College Football: Besides Andrew Luck, What Makes the Stanford Cardinal Tick?

Andrew Luck.

That is where the conversation begins and ends with many when discussing the Stanford Cardinal. It's common knowledge the quarterback is a Heisman front runner and the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

While his praise is warranted, it ignores the other things that Stanford does so well. 

As we all know, any team's success goes beyond just one player, no matter how good he may be. When we consider Stanford has won 19 of its last 20 games, we have to realize there are other great players on the team.

So for now, let's forget about Andrew Luck and focus on the rest of the Cardinal.

Stanford's main success comes from controlling both lines of scrimmage. Controlling may actually be a bit of an understatement, so let's more appropriately define their play. They dominate each side of the line.

The offensive line has given up two sacks all season. Two! That is one sack every 106 drop-backs. They've only given up 12 tackles for loss, by far the least in the nation (second place is San Diego State, who has given up 20).

Additionally, the Cardinal average 5.93 yards per rush, fourth in the nation. This ranks them amongst more traditional "rushing teams" such as Oregon, Air Force and Georgia Tech. 

Stefan Taylor is the primary back for the Cardinal, averaging 6.3 yards per carry on the season.  That said, the Cardinal have to be encouraged by the emergence of Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson. The two combined for 30 carries and 238 yards the past two games against Washington State and Washington.

The strength of Stanford's rushing attack brings up another interesting point. While many would consider Stanford a "passing team" because of Luck, it turns out they are an extremely balanced team. In fact, they have run 259 rushing plays, and 219 pass attempts on the season, a 54/46 percent ratio.

They clearly do both well. In addition to the aforementioned lofty rushing total, Stanford averages 9.4 yards per pass attempt, which ranks fifth in the nation. 

This presents them with the opportunity to do whatever they want on offense—they don't have to throw the ball, they don't have to run the ball. They can do each, and they can them well. 

Because of this, defenses are often kept off-balance. If they key in too much on Luck, we see 44 rushes for 446 yards like we did this past week against Washington. If teams cheat against the run, Luck will burn you—he is completing 71.8 percent of his passes.

Stanford also has the No. 1 red zone offense in the nation. How good are they in the red zone?  So good that they have scored every single time they've reached it, the only team to accomplish such a feat. They've been to the red zone 38 times, scored 30 touchdowns, and kicked 8 field goals. 

They simply don't leave points on the field.

A major red zone threat is TE Coby Fleener. Fleener has seven touchdown catches this season, three of which came in the red zone. Fleener is tied for 12th in the nation in receiving touchdowns, and is first among Tight Ends. His 384 yards rank him fifth in the nation among Tight Ends. 

How is this guy not a household name?

Zach Ertz, another Tight End, has had all three of his touchdown receptions come in the red zone.

As a result of all these factors, the Cardinal, which to many are just "Luck and ten other players," are the No. 2 offense in the nation, averaging 48.6 points per game. They average 7.5 yards per play.

Stanford controls the line of scrimmage on defense as well. Their rushing defense is allowing just 75 yards per game, third in the nation. The team has manufactured 25 sacks, seventh in the nation. They have recorded 57 tackles for loss, ninth in the nation.

Leading the charge is linebacker Chase Thomas, who has 5.5 sacks and 10 TFLs on the season. As a whole, 12 Stanford players have recorded at least one sack on the season, and 18 players have recorded a TFL. They are a balanced defense, with the ability to beat you from all angles.

With such a dominant rush defense, it would seem that the secondary is the lone weakness for the Cardinal. That isn't totally true. Teams have passed against them more than they have run, st a rate of 251-198. Still, the Cardinal are allowing a respectable 6.7 yards per passing attempt. 

Finally, Stanford does one thing extremely well. They make adjustments at halftime, and dominate the second half of the football game. In the first half of games, Stanford is outscoring its opponents 152-55, which is "just" a margin of 13.85 points per game.

After the half, they are outscoring their opponents 188-33! That means they outscore their opponents in the second half by an average of 22 points. Additionally, they give up fewer than five points per game in the second half. Overall, it is no wonder this team has won 95 percent of its last 20 games.

Stanford lives by two old football adages:  First, you're only as good as your worst player. On the Cardinal, there is no glaring weakness for opponents to exploit. Second, to be successful, you have to run the football, and stop the run. They clearly do both of those very well.

Andrew Luck is a great player. I don't think anyone can dispute that at this moment. That said, he isn't the only weapon Stanford has. Stanford controls the game and limits its mistakes. They move the ball at will on the ground and through the air. They take away an opponent's ability to run the ball, and they capitalize on every one of their own drives. 

They are a fundamentally sound, intelligent football team—from top to bottom.