Cal vs. Stanford: Andrew Luck Redeems His Heisman Hopes

The Stanford football program attempts to abide by a "six-hour rule," which requires players and coaches to put a game behind them and move on to the next week six hours after the game.

Andrew Luck, Stanford's star quarterback, admitted this week that it took longer than six hours for the Cardinal to recover from last week's 53-30 loss to Oregon.

The blowout loss to the Ducks seemingly eliminated the Cardinal from the national title picture and knocked Luck out of the top spot in the Heisman Trophy race. Only a week later, both opportunities are right back on the table.

Fortunately for Stanford, having to play their bitter rival California only a week later allowed them to quickly turn the page from the Oregon disaster and focus on winning their second consecutive Big Game over the Bears.

For Luck, it gave him another spotlight game to atone for what was considered a poor performance only due to the extremely high standards to which he is held.

He received almost no help from his teammates against the Ducks, as dropped passes, tipped balls and missed blocking assignments helped contribute to the end of the Cardinal's 17-game winning streak. In addition, wide receiver Chris Owusu and tight end Zach Ertz both missed the game.

Against Cal, Luck reverted back to the form that has him tabbed as the certain No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL draft. He connected on 20 of his 30 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns on a rainy night in Palo Alto and led a critical game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter that took almost eight minutes off of the clock despite worsening field conditions.

Many of Luck's fellow Heisman candidates saw their chances suffer this weekend with losses. Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden, who many perceived as the front-runner after the Cowboys' 66-6 win at Texas Tech, had three interceptions in a double-overtime loss at Iowa State. Oregon's LaMichael James re-injured his right elbow in the Ducks' 38-35 loss to USC, likely ending his Heisman hopes.

Baylor's Robert Griffin and USC's Matt Barkley emerged as candidates on Saturday night, and Alabama's Trent Richardson and Houston's Case Keenum did nothing to hurt their cause.

Luck is back in the driver's seat, however, and will again have the attention of most of the nation on him next weekend when he hosts Notre Dame in the only primetime game with BCS implications.

Carson Palmer used a great performance against Notre Dame on Thanksgiving weekend to propel him to the 2002 Heisman Trophy. Luck could not ask for a better opportunity to take control of this year's race with an Irish team that has won eight of nine games coming to California.

Much like the national title race, the Heisman race is far from over.

Luck, however, is now again in the same position for the Heisman Trophy as LSU is for a BCS Championship Game berth. There is still work to be done, but they're in control of their destiny. After a topsy-turvy weekend, the Stanford quarterback now shouldn't need any luck to win sports' most prestigious award.