Stanford Football: Winners and Losers from Cardinal's Win vs. Colorado

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The Stanford Cardinal (5-0) easily took down the Colorado Buffaloes (1-5) on Sunday, 48-7.  Playing one of the two newest members of the Pac-12, Andrew Luck and the rest of the Cardinal dismantled the Buff's secondary.

Stanford has shown week in and week out that it's a team that deserves to be regarded as one of the best in the Pac-12.  While this wasn't nearly the most exciting game on Stanford's schedule, it still showed some important points about this Cardinal team.

Read on to see what those points are.

Winner: Andrew Luck

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The first winner of the game is Andrew Luck, the obvious choice.

Luck completed 26 of 33 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns.  Yes, he did throw his second interception of the season but it was tipped up into the air off of Chris Owusu's hands and right to Terrel Smith. 

I think we can cut Luck some slack for that one.

Luck keeps improving with every game as he passed for over 300 yards for the second time this season.  He showed amazing poise in the pocket and leadership on the field.  His decision making is second to none as he almost always find the right receiver in the right spot.  

Stanford goes as Luck goes, and Luck is flying high.

Loser: Jordan Williamson

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Naming Jordan Williamson as a loser is a bit of a stretch, but someone had to take the fall.

Williamson missed his only field goal attempt from 47 yards out and also missed his second point after attempt of the the game.

While this had no effect on the outcome of the game, a top ten team should have a solid kicking unit to get those easy points in closer games, when every point matters.

Winner: Max Bergen

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After fumbling the opening kickoff, Colorado marched down the short field and looked poised for an easy field goal.

That is, until inside linebacker Max Bergen exploited the holes in the Colorado special teams and effortlessly blocked Will Oliver's 29 yard field goal attempt.  Bergen then quickly turned that potential three point Colorado lead into a seven point Stanford lead with his 75 yard return.

Bergen also played a part on one of Stanford's three sacks on Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen.

Loser: Other Heisman Hopefuls

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As the season goes on, Andrew Luck seems to separate himself from the rest of the field.

His stats are spectacular—1383 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 73.1 percent of his passes are completed.  On top of that, he has proven to be a great leader and a role model to the entire Stanford team.  

It's not so much that the rest of the top players in the nation, such as Boise State's Kellen Moore and Wisconsin's Russell Wilson, are having bad games—they're playing very well too.  But Luck is honestly just that much better than everyone else.  

He's having a very special year and the rest of the country is taking notice.

Winner: The Holder of the No. 1 Overall Pick in the 2012 NFL Draft

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Again, we look at how huge of an impact Andrew Luck is making on the football world.

Last year, as a redshirt sophomore, NFL teams were practically drooling over the prospect of drafting the Stanford quarterback.  That desire has only grown in Luck's junior season as he has continued to improve and has solidified himself alongside former Stanford No. 1 picks, John Elway and Jim Plunkett.

He has proved that he can still win, despite his head coach Jim Harbaugh leaving to be the head coach of the 49ers after last season.

Whichever team does end up with the chance to draft Luck in April has the opportunity to change the history of their franchise.

Luck has shown that ability in each and every game of this 2011 season.