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Andrew Luck is constantly praised for his accuracy, football intelligence and leadership intangibles, but on Sunday at the NFL combine he proved that his athleticism rivals the top quarterbacks in the league.

Of the 14 quarterbacks who participated in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and broad jump at the 2012 combine, only Luck and Robert Griffin III placed in the top four in all three events. Notably, Luck posted the top broad jump of all quarterbacks, and put up comparable numbers to Cam Newton’s combine in 2011.

Unlike Newton, Luck played in a pro-style offense in college that did not ask him to run consistently. But anyone who watched Stanford throughout Luck’s career could see that he has the athleticism and mobility to succeed at the next level.

Luck was one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the nation when throwing on the run. The average quarterback completes less than 50 percent of his passes when forced to scramble outside of the pocket, but last season Luck completed 63.6 percent of these passes. He was even better when passing outside of the pocket on designed roll-outs, completing 71.8 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and just one interception on such passes.

Inside of the pocket, Luck’s mobility helped him elude pass rushers and get the ball out quickly. Luck was sacked only 23 times in his career at Stanford, about once in every 50 drop-backs. Of quarterbacks that started at least 20 games since 2009, only Kellen Moore and Brandon Weeden were sacked at lower rates.

Luck chose to remain in the pocket on the majority of the time, but when forced to scramble he averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. Overall, Luck ran for 957 yards and seven touchdowns in his career. Additionally, he caught two passes for 24 yards, including one of the most athletic plays of the season -- a one-handed, sprawling catch down the right sideline against UCLA.

So while Griffin may have stolen the spotlight by running a 4.41 40-yard dash on Sunday, Luck proved that he is one of the top athletes at the quarterback position -- a fact that may be surprising to some, but not those that have watched him closely for years.

No. 4 Stanford takes on No. 3 Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl tonight (8:30 ET on ESPN), in a game featuring several of college football’s biggest offensive stars.

Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck won both the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards for National Player of the Year, and the Cowboys Justin Blackmon won his second straight Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in college football.

Both players have been outstanding this season when close to the goal line. In the red zone, Luck has completed 73 percent of his passes and accounted for 28 touchdowns without turning the ball over.

Blackmon leads the country with 29 red-zone receptions, 10 more than any other player in FBS. He also leads the nation with 11 red-zone touchdown catches.

The Cowboys offense isn’t just Blackmon though. Running back Joseph Randle has run for 25 touchdowns this season. In Big 12 history, only Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein this season and Ricky Williams during his 1998 Heisman season have run for more.

Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden is one of six quarterbacks in FBS with 40 red-zone touchdown passes over the past two seasons and his +37 touchdown-to-interception differential in the red zone is tied for third in that span.

Luck is at the top of that list, with 45 touchdown passes and one interception in the red zone since the start of last season.

The biggest weapons in Luck’s arsenal are his tight ends, whom he targets on 40 percent of his pass attempts, most of any quarterback with 100 attempts. Stanford’s tight ends have scored two or more touchdowns in nine of the team’s 12 games, including each of their past two.

Luck has thrown a touchdown in every game this season out of two-tight end formations, and the two losses to Oregon were the only games in the past two years in which he completed less than 50 percent of his passes with two tight ends on the field.

Numbers to Know
The Cowboys lead FBS with 22 touchdown drives that have lasted one minute or less, and their average touchdown drive of 1:46 is the shortest in the country.

Entering last year, each of these programs had exactly three 10-win seasons in its history, and neither had ever won 11 games. Now both schools have back-to-back 11-win seasons.

There were 770 games played in the 2011 college football season. We give you the 10 plays that shaped the BCS Championship race.

1. Tyrann Mathieu returns fumble for TD
LSU 40, Oregon 27
Significance: These top-five teams were locked in a 6-3 game. The Tigers went three-and-out and punted, but Kenjon Barner fumbled the return at the three and LSU's playmaker snapped it up and went into the end zone for a momentum-shifting score.

2. Kirk Cousins completes 44-yard Hail Mary to Keith Nichol
Michigan State 37, Wisconsin 31
Significance: Wisconsin had its eyes on a perfect regular season and a spot in the title game. But after a last-second heave, ricochet, catch and then video review, that dream was dashed.

3. Oklahoma misses 28-yard field goal vs Texas Tech
Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 38
Significance: The Sooners were preseason No. 1 and still undefeated, but trailed 31-7 at home. They mounted a comeback, but after Michael Hunnicutt's missed FG from 28 yards out there wasn't enough time left to overcome a 10-point deficit.

4. Tajh Boyd gets intercepted in the end zone
Georgia Tech 31, Clemson 17
Significance: Down 14 points, Clemson had just intercepted Georgia Tech, getting the ball at Georgia Tech's nine-yard line. But on the first play, Boyd was picked by Jemea Thomas, ending the Tigers' comeback and dashing their national-title hopes.

5. LSU’s Eric Reid intercepts Alabama at the 1-yard line
LSU 9, Alabama 6 (OT)
Significance: In a 6-6 game in the fourth quarter, LSU's Eric Reid wrestled the ball away from Alabama TE Michael Williams at the one-yard line for an interception, preventing what could have been the winning score. LSU would win it in overtime.

6. Boseko Lokombo picks off Andrew Luck and returns it for TD
Oregon 53, Stanford 30
Significance: This was Stanford’s last major obstacle to a perfect regular season. Down 16 points, Luck had Stanford driving. But the pick ended those hopes, putting the game out of reach and handing the Cardinal its only loss of the season.

7. Boise State misses 39-yard field goal as time expires
TCU 36, Boise State 35
Significance: Playing on the home turf where they had been dominant for so long, the Broncos went down a point after TCU made the gutsy call to go for two. But Boise drove down the field before Dan Goodale sailed his kick wide right as time expired and the Broncos were no longer unbeaten.

8. Brandon Weeden's pass intercepted in first play of second overtime
Iowa State 37, Oklahoma State 31 (2 OT)
Significance: The Cyclones came back from a 24-7 deficit to tie the game at 24 heading into overtime. But on the first play of the second overtime, Brandon Weeden was intercepted. Three plays later Iowa State scored to end Oklahoma State's dream.

9. Oregon misses 37-yard field goal as time expires
USC 38, Oregon 35
Significance: Even after their season-opening loss, the Ducks still had a shot at the BCS Championship. But USC, ineligible for postseason play, gave the Ducks a battle at Autzen Stadium. Down three, Oregon had the chance to send it into overtime. But Alejandro Maldonado missed a 37-yarder.

10. Robert Griffin III completes 34-yard TD pass with :08 left
Baylor 45, Oklahoma 38
Significance: Just like Oregon, Oklahoma still had a chance to sneak back into the title picture despite a loss. But Baylor's Heisman candidate Griffin shocked the Sooners with a game-winning touchdown pass with eight seconds left.

To see images of these plays, click here.

The 106th edition of the Bedlam Series between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners kicks off at 8 ET on ABC Saturday night with state bragging rights and the Big 12 Conference title on the line.

The third-ranked Cowboys also have an outside shot at a berth in the BCS Championship game if they can deliver a convincing win over the 10th-ranked Sooners combined with a loss by LSU to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

The Sooners have long been the big brother in this series with wins in over 75 percent of the matchups since 1904, including the last eight. How lopsided has this rivalry been? Oklahoma has 26 30-point wins in the series and Oklahoma State has just one.

If the Cowboys can overcome this historical precedent they have a chance to re-write their record books. Oklahoma State has never been to BCS game and hasn’t even won a share of a conference title since 1976, when they split the Big 8 title three ways with Oklahoma and Colorado.

Offense Rules
Don’t expect the scoreboard operator to get bored during this game. Not only are the Cowboys and Sooners ranked third and fourth nationally in total offense, but they also are two of the quickest-scoring teams in FBS.

Oklahoma State leads FBS with 20 touchdown drives that last one minute or less; the Sooners are fourth with 16. The Cowboys have scored at least one touchdown in under a minute in every conference game this season, and are one of two teams averaging fewer than two minutes per touchdown drive this season.

What to Watch For
One of the key matchups in this game will be in the red zone, where the Cowboys have scored 47 touchdowns this season (third-most in FBS). Oklahoma State frequently looks to air it out when inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, ranking fifth in FBS with 24 red zone passing touchdowns.

Much of the Cowboys’ success in the red zone can be traced to the prolific pass-catch combination of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Weeden and Blackmon have connected on a red zone touchdown in 17-of-23 games played since the start of 2010. Blackmon leads FBS with 11 red zone touchdowns and has eight more red zone touchdowns than any other receiver on the Cowboys.

The Sooners have allowed only 15 red zone touchdowns this season (tied for seventh-fewest in FBS) and just seven of those have come in the air. In their last four games combined, they’ve given up only three passing touchdowns in the red zone.

Numbers to Know
With a win, Oklahoma will have its 32nd 10-win season in school history, breaking a tie with Alabama for the all-time lead. Alabama earned its 31st 10-win season two weeks ago.

While double-digit wins aren’t anything new to these schools, there are others at the opposite end of the spectrum. Of the current 120 FBS schools, 12 have never had a 10-win season. The University of Indiana Hoosiers have the distinction of playing the most seasons without a 10-win campaign (124 seasons).

With a four-yard touchdown run by Jeff Woody in the second overtime, Iowa State pulled off a big 37-31 upset of second-ranked Oklahoma State. The Cyclones had trailed 24-7 midway through the third quarter, but scored 17 unanswered points in regulation to force overtime. The win was Iowa State's first over a team ranked one or two in the AP poll in 19 tries.

The Cowboys became the first team in the top two of the BCS standings to lose to an unranked team in November or later since 2007. Their loss leaves LSU and Houston as the remaining unbeatens in FBS.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 476 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw a season-high three interceptions including a costly one on the Cowboys' possession in the second overtime. Weeden had thrown three interceptions combined in his last seven games. Oklahoma State also lost two fumbles and their five turnovers were most in a game since September of 2010. Those five turnovers led to 16 Iowa State points. Entering Friday’s game, Oklahoma State had committed 16 turnovers in 10 games this season.

The 31 points was Oklahoma State's fewest since scoring 30 against Texas A&M on September 24th. The Cowboys had scored at least 50 points in each of their last three games. They are the 14th number one or two team in the BCS to lose to a team ranked outside of the BCS standings and the first since 2007.

With Oklahoma State's loss, other one-loss teams hope they'll have a shot at playing for the national championship on January 9th in New Orleans. Third-ranked Alabama (9-1), fourth-ranked Oregon (9-1) and fifth-ranked Oklahoma (8-1) are some of those teams. Alabama faces Georgia Southern on Saturday and then 24th-ranked Auburn in the Iron Bowl on November 26th. Oregon takes on USC at Autzen Stadium on Saturday then closes with rival Oregon State in the Civil War next Saturday. Oklahoma has three games left beginning with 22nd-ranked Baylor, then Iowa State and at Oklahoma State on December 3rd.

The highest AP ranked team that Alabama has beaten is 12th ranked Florida compared to Oregon who beat 3rd ranked Stanford last week.

Both Alabama and Oregon have faced top-ranked LSU earlier this year. Oregon lost 40-27 in the teams' season opener on September 3rd at Cowboys Stadium and Alabama lost 9-6 in overtime two weeks ago in a BCS one vs two matchup in Tuscaloosa.

So if both teams win out and LSU finishes the season undefeated, how does a 13-point loss on a neutral field compare to a three-point loss in overtime at home when it comes to deciding who plays for the national championship.

After 11 weeks of football, there are three unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS. What makes these teams go? Do they have a weakness that will cost them a chance at an undefeated season? And what is each team’s toughest game remaining on the schedule? ESPN’s Statistics & Information Group will be answering these three questions for each of the three teams in a series that started Tuesday with the Houston Cougars.

Oklahoma State: 10-0 (7-0 Big 12)

What they do well: Oklahoma State's offense utilizes its speed to become the most lethal offense in the country. The Cowboys average just one minute and 49 seconds per touchdown drive and have scored 19 offensive touchdowns on drives lasting under a minute. Both of these numbers are the best in the country.

The Cowboys average over 51 points and six touchdowns per game, scoring a touchdown on 43.5 percent of their drives.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden is completing 73.1 percent of his passes while his receivers average 205.2 yards per game after the catch -- accounting for over half of the Cowboys passing offense.

Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon is back at it again this year, tied for the national lead with 14 touchdown receptions. His connection with Weeden truly separates the Cowboys from other teams in the nation.

Weeden is completing 74.4 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and just one interception when targeting Blackmon, and he has been even better when targeting Blackmon inside of the red zone (83.3 comp pct, 11 touchdowns, zero interceptions).

Area of concern: Oklahoma State allows 442.2 yards per game, which ranks 101st out of 120 teams in the country. Since 2004, only one BCS national champion was not ranked in the top 10 nationally in yards allowed per game (Auburn was ranked 60th in 2010).

Oklahoma State’s defense particularly struggles to stop the pass, allowing 256.1 passing yards per game (93rd in FBS). The Cowboys’ porous pass defense has been masked by the fact that they have forced more turnovers than any other team in the country.

Biggest hurdle remaining: Oklahoma State will face off with rival Oklahoma December 3 in a game that likely will have conference and national title implications. Oklahoma State has lost its last eight games against the Sooners, including a 47-41 loss at home last season that crushed the Cowboys’ Big 12 title hopes. In that game, Landry Jones passed for a season-high 468 yards and four touchdowns on the Cowboys’ defense.

If Oklahoma State is unable to stop the Sooners’ passing attack or get Justin Blackmon going, we could have “bedlam” not only in Stillwater, but in the BCS Standings with potentially seven one-loss teams in the top-10 behind an undefeated LSU. LSU by the way still has to play 9-1 Arkansas. More on that tomorrow.

Every Friday during college football season, we're taking fans' questions and answering them on our blog. You can send questions to our Twitter account @ESPNStatsInfo. Be sure to follow so you can tweet us your questions (facts, not opinions) and we'll answer the best of the best.

How many times has Brandon Weeden targeted Justin Blackmon and where does that rank?
-- asked by @Bmurphy47

Through Oklahoma State’s first four games this season, Weeden has targeted Blackmon 48 times, and the duo has combined for 38 catches, 450 yards and four touchdowns. The 48 targets are just over a quarter of Weeden’s 191 attempts.

Blackmon’s 38 receptions are tied for ninth in FBS. On a per-game basis, his 9.5 receptions per game are tied for fifth in FBS.

Syracuse had won seven straight decided by 1-7 points. Last five wins have been close. Who has longest streaks out there?
-- asked by @MattPark1

Rutgers snapped Syracuse’s seven-game winning streak in games decided by seven points or less with a 19-16 overtime win last weekend. The Orange’s streak was the second longest in FBS. Beginning with its Outback Bowl win over Northwestern at the end of the 2009 season, Auburn has won 10 straight games decided by seven points or less.

Syracuse joins Minnesota as the only FBS teams that have each of its last five victories by seven points or less. The last time the Golden Gophers won by more than seven points was Halloween 2009, an eight-point win over Michigan State.

With Florida going up against LSU, how have freshman QBs faired against No. 1 ranked teams in the past?
-- asked by @UFSanity

We went back through the last four years (just games between BCS AQ teams, to eliminate completely lopsided matchups). Eight freshmen played (six started) against No. 1 teams, all losses. Only EJ Manuel was able to complete more than half his passes, but Robert Griffin III did well on the ground against Oklahoma.

Thursday’s rematch of the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl between Arizona Wildcats and ninth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys (ESPN, 8 ET) features two teams with prolific quarterback-wide receiver combinations.

Arizona’s Nick Foles led the nation in the first week of action with 412 passing yards and five touchdowns in a 41-10 blowout win over Northern Arizona. That is the fourth 400-yard passing game of Foles’ career. Only Case Keenum has more 400-yard games since the start of 2009.

Foles’ favorite receiver is Juron Criner, who caught six of the nine passes thrown to him for 151 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.

While Foles led the nation in individual passing yards in college football's initial week, Oklahoma State led the nation with 666 total yards when it won 61-34 over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden’s favorite target is Justin Blackmon, who has 13 straight 100-yard receiving games. Blackmon beat Arizona deep in the Alamo Bowl with a 72-yard touchdown reception, and he has the ability to break long plays more frequently than any other receiver in the country.

Since the start of 2010, no other receiver has more 20-yard touchdown receptions than Blackmon’s 12 of this distance. Weeden knows that he can just throw the ball deep and Blackmon will likely come down with it.

In order for the Wildcats to pull off the upset, they must fix several mistakes made in the Alamo Bowl, when they lost 36-10. Foles struggled to throw the ball downfield, completing 7-of-18 attempts thrown 10-or-more yards downfield with all three of his interceptions coming on throws of that distance.

When targeting Criner on downfield passes in the bowl game, Foles was 1-for-4 with one interception. Foles showed improvement on throws of 10+ yards in his first game of 2011 as he completed 8-of-12 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Weeden and Blackmon face different challenges as they prepare for Thursday. Weeden tied his career high with three interceptions versus Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

The offense did not look particularly sharp after the departure of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, and for the first time in 13 games Justin Blackmon did not catch a touchdown.

The Big 12 is stacked with talented quarterback-wide receiver combinations. Last season, five of the top 20 passing offenses played in the Big 12, and four of them – the Baylor Bears, Texas A&M Aggies, Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys -- return their starting quarterback and top wide receiver.

But which quarterback-wide receiver duo is the best in the Big 12? With all due respect to Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and Kendall Wright and Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill and Jeff Fuller, this conversation should not leave the borders of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have arguably the two best QB-WR tandems in the nation. In fact, all four players -- Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles, Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon -– have a serious chance at winning the Heisman based on their numbers last season.

Jones and Broyles thrive in Oklahoma’s quick pass, high-octane offense. Jones attempted more passes than any other quarterback in the country in 2010 and Broyles averaged an FBS-best 9.4 receptions per game.

Oklahoma was at its best when throwing quick screens and allowing its receivers to make plays in space. Of Broyles' 131 receptions last season, 51 were thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage. He averaged 10.0 yards after the catch on passes thrown that distance and did not drop a pass.

At Oklahoma State, Weeden and Blackmon did not connect on as many wide receiver screen passes, but they showed a similar propensity to turn short passes into long plays. When targeted at or behind the line, Weeden averaged 10.5 yards after the catch and 7.9 yards per reception. Those short passes added up, helping Blackmon to gain 100 or more receiving yards in every game he played last season.

Weeden and Blackmon were difficult to stop in the downfield attack as well. They combined for 12 touchdowns on plays of 20 or more yards (best of any QB-WR duo in the country) and averaged 32.1 yards per TD reception. On throws of 20 yards or more, Weeden completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6 percent) to Blackmon for 10 touchdowns.

Comparatively, when targeting Broyles on throws of 20 or more yards, Jones completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for five touchdowns in 2010. Broyles averaged 23.1 yards per TD reception and five of his 14 touchdowns were 20 yards or longer.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State excel in different areas of the passing game. Oklahoma’s Jones and Broyles are efficient, completing passes that move the chains and lead to touchdowns. No other duo had more touchdowns the past two seasons. The Cowboys’ Weeden and Blackmon are more dynamic, converting more big plays downfield at a higher rate than any other duo in the country. No other duo had more touchdown plays of 10 or more yards last season.

Maybe the verdict on this one won’t be decided until the Sooners travel to Stillwater on Dec. 3 to meet the Cowboys.

For exclusive video, stories and blogs about quarterbacks from every level of competition, check out ESPN’s “Year of the Quarterback” page.

This is the second of three posts breaking down quarterbacks who will likely be Heisman Trophy contenders in 2011. See also our posts on pro-style quarterbacks and dual-threat quarterbacks.

The last four quarterbacks to win the Heisman Trophy have all run the spread offense, making the state of Oklahoma fertile ground for Heisman candidates this season. Two of the nation's top spread-offense quarterbacks play there, separated by 80 miles of Interstate 35.

Landry Jones, Oklahoma Sooners
The blueprint for a pocket passer to win the Heisman is simple: put up big numbers and win games. With the Sooners projected to be one of best teams in the country, Jones will have a chance to achieve both.

Oklahoma is the top-ranked team in the College Football Live preseason poll and has a legitimate chance to reach the BCS National Championship. Eight of the last 10 Heisman winners played in the BCS title game.

Jones could lead the nation in many passing categories because of Bob Stoops’ quick-strike offense. In 2010, Jones attempted more passes than any other quarterback, and almost 28 percent of his pass attempts were at or behind the line of scrimmage.

These slants and screen passes allowed Jones to increase his yards and completion percentage on relatively easy passes. It also allowed his receivers to make plays and gain yards after the catch.

If Jones wants to take home the trophy, then he’ll have to improve his game away from Norman. Jones has struggled on the road in his two seasons, and Oklahoma’s 2011 road schedule is daunting. The Sooners will face Florida State, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State on the road, plus the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas in Dallas.

Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State Cowboys
If Weeden can replicate his 2010 performance, then he’ll put up the numbers necessary for Heisman consideration. Last season, Weeden ranked third in the nation in passing yards, and his career pass efficiency mark of 155.42 is fourth among active quarterbacks.

Yet Weeden may not even be the best bet for the Heisman Trophy on his team.

If he has a big year in 2011, then Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon probably will as well. In 2010, Blackmon was one of the best big-play receivers in the country and Weeden’s go-to guy on third down, in the red zone and when facing added pressure.

Weeden completed 56 passes that gained 20 yards or more last year, fifth in FBS. 24 of those passes went to Blackmon, 12 of which went for touchdowns.

When throwing the ball at least 20 yards in the air during conference play, Weeden completed 10-of-16 passes when targeting Blackmon, but only 9-of-22 when targeting other receivers.

Weeden should be praised for utilizing his greatest asset, but his reliance on the dynamic receiver may make Blackmon the stronger Heisman candidate.