ESPN College Football

Going to Stanford doesn't prevent you from doing stupid things. So we have Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov, who was arrested and jailed last weekend for driving under the influence.

The Stanford Daily, which first reported the arrest, said Skov "was transported to the San Jose main jail and booked for driving under the influence at 2 a.m. Sunday." He was pulled over in the parking lot of his dormitory.

It will be interesting to see how Stanford handles this. It seems like a serious but isolated incident. Skov is a good student, NFL prospect and a great team leader. If healthy, he likely would rate as the top returning inside linebacker in the Pac-12.

But he's not irreplaceable. Stanford knows this because it played solid defense even after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season's third game at Arizona. Skov is still not 100 percent and is not expected to see much action in spring practice.

Of course, with Skov, the Cardinal's 3-4 defense is much better than without him, even with plenty of depth at the position.

"We have an expected standard of excellence and conduct for our players and Shayne failed to adhere to those standards," Stanford coach David Shaw said in a statement released through a team spokesman. "It's a matter we are taking very seriously. Shayne will be responsible to adhere to any legal responsibilities regarding this event along with ramifications which will be determined by the program."

That means the ice under Skov's cleats is thin. The Cardinal open the 2012 season against San Jose State and then play host to Duke. They won't need Skov to win those games, if Shaw opts to suspend him.

But USC comes a-calling in Week 3. Skov's presence would certainly come in handy against Matt Barkley & Co.

Well, apparently I rattled up quite the hornet's nest a couple of days ago in the mailbag by taking the under in a reader question wanting to know my opinion on the over/under for 8.5 for wins for Stanford next season.

Most seemed to think I was being too harsh and that nine or 10 wins were more likely than the seven or eight wins I'm forecasting. (This total doesn't include a bowl game, mind you).

OK, I'm not afraid to show my work on a way-too-early analysis of each game. Naturally, this is based off the personnel we know is available, the assumption there are no catastrophic injuries and little more than gut feelings.

• Sept. 1 vs. San Jose State: Cardinal will be multi-touchdown favorites and will cruise behind a monster running attack. Good game for the new signal caller to get his feet wet. Win (1-0).
• Sept. 8. vs. Duke: Offense won't be as vanilla as the week before as they start adding new elements for the first-year starting quarterback. There will be a couple of mistakes, but Geoff Meinken will stiff-arm the Cardinal to a comfortable victory. Win (2-0).
• Sept. 15 vs. USC: I don't see this as a blowout that some seem to think it will be. The Cardinal will control the clock with the rushing attack and David Shaw has always been a very good play-caller against USC. But the Matt Barkley-led Trojans finally get a win over Stanford. Loss (2-1).
• Sept. 22 Bye: Good time to recover from first loss of the year and prep for first road trip of the season.
• Sept 27 at Washington: What? You mean we have to play outside of California? Tough place to play and Keith Price is only getting better. Maybe the Huskies will have some defense to speak of? No Chris Polk hurts, but the Cardinal still won't be able to keep up. The one thing that might sway this is Stanford coming out of the bye week. But I wouldn't expect 446 rushing yards this time around. Loss (2-2).
• Oct. 6 vs. Arizona: Students are finally back on campus and realize there is a football game. Not sure what to make of the Rich Rodriguez Wildcats yet, but Stanford should be the better team and getting Arizona earlier in the season is always helpful when a new coaching staff is involved. Win (3-2).
• Oct. 13 at Notre Dame: I'm expecting the Irish to have their third quarterback controversy of the season by this point. Stepfan Taylor has a huge game on the road and continues to be the most underrated running back in the conference. Cardinal pull this one out. Win (4-2).
• Oct. 20 at Cal: A Big Game before Halloween? Spooky. New quarterbacks are always good for at least one road loss in games they are favored to win. Given the magnitude of this game, this might be that one. Loss (4-3).
• Oct. 27 vs. Washington State: Cougars throw for 400 yards, but Cardinal score more points. Win (5-3).
• Nov. 3 at Colorado: Buffs still not ready to make a move. Cardinal cruise. Win (6-3).
• Nov. 10 vs. Oregon State: With bowl eligibility locked up, the Cardinal are looking to improve their postseason status. Whoever is playing quarterback has the offense figured out and Taylor will surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight year. Should be a great way to honor him on senior night. But this could also be a trap game. OSU played a lot of youth last season that has to grow up sometime. Win (7-3).
• Nov. 17 at Oregon: Yeah ... not going to happen. Loss (7-4).
• Nov. 24 at UCLA: I think this could be a swing game for both teams. But my best guess is UCLA is still a year away from making real noise. Win (8-4).

With Matt Barkley out of the NFL mix, the focus of the upcoming NFL draft shifts from quarterbacks to protecting them, says ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. Here's a look at his latest Big Board -- which still includes three Stanford players projected in the first round.

Writes Kiper:

Notable is that regardless of where your favorite team is picking in Round 1, there's a rise in overall talent, and the diversity of that talent along the offensive line. The position group is starting to look really deep.

Per usual, quarterback Andrew Luck checks in at the No. 1 spot.

Offensive tackle Jonathan Martin slipped from No. 8 to No. 9 and guard David DeCastro leap-frogged a few players to move up from No. 17 to No. 14 this week -- marking the first time he's appeared in Kiper's top 15.

Matt Barkley's decision to stay at USC for another year might be Jonathan Martin's and David DeCastro's gain.

Mel Kiper Jr. updated his Big Board (previously released on Wednesday) and the USC quarterback was at No. 6.

While this has no impact on quarterback Andrew Luck, who is and has been the No. 1 player on the board since it first came out in September (though really since he announced he was coming back), Martin and DeCastro both moved up a spot.

Martin, a left tackle who is projected to be a right tackle in the NFL, is up to No. 8 and guard David DeCastro, who has appeared in the top 10 in some mock drafts, moves up to No. 17.

Here's what the new and improved Big Board looks like.

Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. debate McShay having three quarterbacks (Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Robert Griffin III) in the top 10 of his mock draft, and where Kellen Moore might go in the draft.

With one game left to play we're taking a look back at some of the memorable moments/series of moments from Stanford's 2011 season. Some were individual plays, others were a series of plays or games as a whole that were significant to the season.

No. 7: PERFECT PICK

Setting the scene: It was a game where every possession counted -- triple overtime contests tend to be that way. So who knows what could have happened had linebacker A.J. Tarpley not stepped in and made a fantastic athletic play to intercept Matt Barkley at the USC 41-yard line early in the second quarter. The Cardinal didn't let the turnover go to waste, getting a 33-yard field goal from Eric Whitaker to extend their lead 10-3.

Why it's memorable: Interceptions were in short supply this season for the Cardinal -- and Tarpley's pick was just the fourth one of the year. It came against one of the best quarterbacks in college football in the biggest game of the season at the time. Plus, it was a heck of an individual effort. It turned out to be a pretty big day for Tarpley, who also recovered the fumble in the end zone to close out the third overtime and secure the Stanford win.

There was so much concern about the middle linebackers after Shayne Skov went down for the season with a knee injury against Arizona in Week 3. Jarek Lancaster and Tarpley filled his role splendidly. Both had their share of highlights, but this was Tarpley's finest. He showed great discipline, reaction and break to haul in the pass. Stanford's future at middle linebacker looks bright.

Mel Kiper's latest Big Board is out, and quarterbacks are moving up the charts -- specifically Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck remains at No. 1, followed by offensive tackle Jonathan Martin at No. 9 (previously No. 7 last week) and guard David DeCastro at No. 18 (up one spot from No. 19 last week).

While Griffin and USC quarterback Matt Barkley are making a push (Barkley is at No. 6, Griffin at No. 7), Kiper says there is no need for Luck to worry.

Writes Kiper:

While I've heard some scouts and evaluators discuss Griffin in the same class as Andrew Luck, I'm not willing to go that far. I still think Luck is, by far in fact, the likeliest play for any team drafting No. 1 overall this spring. But Griffin's great year, combined with Matt Barkley's brilliant finish to his junior season, has made the race for the No. 2 QB to come off the board very interesting. And remember, Barkley could still return to USC. At this time last year, Luck was also a lock to be No. 1.

Plus, you factor in Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones (No. 13) and you have, potentially, four quarterbacks who could be taken in the top 15. As I've previously written, it's going to be a lot of fun 5-10 years from now to look back at this draft class (assuming all four come out) and see where they all are in their careers. This class in particular has the athletes and combined football IQ to put its stamp on the NFL for a long time.

Grush in San Francisco writes: Stepfan Taylor for Heisman 2012! Hear me out. Stepfan is putting up 5.6 yards per carry this year and is the 27th leading rusher in the country despite taking less than half of Stanford's rushing attempts. He is quietly one of the best running backs out of Stanford and one of three (including Toby Gerhart, Heisman runner up) to rush for 1,000 yards multiple years. With a new quarterback next year and perhaps a smaller committee of backs, Stepfan's production could increase. If Stanford wins at least nine games without Andrew Luck it will be because of the running game. Does Stepfan Taylor have a chance to be Stanford's fourth consecutive Heisman finalist next year?

Kevin Gemmell: I'm not going to say never, but he's going to have to get into the top five before we even start talking about him. When you look at some of the sophomore and junior running backs returning next season -- he's going to need to leapfrog a bunch of them just to get in the conversation as one of the top running backs -- let alone the best player in the country. I like Taylor a lot, but I don't see it happening.

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David in Seattle writes: How will Stanford's secondary fare against OSU's air attack?

Kevin Gemmell: That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? If you look at my report card on the secondary from Friday, you'll see a breakdown of how the Cardinal have done against some of the top receivers in the country. And it's been pretty good. With that said, Justin Blackmon is by far the best receiver they have seen this year. I think the move of Corey Gatewood back to defense was a great one. Blackmon is going to get his yards and at least a touchdown -- so, as it always does with this group, it comes down to making tackles and keeping things in front of them. If they can do that, they'll have a shot at limiting his production. A turnover or two couldn't hurt, either.

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Cooper in Kentfield, Calif. writes: How has Stanford done in recruiting over the past few seasons? Is there a noticeable trend upward in quality amongst the select few that qualify that point to Stanford being a yearly contender in the Pac-12 North, or have the past few years been an aberration?

Kevin Gemmell: Considering three (maybe four) Stanford players are expected to go in the first round in the NFL draft, I'd say recruiting has been pretty good. The question you should be asking is what kind of recruiters are David Shaw and Co.? Stanford has the No. 19 class in the country according to the current ESPN.com rankings with commits from two ESPNU 150 commits -- Noor Davis and Alex Carter. But as any good coach will tell you, four- and five-star recruits are nice, but it's the three-stars (Cameron Fleming, David Yankey, A.J. Tarpley, -- Ben Gardner was a two-star for heaven's sake) that really make the team go. It looks like a pretty solid class coming in next season. Your question, of course, can't be answered for two or three more years, but it looks like they are on the right track.

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Tim in San Jose writes: Hi Kevin. All the Heisman talk has people ripping Luck and not giving him any chance of winning. Many people are saying Matt Barkley should be higher than Luck. What a joke. They don't watch the game. Stanford doesn't even come close to having the WR talent that USC and most every other team has. Also, Stanford is a run-first team, which also makes a big difference. If Luck had the WR's and threw a lot more, he would have 50 TD's. Your thoughts? And do you think he will win the Heisman?

Kevin Gemmell: Ah, the "what if?" question. If Luck threw more, then we probably wouldn't get to see what an amazing playcaller he is. If Luck threw more, he probably wouldn't be able to read defensive formations and be able to check plays as well as he does. It's what he does beyond the stats that make him so impressive. Luck may not win the Heisman tonight (and to answer your question, I don't think he will), but he proved beyond a doubt he is the smartest, most NFL-ready player. As for the comparisons to Barkley, I'm not going to knock Barkley at all in this blog. Even if I wanted to, there isn't much to knock. He's an outstanding player who has all of the tools to be a fantastic quarterback at the next level. But what I believe separates the two -- at least at this point in their careers -- is Luck's mental capacity. It's going to be fun tracking this quarterback draft class and seeing who's still around 10 years from now.

My Heisman Trophy ballot has changed every week for the last couple of months.

I'm not surprised there are more than three players going to the trophy presentation.

Five players were invited to New York for Saturday night's Heisman Trophy presentation -- quarterbacks Andrew Luck of Stanford and Robert Griffin III of Baylor, tailbacks Montee Ball of Wisconsin and Trent Richardson of Alabama and cornerback Tyrann Mathieu of LSU.

It's a shame the Heisman Trust didn't have room for three more quarterbacks because Houston's Case Keenum, USC's Matt Barkley and Boise State's Kellen Moore were just as deserving.

With five finalists going to New York, it figures to be one of the closer votes in recent Heisman Trophy history.

The closest vote in Heisman Trophy history came just two years ago, when Alabama tailback Mark Ingram edged Stanford's Toby Gerhart by only 28 points. Ingram received 227 first-place votes, Gerhart got 222 and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, the second runner-up, received 203.

Given the number of finalists and their geographical regions, we could have another really close finish on Saturday night.

Luck, the runner-up to Auburn's Cam Newton last season, entered the 2011 season as the Heisman Trophy favorite. His performance didn't slip much this season, as he completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,170 yards with 35 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

I still feel Luck might be the most valuable player on any team in the country. Without him, there's no way the Cardinal is ranked No. 4 in the country and playing No. 3 Oklahoma State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Luck has done more with less, as Stanford lacks the game-changing playmakers that other teams have.

But Luck might still be the second-best quarterback in New York. Griffin, who is widely known as RG3, completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,998 yards with 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 644 yards with nine touchdowns.

Without him, the Bears wouldn't have beaten TCU, Oklahoma and Texas. Griffin's one drawback: He had a late interception that sealed the Bears' fate in a 36-35 loss at Kansas State on Oct. 1 and threw two picks in a 59-24 loss at Oklahoma State on Oct. 29. But with everything else RG3 has done this season, it's easy to give him a mulligan for the miscues.

I still believe Richardson is the best player in the country. He looked like the best player on the field in No. 2 Alabama's 9-6 loss in overtime to No. 1 LSU on Nov. 5. He had 89 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards in a game where every yard mattered. He finished the season with 1,583 yards with 20 touchdown runs and three touchdown catches. He's also Mr. Dependable, not losing a fumble in his past 520 touches and only once in 614 career touches.

Ball has been a scoring machine for the No. 10 Badgers this season, running for 1,759 yards with 32 touchdown runs and six touchdown receptions. His 38 total touchdowns are one shy of matching former Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders' NCAA single-season record of 39 set in 11 games in 1988. Ball's production helped lead the Badgers to a Jan. 2 date against Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO.

Mathieu fell off my ballot after he was suspended from playing in the Tigers' 45-10 victory over Auburn on Oct. 22 for smoking synthetic marijuana. But his big plays helped the Tigers overcome deficits in each of their last two victories, over Arkansas and Georgia in the SEC championship game.

Mathieu -- aka the "Honey Badger" -- is the best player on the top-ranked team. He leads the Tigers with 70 tackles and has forced six fumbles and recovered five. He also is the most dynamic punt returner I've seen since Florida State's Deion Sanders. Mathieu has scored four touchdowns -- two on fumble returns and two on punt returns.

To penalize Mathieu for one foolish mistake wouldn't have been right. After all, Newton was briefly ruled ineligible at Auburn last season and 2010 Heisman Trophy finalist LaMichael James of Oregon was suspended from playing in last season's opener.

First thoughts ...

The 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, aka the January NFL Combine, could have as many as five first-round draft picks on the field when the Stanford Cardinal and Oklahoma State Cowboys meet on Jan. 2.

Four of them come from Stanford: quarterback Andrew Luck, offensive linemen Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro and possibly tight end Coby Fleener.

Oklahoma State boasts – hands down -- the nation's best wide receiver in Justin Blackmon. He has 113 catches, 1,336 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Cardinal have seen Blackmon-esque wide receivers this season -- Juron Criner, Michael Floyd, Robert Woods, etc. Big, fast, physical wide receivers who can use their bodies to create separation. But seeing players like Blackmon isn't the same as seeing Blackmon.

“The first time I saw him getting ready for Arizona, I put on the Oklahoma State game,” Stanford head coach David Shaw explained. “I’m trying to watch Arizona’s defense but I kept watching Justin. I had to go back to the sheet that had all of the heights and weight on it. Is he really that big? Can he be that big and that fast and that quick? A guy that will catch a 50-yard post and then come back again on the next play and it doesn't look like he's out of breath. He's a phenomenal athlete and an outstanding football player.”

The Cardinal have seen Weeden-esque quarterbacks before -- Nick Foles, Matt Barkley, etc.; quarterbacks with arms who can deliver with pinpoint accuracy. But seeing quarterbacks like Brandon Weeden isn't the same as seeing Weeden.

Oh yeah … did I mention they have Blackmon?

“That guy wearing No. 81 is something special,” Shaw said. “And the combination of those two guys is formidable. It has been. They have other guys. They have good running backs and other wide receivers that make big plays also. But Justin Blackmon I think is a special, special player. Being who I am, that's where my eye gravitates towards when I watch a team like this. I studied receivers for so long in the NFL. This guy is ideal. He's what you're looking for.”

We have a month to pore over statistics, scrutinize every position and every individual battle. But my first thought is that this is an incredibly even matchup.

• Both teams have marquee quarterbacks.
• Both teams have strong passing games – a clear edge to Oklahoma State’s receivers and a clear edge to Stanford’s tight ends.
• Both teams have strong running games, though the Cardinal are a little more balanced and methodical.
• Both have defenses that have taken their share of criticism, but ultimately make plays when they need to.

Of all of the BCS bowl games, this is the headliner. It might not be for the national championship -- both teams had a shot at it, though Oklahoma State has the bigger gripe -- but at first glance this looks to be the most entertaining game on the docket. If my DVR has space for only one of the BCS bowl games, this is the one I'd record.

“I think this game is going to be great for college football,” Shaw said. “I think it's going to be exciting. It has a lot of what you're looking for ... You've got one of the best teams in the nation, won their conference. Have an outstanding quarterback, outstanding receiver and an outstanding system; an opportunistic defense that gets turnovers and plays at a fast tempo with a lot of speed.

“Then you have this little team from the West Coast that runs the football with a prototypical quarterback with a balanced offensive attack and attacking style defense. I think it's going to be exciting. I think it's going to be one of the best bowl games this year.”

Question from reporter: Do you think it will be better than the national championship?

Shaw, with a laugh: “I didn't say that.”

Question from reporter: Will it be higher scoring?

Shaw, with a bigger laugh: “I didn't say that, either.”

Shaw doesn’t have to say it. We’re all thinking it.

Stanford chatter heading into the weekend.

• Fiesta Bowl still seems to be likely bowl destination for Stanford.
• Players respond to the passing of Chester McGlockton via twitter.
• Colts can't move forward with Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck both on the roster.
• Matt Barkley's Heisman ballot would include himself, and Luck.
• Bill Parcells says he's not sure Luck is the No. 1 pick.
• A very interesting Heisman chat session with Ryan McCrystal from ESPN Stats & Information, who runs the Heisman Predictor.

Catching up on the day's news on Stanford's football team.

• Head coach David Shaw takes a shot at the BCS.
• Stanford's playing surface hasn't exactly been a field of dreams.
• The Cardinal should look dashing in their Nike Pro Combat uniforms on Saturday.
• A Heisman debate is heating up between Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley.
• Luck a nominee for SI's Sportsman of the Year.
• NFL draft shaping up to be interesting from a quarterback perspective.
• Brian Kelly doesn't see his team as spoilers heading into Saturday.

Stanford head coach David Shaw has been relatively subdued this season when asked about quarterback Andrew Luck and his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy. But on this morning's Pac-12 coaches conference call, Shaw defended and then stumped for his signal caller after he was asked about Luck's national perception possibly slipping.

"I think it's a joke. I think it's an absolute joke," Shaw said. "There is nobody in college football that is doing what Andrew Luck is doing. Don't forget, I spent nine years in the NFL. I evaluated every single quarterback that came out in the NFL during that time and have seen all of the good ones since then. There is nobody that I've heard of that does as much at the line of scrimmage in college football. There are not that many guys in the NFL that are doing as much as Andrew is at the line of scrimmage. The guy is running the game at the line of scrimmage. He's controlling the protections. He's controlling the running game. We're calling three, four plays in the huddle, which most guys can't even think about handling and he does that."

That's a pretty good sales pitch. But Shaw didn't stop there.

"I keep hearing all of this stuff about all of these other quarterbacks and how great they are doing," he continued. "We don't have two first-round draft picks playing receiver for us. We don't. We have a very good, solid team.

"I was talking to somebody the other day. It's like Charles Woodson. Charles Woodson didn't win the Heisman Trophy off of stats. Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy because he was doing something that nobody else in the nation was doing and nobody else has done since then, which is play two positions at a high level. To me, that's what Andrew is. Andrew is doing something that I have not seen anybody do in college football."

His pro-Luck speech went uninterrupted for about a minute and a half. But he was less wordy when later in the call, he was asked about USC quarterback Matt Barkley and his Heisman chances.

"I think based on the stats he's put up he should be in the conversation," Shaw said.

Cue the crickets...

Shaw has always touted his quarterback, but this was the first time there was extreme passion in his voice and a touch of anger at the assertion that the national perception of Luck might be trending downward.

Here's a little something to get the debate juices bubbling this morning.

Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said if he were an NFL coach, he'd pick Matt Barkley over Andrew Luck, according to Pedro Moura of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Writes Moura:

Asked about the USC offense in advance of Saturday's game against the Trojans, Sarkisian said Barkley would be a better NFL quarterback than his significantly more-hyped counterpart at Stanford, Andrew Luck.

"If I'm an NFL head coach right now, I'd pick Matt Barkley ahead of Andrew Luck," Sarkisian said in his weekly press conference.

I guess Sarkisian can only speak to what he sees, and he didn't see much of Luck when Washington and Stanford played last month. The Cardinal rushed for a school-record 446 yards -- so it's not like Luck was chucking the ball all over the place (though he did still have two touchdown passes).

Could be true, since Sarkisian recruited Barkley. Could just be Sarkisian buttering up Barkley.

Even though Luck and Barkley shared their moment on the field together in a triple-overtime thriller last month, this is a debate that is sure to carry on long after both are playing on Sundays.

Another great week of questions. Thanks for the feedback and queries.

Jay in Palo Alto writes: Kevin, I'm wondering why the D-line is getting beat up in the press, including your post because they didn't get a sack on (Matt) Barkley. Anyone who watched that game saw Barkley on his butt probably a dozen times, and a lot of those knock-downs looked like they hurt. He always managed to get rid of the ball, but it was pretty rare that he had any extra time in the pocket. It's ironic that people are talking about how great Barkley's quick release was, but ignoring the flip side: Stanford's pass rushers made him get rid of it quickly, over and over. That's about all you can ask of them, never mind the sack stats.

Kevin Gemmell: Jay, I don't recall "beating them up" in a post, but your point is well-taken and certainly valid. I was addressing the pass rush as a whole. Now give credit to a very good USC offensive line -- and I gave Barkley his due on the quick release -- some were by design, others were not. And they did hit him. But you can't "never mind" the sack stats because sacks are game-changers. When a quarterback gets hit and still completes the pass, he feels better about himself. The hits don't hurt as much (at least during the game). When a quarterback gets hit and takes the ball with him, it's a sinking feeling. I'm not saying the defensive line had a bad game -- but it wasn't a great game on the whole. And that falls on the linebackers as well. There were long runs, significantly fewer tackles for a loss and USC's offensive line did a pretty good job keeping them out. I've been a big supporter of the defensive line this year, but it wasn't their best game. But they did make the plays when they had to make them. In the end, that's all that matters.

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Shirin in Boston writes: My fellow Stanford alum friend and I were having a big debate on who we should be rooting for this weekend in the LSU vs. Alabama game. My thought is to root for Alabama because I don't want LSU to have a home game when we play the winner in the national championship game. However, my friend Matt said I should be rooting for LSU because an Alabama loss will hurt (Trent) Richardson's Heisman case and an LSU win will help our strength of schedule and Pac-12 perception due to Oregon's loss to LSU. However, I think Luck is going to win the Heisman anyway and the strength of schedule argument won't matter as much if we beat Oregon! Please let us know your thoughts. Thanks!

Kevin Gemmell: Shirin, I'd be more focused on the Oklahoma State-Kansas State game. But if I had to pick, I'd back you up. Going to be a tough trip to New Orleans regardless of who they play. But LSU would make it tougher. Then again, I covered the USC-Texas national championship game a few years back and that was essentially a home game for the Trojans. And we all remember how that turned out.

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Matt in Austin, Texas writes: Kevin, I'm concerned about the pressure that USC's front four got on Luck throughout the game this past Saturday. To me, their pressure schemes most closely resembled Duke's defensive line's strategy (at least through the first half of that game). If you recall, Duke utilized their quick defensive ends to run stunts behind their defensive tackles, confusing Stanford's interior offensive line as to whom to pick up in the rush coming up the middle. USC mirrored this strategy, and was successful with it throughout the game thanks to their superior athletes. Tell me why I shouldn't be worried about Oregon also copying this stunt-rush strategy two Saturdays from now, given their athletic front four and speedy defensive ends.

Kevin Gemmell: Matt, from my recollection, Duke was using delayed blitzes to complement the defensive line, and that was the reason for the confusion up front. Plus, it was just the second game for the three new starters and it took a half for them to figure out the adjustments. USC was getting pressure with just its front-four. And in that case, I'd be a little concerned. There were some injuries to the offensive line, which might have contributed. But the pressure on third downs was alarming. I can't tell you not to be worried, sorry. I think Stanford will have a good blocking scheme in place for that game. But I'd like to see how they rebound against Oregon State first before jumping too far ahead to Oregon.

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Ryan in San Francisco writes: One thing Stanford has always struggled with is recruiting speed and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball. The recent recruiting classes have definitely helped in this area but it seems the team was still a step or two slow on the long runs by (Chris) Polk and (Curtis) McNeal the last two weeks. In your opinion do you chalk this up as still lacking some athleticism to keep up with the true burners, bad angles by the defense, and/or injuries to (Shayne) Skov and (Delano) Howell as the main culprits?

Kevin Gemmell: Ryan, all of the above. As we know, Stanford has a different recruiting strategy and criteria than most schools. It's tough to find elite athletes who also fit the Stanford mold. But it's not just Stanford -- Polk and McNeal are darn good running backs. Would it be different with Skov and Howell -- probably. No doubt those two are missed. But bad tackling/angles also played a major role.

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Manny in Fremont, Calif writes: Would you call the OSU game a trap game for the Cardinal (given the emotional USC game and the upcoming showdown with Oregon)?

Kevin Gemmell: I think all of the ingredients for a trap game are there -- except for the other team. As I wrote in my prediction, I just don't think OSU has the horses to keep up with Stanford. And I don't see a special season being lost to a 2-6 team. I like Mike Riley a lot. I covered him when he was with the Chargers and always found him to be an innovative coach. But innovation can only go so far without the players. I will say that the Cardinal need to start fast -- something that's hampered them on the road this season -- to not let OSU get any illusions of an upset.