State's visit to No. 9 Oregon is the first matchup of ranked Pac-12 teams this year. ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand, and this is a big opportunity for both teams. If the Sun Devils were to pull the upset, they'd announce themselves nationally. And they'd be in position to host to the Pac-12 championship game, which most projected in the preseason as a certainty for the North champ. If the Ducks win impressively, they could start to repair their national image, which was hurt by the national championship and LSU games, and maybe re-enter the periphery of the national title hunt.

Questions for the week: What's up with California, which plays a second consecutive Thursday night ESPN game against USC? The Trojans visit the Bears -- the game is at Cal's home-away-from-home, AT&T Park -- after a bye week, so they've had extra time to prepare. Last year, USC bludgeoned Cal 48-14, with QB Matt Barkley throwing five first-half TD passes. Trying to end a two-game conference losing streak should be motivation enough for Cal, but the memory of that embarrassing whipping also should be in the corner of the Bears minds.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- What we learned about Stanford in the Cardinal’s 48-7 win over Colorado at Stanford Stadium.

1. [+] Enlarge
   Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRENo. 2 wide receiver Griff Whalen emerged as a touchdown threat in Stanford's win on Saturday.
   Andrew Luck has options: You see a 48-7 score with three touchdowns from Luck, and the first thought is “which tight end found pay dirt this time?” The answer is zero. Not a one. True, the trio of Zach Ertz, Coby Fleener and Levine Toilolo combined for eight catches for 156 yards, and 13 of the last 16 touchdown strikes have gone to tight ends. But it was No. 2 wide receiver Griff Whalen who emerged last night, catching four balls for a game-high 92 yards and a touchdown. Tight-end-moonlighting-as-a-fullback Ryan Hewitt added two touchdown catches. You have to go back seven games (Nov. 13, 2010, at Arizona State) to find a game in which Luck didn’t connect with a tight end for a touchdown.
2. Home is good: The announced crowd was 50,360, making it the second consecutive home sellout. That number wasn’t in the stands. Not even close. Still, it was a decent enough crowd, and it made some noise. In their last 22 games in Palo Alto, the Cardinal are 20-2. So far this year, they have outscored visiting opponents 150-29 in three home games. Home is good.
3. The line keeps getting better: Credit the offensive line for keeping Luck upright, again. The Cardinal have allowed just two sacks all season and one of them came when Luck ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage (following his blooper-reel fumble against Duke). Colorado entered the game with one of the best pass rushes in the nation -- statistically speaking. But Luck was brushed only one time (which altered his throw and led to an incompletion), and the rest of the time the line, along with Luck's quick release, was more than enough to handle Colorado’s pressure. Speaking of pressure ...
4. ... These guys have cool heads: A turnover on the game’s opening kickoff would have been more than enough to sink some teams and send them into a shame spiral. Not the Cardinal. For the second week in a row we saw the defense face some adversity on the opposition’s opening possession. This time they responded with a blocked field goal (the first since 2009). Max Bergen scored the hat trick -- the block, the recovery and the 75-yard touchdown. Stanford has yet to trail a game this season.
5. Best field goal defense ever? Not only did Bergen block the field goal, but Colorado missed another field goal in the game, making opponents 2-for-10 this season on field goal attempts. The average distance of the eight misses is 37.5 yards. That’s not a chip shot, but it’s not a mile, either. At what point does this stop becoming a coincidence and start becoming a trend?

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Considering the score and considering the field position, there really wasn’t much need for Stanford to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Colorado 13. The Cardinal were up by 20 coming out of the locker room and were more than in control on their opening drive of the second half. A field goal would have made it a three-possession game against a team that was hardly moving the ball.

But in David Shaw’s eyes, a field goal wasn’t enough. It wasn’t going to make the point that the Stanford head coach wanted to make. It would have been a comma. He wanted an exclamation point.

“Attitude. Attitude. Our attitude is that if it’s close, with the line that we have, with the fullbacks we have, with the tight ends we have, with the backs that we have we should pick up anything that’s less than fourth-and-3,” Shaw said. “We should pick it up. We don’t bat an eyelash. We don’t think about it. We don’t even talk about it on the headset. We just get the next call ready. That’s the kind of mentality we need to have up front in order for us to play games the way we want to play them.”

The Cardinal exerted their will -- and their attitude -- on Colorado in a 48-7 win at Stanford Stadium. No. 7 Stanford (5-0, 3-0) has won nine straight games at home while extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 13.

For all the funky formations and misdirection motions on offense; for all the exotic looks and blitz packages on defense; at its core, Stanford is very simplistic in its approach to the game: smash-mouth. Hit first, ask questions during film.

“Everything starts with being physical,” said co-defensive coordinator Jason Tarver. “We start with three things; alignment, angle departure and vision progression. We get aligned right, we go in the angle we’re supposed to, we look where we’re supposed to look and we hit whatever is on those lines.”

It's an attitude thing.

From the opening kickoff, the Cardinal were in a hole but dug themselves out. Jeremy Stewart fumbled the kickoff and Colorado recovered at the Stanford 36. Suddenly the defense found itself on the field sooner than expected.

“When there is a sudden change, we don’t see it as a momentum swing, we see it as an opportunity,” said safety Michael Thomas, who nabbed Stanford’s first interception of the season later in the game. “Opportunity is knocking and it was time for us stand up.”

And they did, yielding to their own 12 before forcing Colorado into field goal formation. Linebacker Max Bergen came plowing through the line untouched, blocked the kick, picked up the one-hopper and returned it 75 yards for the game’s opening score. The Cardinal are yet to trail a game this season.

The Cardinal continued to mix up their looks on offense. They ran the no-huddle for the second-straight week, motioned tight ends in and out and piled on 553 yards of total offense -- their second highest total of the season (567 at Arizona).

“We want the [opposing] defense to move,” Shaw said. “We want them to move and communicate. We try to put them at a disadvantage to a certain degree … we’ve got personnel that we can do those things. We’ve got three tight ends that are NFL tight ends that are athletic and can run all kinds of routes and we can flex them out and then we can bring them back in and pound the rock. We’ve got a guy like Ryan Hewitt that was recruited as tight end but playing fullback. We can flex him out and play like a tight end. The guys we have allow us to do the thing we do.”

And they’ve got quarterback Andrew Luck -- who turned in another sensational performance on 26-of-33 passing for 370 yards and three touchdowns. The lone stain on his stat sheet was an interception off the hands of wide receiver Chris Owusu that fell right into the hands of Colorado defensive back Terrel Smith.

Luck was liberal with the football, connecting with 10 different receivers. Hewitt had touchdown catches of 1- and 10 yards and receiver Griff Whalen added four catches for 92 yards and a score.

“Luck’s the best quarterback, no doubt,” said Colorado head coach Jon Embree. “He’s got a good enough arm that he can throw the ball down the field without putting a lot of air on it. Not a lot of kids at college can do that like that. Like I said, he runs their offense to a tee.”

Stanford's running game started slowly, netting just 19 yards on eight carries in the first quarter. That was to be expected, Shaw said.

“We knew it was going to be tough sledding early on,” Shaw said. “We know a lot of games it’s going to be like that running the ball because we will put a lot of bodies in the box and we will cram it in there. We’re going to run the ball between the tackles a whole lot. And we do it early in games to establish who we are.”

It’s an attitude thing.

Eventually, those 1- and 2-yard runs gave way to bursts of 21 and 18 yards. Tyler Gaffney led all Stanford rushers with 61 yards on nine carries. He rushed for a score, as did Stepfan Taylor (13-58) and Stewart (4-12). The Cardinal finished with 161 rushing yards, averaging 4.6 per carry.

Colorado, meanwhile, struggled on the ground, as teams tend to do against Stanford. Through three quarters, it had just 38 yards on 19 carries. The Buffs (1-5, 0-2) totaled 264 yards. A huge chunk came on a 76-yard screen pass to Rodney Stewart. Safety Devon Carrington sniffed out the play and was in position, but failed to make the tackle.

“We need to make sure we put our face on guys and not lunge and dive,” Shaw said. “… there is no credit for almost making a play.”

It’s an attitude thing.

Still, Stanford’s players were dissatisfied with their effort.

“We need to pick it up on the physical end,” said Bergen.

“I think we need to improve. It wasn’t good enough,” Luck said.

“When we look at the film, we’ll see some plays we left out there,” said Thomas.

Shaw gave a devilish smile when informed none of his players were satisfied with the 41-point victory.

“They better have said that,” Shaw said. “It’s the truth. We can’t let the scoreboard dictate our feeling about how we played. If we can play better, we should know it and we should play better.”

It’s an attitude thing.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Observations from the first half.

Stat of the half: Colorado has minus-1 yard rushing and quarterback Tyler Hansen has been sacked three times.

Turning point: It could have been the opening kickoff, when Jeremy Stewart fumbled the short pop-up kick and gave the ball to Colorado at the Stanford 36. But the defense stiffened and Max Bergen blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.

Best player: With the exception of the one interception (a deflection off Chris Owusu’s hands) Andrew Luck has been sensational per usual. He’s buying time in the pocket and all but one or two of his passes have missed. He’s 14-of-18 for 219 yards and a touchdown.

What Stanford has to do in the second half: Tackle better. Devon Carrington sniffed out the 76-yard screen pass to Rodney Stewart, but he missed the tackle. That was all it took for the speedy running back to break away. Same thing on the 5-yard shovel-pass touchdown to Tony Jones, Stanford missed two tackles.

What Colorado needs to do: Stop committing penalties. They have five for 42 yards. With the exception of a couple of plays, the Buffs look completely disorganized and disheveled.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- For the second straight week, Stanford’s defense was forced to make a play early. And for the second straight week, they responded.

Last week, it was a goal-line stand against UCLA. Today, it was a fumbled opening kickoff that gave Colorado the ball at the Stanford 36 to start the game.

Since the Cardinal were receiving, the defense probably wasn’t expecting to be on the field so quick. They yielded to their own 12-yard line before forcing a 29-yard field goal attempt.

But Max Bergen blew the whole thing up, blocking the kick, picking it up on one bounce and returning it 75 yards for a touchdown. It was Stanford’s first blocked field goal since 2008.

After stuffing Colorado’s next drive, the Cardinal moved 78 yards on nine plays and capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Stepfan Taylor. Andrew Luck was 4-for-4 for 72 yards on the drive. He's 6-for-6 for 109 yards through the first.

Stanford has yet to trail in a game this season.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- So far this season, each week has provided the Stanford Cardinal with a new and unique test. Tomorrow’s matchup against UCLA is no different.

• Against San Jose State, it was David Shaw’s first game as a head coach. And he passed that test with flying colors.
• Against Duke, it was Stanford’s task to travel three time zones and play in uncomfortable weather. No problem.
• At Arizona, it was the secondary’s turn to try to slow down Nick Foles, one of the most accurate passers in the country. They didn’t slow him down completely, but they provided enough of a speed bump that the front seven was able to create pressure to keep him from really breaking out.

Tomorrow, it will be the pistol offense.

“We’ve watched what they’ve done the past few weeks,” said Stanford linebacker Max Bergen. “They’ve really shown they can run the ball with a lot of big people in the box.”

The advantage of the pistol is that with the quarterback lined up four yards behind center, rather than the usual seven-yard shotgun (ergo, pistol), he’s still able to read the defense, but linebackers have less time to react.

“You have to be locked in and communicate on defense,” said Stanford coach David Shaw. “Every defense you run, you have to account for the dive, the quarterback pull and you have to account for there being an extra blocker that might come across, whether it’s the receiver or running back or tight end. You have to be extremely well coordinated … everything we run has to be sound against what they do.”

UCLA, which averages 214 rushing yards per game, has a pair of running back options they can throw at Stanford. Johnathan Franklin is the smaller, speedier back. Derrick Coleman, at 240 pounds, is a bowling ball. Franklin left UCLA’s game against Oregon State last week with a bruised hip, but said he probably could have returned. That opened the door for Coleman to rush for 100 yards on 20 carries.

“He’s thick, and he’ll drag tacklers,” Shaw said. “... They understand the pistol offense. The running backs in the pistol offense -- those backs have to be decisive and they have to go toward the line of scrimmage full speed. And the big ones can get a full head of steam, and the quicker ones, they get to the line of scrimmage so quick.

“…While you’re still in decision-mode of who has the ball, they’ve got a 4-yard gain. It can be an exciting form of offense, and they’ve got good players that fit it.”

And in case you haven’t heard, Stanford has a pretty good run defense. Statistically speaking, the best run defense in the country, allowing just 36 yards per game. They are fast and physical. But UCLA wants to go muscle-for-muscle with them.

“You understand as you do in prize fighting that you’re going in against somebody that likes to punch, likes to slug,” said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. “Our defense has to understand that and our offense has to understand that. It’s a key piece to this game, the physical nature that they like to play with, and frankly it’s been kind of their calling card.”

The pistol has grown in popularity over the past half decade, and strands of the formation have trickled across the college football landscape, and even into the NFL. Shaw said they have a few pistol packages in the playbook if they need to mix things up.

“There is a bit more you need to get ready for,” Bergen said. “But by the end of the week, we’re all set with what our assignments are and what our jobs are … We’re looking forward to having an offense like this really challenge our run defense.”

The message from Stanford camp was concise and uniform: Yes, Shayne Skov was a big part of our team. Yes, he's gone. Yes, it hurts. And yes, we're going to move on.

"There won't be a letdown," said linebacker Max Bergen, who starts opposite Skov at the other middle linebacker spot. "We're playing hard because we play hard. Obviously, Shayne's injury woke us up a little bit. But we're going to keep that fire going the whole season."

Coach David Shaw said that linebackers Jarek Lancaster and A.J. Tarpley will get the first crack and filling in for Skov, Stanford's leading tackler last season and this year. Skov injured his knee in the second quarter of Stanford's win Saturday over Arizona and it was announced Monday that he would be gone for the season. He'll likely platoon the two linebackers.

"Lancaster and A.J. Tarpley will both roll in and play," Shaw said. "Every opportunity they've gotten in the first three games, both of them have played extremely well. We're very comfortable with those guys. We don't have to limit what we call. Those guys can do everything."

The coaching staff and players will use this bye week to get the defense back in sync without Skov. But Bergen said not much adjustment is needed.

"We have solid linebackers that are ready to play," Bergen said. "Jarek and A.J. are ready to step up. They've had playing time this whole year so there is no break-in time needed for them. They are ready to go."

Tarpley and Lancaster know they have a tough assignment ahead of them, yet seem poised to handle the job.

"Not one of us can fill his shoes alone," Tarpley said. "He's one of those guys where, even before he was hurt, he was teaching us and trying to get us better. It's great to learn from a player like him ... he trusts us. He knows we both have some talent. We're obviously not at his level. He told us 'Don't try to be me.' And we're not trying to do that. Just play your game the way you work the best."

Lancaster, who was converted from safety two days after he got to Stanford, has experience at playing all four linebacker spots, but said he feels most comfortable in the middle.

"(Skov) told us not to over think it," Lancaster said. "He told us 'you have natural ability. Just play.'"

Shaw said he spoke with Skov this morning and the linebacker was in good spirits.

"Shayne's still here," Shaw said. "He's still an emotional leader ... he said 'Coach, I'm going to be there. I'm going to be in meetings and make sure everybody is going to be doing what they should be doing. I'm going to be that extra coach and that extra motivator.' Those guys don't want to let Shayne down. If they are going to come in and take his spot, they better play at a high level."

Tarpley is tied for third on the team with 13 tackles on the year and Lancaster is right behind him with 12. Shaw went on to say that those two will be in good company.

"You can say that Shayne is the heartbeat of the defense, but doggone it Michael Thomas and Chase Thomas are good football players," Shaw said. "We have a good football team. Shayne is a good player. And you take a good player off and you're going to miss him. But I think we've got some other good players also ... I like our scheme. I like our players. We've recruited really hard here."

Though Shaw didn't flat-out say that Skov, a junior, will return next season in lieu of entering the NFL draft, he hinted at it during this morning's Pac-12 coaches conference call.

"I wholeheartedly believe and still believe that by the time Shayne's done here, he's going to be the top or the top two linebackers in the nation by the time next year rolls around," Shaw said. "That doesn't change in my mind. He's one of those guys you have to account for."

He later backtracked a little after practice.

"I hope he comes back," Shaw said. "He and I have not had that conversation."