ESPN College Football

A big reason why the Stanford Cardinal and quarterback Andrew Luck were so successful passing the ball against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night was because of the way they use play-action passing. Luck is one of the best quarterbacks in the country at selling the run fake and turning into a big play.

A 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Levine Toilolo was a perfect example of how Luck can get an entire defense to bite on play-action.

Starting from the beginning of the 2010 season and heading into last week's game, Luck was completing 71.8 percent of his passes off of play action for 10.4 yards per attempt. And he'd thrown 12 touchdowns to zero interceptions.

"Seventy-five percent of the plays we call, Andrew can change them at the line of scrimmage," said Stanford coach David Shaw. "He looks at the defense and can audible right there. So a lot of the time, those open receivers are a result of Andrew seeing something in the defense."

Luck completed 20-of-31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, without the threat of a running game, play action becomes considerably less effective. So it helps that the Cardinal were able to run up 242 yards on the ground -- 153 of them coming courtesy of running back Stepfan Taylor.

"When you have a running game like we had, it can open up the passing game and Andrew did a good job with the play action (Saturday)," Shaw said.

Ironically, Luck's other touchdown came on a sprint out to his right followed by a 16-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz. Statistically, Luck has been a more efficient passer inside of the pocket. Last season he completed 73 percent of his passes inside the pocket -- which was a higher rate than any quarterback taken in the 2011 draft.

Since the start of the 2010 season, when Luck looks down the field for 20 yards or more coming out of play action, he's completing 60 percent of his throws with five touchdowns and no interceptions. When he goes long without play action, the completion percentage drops to 31.4 percent and he has just three touchdowns to four interceptions.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- When the talk of win streaks started to surface following Saturday night's victory over Arizona, the reaction from Stanford head coach David Shaw and his team-first quarterback, Andrew Luck, was about what you would expect.

The players knew before kickoff that with Auburn’s loss to Clemson in the Tiger Bowl, they were the new owners of the nation’s longest active win streak in FBS football. They proceeded to trounce Arizona 37-10 -- behind 153 rushing yards from Stepfan Taylor, 325 passing yards from Luck and a pair of touchdown receptions from his tight ends.

Did knowing that the top streak in the country was theirs impact them in any way?

“Whatever,” said Luck, with his usual disregard for questions outside the realm of what's happening on the field. “The only thing that matters is what we’ve done this year. We don’t put too much stock into stuff like that.”

The win streak started with the sixth game last year. After falling to Oregon 52-31 in Eugene on Oct. 2, the Cardinal have run off 11 straight -- including a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. During that stretch, the Cardinal have outscored their opponents by an average of 40-13.

Of the 11 wins, two have come against top-25 teams (No. 13 Arizona and No. 12 Virginia Tech) two of them have been shutouts and eight of the opponents have been held to 14 points or less.

“We talked about it in the locker room,” said Shaw. “It doesn’t mean anything to us. The only thing that matters is that we’re 1-0 in our conference.”

It was a bad night for some streaks and a good night for others. Ohio State, which was No. 2 behind Stanford with eight straight wins, fell to Miami – and fell out of the top 25 for the first time since Nov. 20, 2004. The Cardinal, meanwhile, moved up to No. 5 in The Associated Press poll. This is the 10th consecutive week they have been in the top 10, a school best.

They are also in the thick of one of the greatest win streaks in school history. The longest is 13 games, accomplished twice; first in 1904-1905 and again from 1939-1941.

CARDINAL CONQUESTS

Stanford's opponents during the 11-game win streak.

Oct. 9, USC, 37-35

Oc. 23, Washington State, 38-28

Oct. 30 at Washington, 41-0

Nov. 6 vs. Arizona (13), 42-17

Nov. 13, at Arizona State, 17-13

Nov. 20, at California, 48-14

Nov. 27, Oregon State, 38-0

Jan. 3, Virginia Tech (12), 40-12

Sept. 3, San Jose State, 57-3

Sept. 10, at Duke, 44-14

Sept. 17, at Arizona, 37-10

According to a school spokesman, Stanford will likely have an update tomorrow on the condition of starting middle linebacker Shayne Skov.

Skov, who led the Cardinal in tackles last season and was the team leader again this year, left the Arizona game last night in the second quarter with what appeared to be a knee injury.

He was helped off the field by trainers, and later carted off the sidelines before the end of the first half. The junior had one tackle for a loss before the injury forced him from the game.

The team was scheduled to arrive back in Palo Alto until early Sunday morning.

Head coach David Shaw said after the game that he didn't know the status of Skov, but one player commented that he is "the leader of the defense" and would that it would be a big loss if the injury is serious.

One of Stanford's greatest strengths on defense is depth at linebacker. Sophomore Jarek Lancaster is Skov's backup at one of the two middle linebacker positions. Lancaster had five tackles against Arizona. True freshman James Vaughters has also made the most of his opportunities at linebacker.

ESPN's Mel Kiper breaks down the NFL teams likely to nab (or pass on) Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL draft.

Writer Kiper:

Forecasting the NFL draft lineup in September is like forecasting the April weather. There just hasn't been enough football played to make any significant conclusions. That said, I must have been asked 10 times this week about who I thought was "in the lead" for Andrew Luck. Everyone seems convinced that if there was a season to go 0-16, this is the one.

Kiper offers five teams that could land Luck. The Seattle Seahawks are among them; the San Francisco 49ers are not. Oh, the wicked irony. Pete Carroll could end up with Luck in Seattle going against Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco. Would Harbaugh package a year's worth of picks just to move up to get Luck? Are the 49ers going to be in a position where they don't need to trade? What about Carolina and Cam Newton? Indianapolis with Peyton Manning, who still has four years on his contract after this season?

It's fun to forecast, but not for Luck, who said last week he's not thinking about anything but Stanford. And after a two-touchdown, 325-yard passing performance Saturday night against Arizona, it's not hard to believe him.

It was career day at Arizona Stadium, or career night. Three players set career marks, making them easy choices for the stars of Stanford's 37-10 win over Arizona:

1. Stepfan Taylor: The running back had the breakout game a lot of people have been waiting to see. He rushed for a career-best 153 yards on 22 carries and averaged 7 yards per carry. His run of 49 yards is the longest rush of the season. And he didn't take any negative plays. All in all, a wonderful all-around game.
2. Levine Toilolo: It's easy to see why quarterback Andrew Luck loves his tight ends. One goes down, another steps right in. Toilolo turned in a career performance with 102 receiving yards on four catches and his first career touchdown. Stanford's use of play-action sprung him open for some big plays, including a 39-yard catch and run.
3. Jordan Williamson: When the offense was sputtering at times in the first half, he made sure Stanford didn't walk away empty-handed. He converted all three of his field goal tries and nailed a career-best 45-yarder. He was also much better on his kickoffs and has showed steady improvement each week.

• This team can win on the road: It's done it in consecutive weeks, across the country, in inclement weather and against, well, one decent team. As Stanford coach David Shaw said following last night’s 37-10 victory over Arizona, “Don’t let the scores fool you, they are a very good team.” I wouldn’t go as far as to say very good, but Arizona is good enough that the Cardinal proved a point to themselves and a lot of naysayers.
• The secondary can be good: I will use the word “very” when describing Nick Foles -- as in he’s a very good quarterback. But the Cardinal secondary, which had been hit-and-miss, or just plain missing hits through the first two weeks, stepped up and played a very solid game. It only got beat on a couple of one-on-one plays, and there were a few holes in the coverage -- which is to be expected when playing against a spread team. But Stanford tackled much better than it had in previous weeks. And, more importantly it held its coverage for an extra second, which allowed the front seven to generate five sacks.
• This team can deal with some adversity: First it was tight end Coby Fleener, who was lost for the game after suffering a big hit in the first quarter. He was showing concussion-like symptoms so he was kept out. Then it was linebacker Shayne Skov, who suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the second quarter. His status isn’t known, but he was carted off the sideline -- never a good sign. But the Cardinal showed their depth at tight end with Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo both nabbing touchdowns. And the defense buckled down to blank Arizona in the second half. If Skov’s injury is serious, there will be more adversity to come.
• The O-line keeps getting better: It was fantastic in the run game. It exploded off the ball, held blocks and kept its feet moving. The end result was 242 yards on the ground and an impressive average of 6.2 yards per carry collectively for the running backs. Pass protection was better than last week, though quarterback Andrew Luck still took a couple of shots. But he wasn’t sacked. And whenever that happens, it’s a good day for the boys up front.
• Jordan Williamson’s got game: Nice game for the kicker. Three field goals -- 20, 45 (career long) and 33 yards -- plus two touchbacks and two more that were run out of the end zone. From Week 1 to Week 3, he has showed splendid improvement.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Weird game. Weird team.

With an armory on offense and blockade-inducing defense, the Stanford Cardinal once again waited for the final 30 minutes to play their best football.

It’s becoming an unsettling trend for coach David Shaw and his cast of players. For three straight weeks, the theme has been this:

“I like what we did in the second half,” said Shaw.

That’s all well and good because it was a win -- on the road -- against a much tougher opponent than the previous two weeks. The Cardinal blanked Arizona 21-0 in the second half en route to a 37-10 win in the Pac-12 opener for both schools.

But what about those first 30 minutes, when the offense looked disheveled, the defense seemed splotchy and any sense of rhythm was non-existent?

“I don’t know how to explain it,” said quarterback Andrew Luck. “I don’t think we want to do that. It’s definitely something we’re going to try to improve on. I can’t explain it.”

Luck’s stats were fairly typical, 20-of-31 for 325 yards and two touchdowns. But his overall performance was very atypical. He made bad throws -- and that’s something we don’t say often about Luck. Twice he was almost intercepted in the red zone, where he’s usually at his most cautious and surgical. Another time he threw a flat ball on a fade out of the end zone -- a pass we’ve seen him make dozens of times.

“We have a lot of things to improve on, obviously,” Luck said.

Just like last week, the stats don’t tell the whole story. The No. 6 Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) totaled a season-high 567 yards of offense, grabbing 8.1 yards per play. And just like last week, they had more yards in the first half than in the second. But they were yards that resulted in three field goals, one touchdown and a punt. In the second half, the result was three touchdowns to one punt.

“We just need to establish a rhythm,” Shaw said. “We’re better once we establish a run rhythm. It started to happen kinda early. We had a couple of nice drives in the first half. But in the second half we came out in rhythm. We need to start the first half like we start the second half.”

Two Cardinal who didn’t look out of rhythm were running back Stepfan Taylor and tight end Levine Toilolo, who both put up career numbers. Taylor carried the ball 22 times for 153 yards -- including a long run of 49 yards and an average of 7 yards per carry.

“He’s special,” Shaw said of Taylor. “... He was outstanding, patient, quick and he’s got a low center of gravity. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’ll drag some tacklers.”

Toilolo led all players with 102 yards on four catches and his first career touchdown.

“We knew that the defense was going to over-run some things and then we’d go for the big plays,” Taylor said. “I sensed that in the second half. Everything started clicking in the second half.”

Which brings us back to the original question. What’s going on in the first half?

“I wish I knew the answer,” he said. “I wish we could start faster. We’ll watch film and see what we need to fix.”

For Toilolo, who worked his way back from a knee injury last year, it was a coming out party. With tight end Coby Fleener sitting most of the game after exhibiting concussion symptoms, Toilolo and tight end Zach Ertz carried the flag for the tight ends.

“Me and Zach did whatever the coaches asked of us and we executed,” Toilolo said. “This is stuff we work on all week in practice and when the coaches called my number, I was happy to be able to contribute. I think the rest of the offense played well, which opened up some of those passes.”

Defensively, the Cardinal stiffened in the second half as well. After the starting 11 allowed its first touchdown of the season in the second quarter -- a 6-yard pass from Nick Foles to Juron Criner -- the defense settled in during the second half and blanked the Wildcats. Foles completed 24 of 33 passes for 239 yards and the lone score. But he was pestered by Stanford’s front seven and sacked five times.

“We left a lot of plays out there in the first half,” said safety Michael Thomas. “We always talk about starting fast and it’s something we haven’t done yet. We do pride ourselves on finding a way to finish and finish faster. That’s what we do in the second half. We keep making plays.”

Even though those plays have resulted in three wins this season, Shaw said his team has to find ways to play the first 30 minutes better.

“We challenged our guys at halftime to take the fight to them,” Shaw said. “To be physical. To see if we could wear them down. That’s the philosophy we believe in. Our second half has got to be better than our first and that’s what we did tonight.

“But we have to start faster.”

That’s starting to sound all-too familiar.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Stanford coach David Shaw said he won't know the status of linebacker Shayne Skov until probably late tomorrow, but it's possible that an announcement won't come until Monday.

Skov, who led the team in tackles last year and was the leader this year, left the game in the second quarter with what appeared to be a knee injury. He had one tackle for a loss.

He was helped to the sidelines and then carted off before the end of the first half and did not return.

Tight end Coby Fleener also left the game in the first quarter after catching one ball for 20 yards. Shaw said Fleener was showing concussion symptoms and did not want to risk any further harm.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor turned a hot Arizona night into a blistering, career night for himself.

Taylor rushed for 153 yards on 22 carries in leading the No. 6 Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) to a 37-10 win over Arizona (1-2, 0-1). His longest run was 49 yards and he had a whopping 7 yards per carry.

His previous high was 142 yards against Washington State last season. It was the eighth time in his career he's gone for more than100 yards and the first time this season.

No. 6 Stanford extended what is now the nation's longest winning streak (formerly belonging to Auburn) to 11 games.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Don't look a gift horse -- or in this case, a gift Wildcat -- in the mouth.

It looked like the Cardinal were stopped after three plays -- facing a fourth-and-4 and in punt formation. But an Arizona player jumped into the neutral zone and "threatened" an offensive player. The result was 5 yards and a first down.

And the Cardinal didn't waste it. They moved the remaining 68 yards in five plays, capping the it with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck to tight end Levine Toilolo.

Both of Luck's touchdowns tonight have gone to tight ends (the other to Zach Ertz) and 11 of Stanford's last 13 touchdown passes have been to tight ends.

The Cardinal lead 30-10 with 13:33 remaining in the game.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- With Coby Fleener still on the sidelines, tight end brethern Levine Toilolo and Zach Ertz have made sure the Cardinal don't miss a beat on offense.

First, Toilolo caught a 10-yard floater on third-and-1 and turned it into a 39-yard gain.

Four plays later, Luck connected with Ertz on a sprint-out drag to the corner of the end zone, giving the Cardinal a 23-10 lead with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter.

At question is whether or not the defense can hold up with the loss of Shayne Skov.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Stanford leads Arizona 16-10 at the half.

• Best player: It was linebacker Shayne Skov until he was hurt in the second quarter. Kicker Jordan Williamson has been fantastic, converting field goals of 20, 33 and a career-long 45. He's also had more depth on his kickoffs.
• Best call: Without a doubt, the fourth-and-1 call at the Arizona 24-yard line. A misdirection pitch that forced the defensive end to bite on the initial pitch. Anthony Wilkerson took the flip on the backside and then scampered 24 yards for the score.
• What Stanford needs to do: Stay balanced. The Cardinal are running the ball well. The loss of Skov -- who was carted off from the sidelines -- is a big one. They can't let that emotionally deflate them. Same with tight end Coby Fleener on offense, who hasn't returned since taking a big shot in the first quarter. His return for the second half is unknown. He has been walking the sidelines, but without his helmet.
• What Arizona needs to do: Fortunately for them, Andrew Luck isn't playing a great game. Running the ball doesn't appear to be an option, which was predictable. Nick Foles is proving to be as accurate a quarterback as expected. Their best chance is to stay in the air. There is great risk being a pass-only team. But with that comes great reward.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Just as I hit send on the last post, linebacker Shayne Skov appeared to have his leg caught underneath a tackle. He was helped off the field and trainers are looking at his left leg.

TUCSON Ariz. -- Stanford tight end Coby Fleener and wide receiver Chris Owusu are both on the sidelines and it is unknown if they will return.

Fleener took a big hit in the first quarter and was assisted once he got the sidelines. He's had his helmet off the whole time and a trainer by his side since he left the field. It doesn't look like he'll be back in -- at least in the first half. He had one catch for 20 yards.

Owusu is on the bench with an ice pack on his right shoulder. He had one catch for 39 yards, and appeared to hurt himself on a kickoff return.

The Cardinal tacked on another field goal -- a career long 45-yarder for Jordan Williamson -- and lead 13-3 with 9:42 left in the first half.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona got its first points of the game on the second play of the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal from Jaime Salazar. Which means Stanford's defense has yet to give up any points in the first quarter all season.

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles completed two big passes as the quarter started to wind down. That seems to be the only way they'll move the ball. After one quarter, Arizona has -6 yards rushing.

Kudos to offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton for his call on Stanford's fourth-and-1 in the first quarter. A misdirection pitch to Anthony Wilkerson that went for a 24-yard rushing touchdown. Perfect call on fourth down. The defensive end bit on the play and Wilkerson turned the corner untouched.