Stanford Football: Andrew Luck Will Tear Through Arizona on Way to Pac-12 Title

With non-conference cupcakes San Jose State and Duke out of the way, Andrew Luck and No. 6 Stanford can finally begin their march to the Pac-12 title and another BCS bowl berth with a visit to Tucson to take on Arizona on Saturday.

The Cardinal have become the de facto favorites in the newly expanded conference since No. 12 Oregon took a tumble against SEC power LSU in Week 1. Head coach David Shaw, just two games into his stewardship of the post-Jim Harbaugh era, now finds himself in the difficult position of having the target fixed firmly on his back. Like USC in years past, Stanford will have to absorb the best blows of every other team in the conference while competing for the North division crown.

Luck-ily, he and his Cardinal club have the best quarterback in the country to lead them to the promised land. Through two games, Luck has piled up 461 yards and six touchdowns against just one pick on 37-of-54 passing.

Not the most impressive numbers in college football, to be sure. However, in a strange twist of logic, the fact that he's managed to fit in those stats when his team has taken command so easily and so early in the first two weeks speaks volumes of Luck's precision from the pocket. He left the game against San Jose State at the 2:07 mark of the third quarter, with Stanford up 43-3. Against Duke, Luck played his last down—a three-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz to extend the Cardinal's lead to 36-7—with 14:56 left to go in the fourth quarter.

Hence, Luck's production thus far has come in less than six quarters of football, with his backups combining for just 70 yards and a touchdown while handing the ball off more often than not in his absence.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that none of this will be the case against Arizona, that Stanford will have much more of a fight on its hands against a conference foe, that Luck won't be quite so fortunate to just make a few incisions in the Wildcats' defense before heading to the sidelines with a 30-point lead.

Then again, U of A has already faced a Top 10 opponent this season and not fared particularly well. In fact, Mike Stoops' defense surrendered nearly 600 yards of offense to No. 8 Oklahoma State during a 37-14 spanking in Stillwater. Granted, Stanford's attack isn't anywhere near as explosive as the Cowboys', which is among the most prolific in all of college football, but Luck is arguably a much better quarterback than OK State's Brandon Weeden, who threw for 397 yards and two touchdowns against 'Zona's D.

Luck's past performances against the 'Cats also bodes well for his success this time around. In two career games against 'Zona, Luck has piled up 722 yards and five touchdowns against just one interception, so familiarity (or a lack thereof) shouldn't be much of a mitigating factor.

Once this weekend's game is out of the way, the Cardinal will have four games against conference cupcakes to get comfortable, and for Luck to pad his Heisman stats, before delving into the more difficult portion of the schedule at USC.

In the meantime, look for Luck to lash out against the 'Cats on national TV as he draws another step closer to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Oh, and as Stanford edges toward a potential spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

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