Once Andrew Luck Leaves, Stanford Cardinal Will Go Down, Down, Down

Stanford is enjoying the kind of success that nobody has ever seen from this team.

College Gameday went to The Oval. The "Suck for Luck" chants are louder than ever. And, finally, this club is succeeding in football.

Riding a club record 17-game winning streak is quarterback Andrew Luck and Palo Alto's very own Stanford Cardinal, who are making a name for themselves. Tonight's tilt against Oregon is going to bring in a huge national audience as one of the season's biggest games.

When former coach Jim Harbaugh left, people saw Stanford as a contender, but not a BCS Title contender. Stanford proved them wrong, and a dominating 9-0 start is the result.

Right now, Stanford is thinking about Oregon and the way they can finish this historic season. But what about next year, when the Cardinal quarterback is gone?

Teams are sucking for Luck in the NFL, and Luck knows he is the clear #1 pick if he leaves; he should be gone come 2012.

If the Cardinal can recruit another Andrew Luck-type quarterback, big time football will stay in Palo Alto and the Pac-12. But can a quarterback who transformed a team that had done absolutely nothing be replaced, with Luck's caliber? 

In games that Andrew Luck played, Stanford has a record of 29-5, a huge turnaround from former quarterback Tavita Pritchard and the team that couldn't win six games. Jim Harbaugh brought up and developed  Luck just like any good coach would, and the result is a star. But can current head coach David Shaw recruit and develop stars like that? Can the Cardinal defense win alone?

The answer? No.

Stanford has a great defense, and a talented running core of Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson, and Tyler Gaffney, but without a quarterback, you can't do much. Backup Brett Nottingham hasn't looked bad in his 8 snaps, but he can't really replace Luck.

Sure, the Cardinal will have leading tackler Shayne Skov and a good core of returning players on defense, but the they gave up 48 points to USC two weeks ago, and their defense has holes.

So once Luck is gone, you may see Stanford around the Las Vegas Bowl, or the Sun Bowl, and if they piece together what they have well enough, maybe even the Alamo Bowl.

But I will get one thing straight. Once Andrew Luck is gone, winning national championship will be a dream for the Cardinal.