Andrew Luck News

Stanford 's Toby Gerhart isn't merely the nation's most physical runner. He also is a pretty good passer.

Stanford head coach and former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh reacts after a touchdown against Southern California earlier this month.

Who : Notre Dame vs. Stanford Where : Stanford Stadium When : 5 p.m. Radio: 860 Story line : The Cardinal try to enter the bowl season on an up note against a team they haven't beaten since 2001.

The Stanford-California rivalry is known as the Big Game and its most famous moment came in 1982 when Cal scored on an improbable kickoff return as time expired and the Stanford band already celebrating on the field.

Suddenly, Stanford is out of the top 25 and needing to beat Notre Dame to put the proper finish on its best football season in eight years.

Without waiting to see whether Oregon would beat Arizona in the desert, No. 14 Stanford took itself out of the Rose Bowl race.

TO GRASP TODAY'S Big Game mojo between Cal and host Stanford, it's time for our third annual interview with The Stanford Axe, also known as "Q & Axe." Q: We meet again, dear friend.

California quarterback Kevin Riley, top left, is lifted by teammates and fans after a win over Stanford during a NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Nov.

Greg Papa on the set of Chronicle Live. Greg Papa is bringing his show "Chronicle Live" to Stanford on Friday to help promote the 112th playing of the Big Game on Saturday.

You Stanford fans might enjoy this . Here's Todd McShay's first line: The more I watch of Stanford QB Andrew Luck this season the more flashbacks I have to Matt Ryan 's days at Boston College.

When Jeff Tedford sets up the digital video, taps "play" and starts to watch Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, I wonder what Cal's coach feels.

One night this week, a handful of sweaty receivers played catch in nearly empty Stanford Stadium.

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The more I watch of Stanford QB Andrew Luck this season the more flashbacks I have to Matt Ryan 's days at Boston College.

The college season began as the Year of the Quarterback. All the Heisman Trophy talk centered on Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Florida's Tim Tebow and Texas' Colt McCoy.

Jim Harbaugh's first recruiting trip as Stanford's football coach was to Texas to visit Andrew Luck even though it would be more than a year before the quarterback could arrive on campus.

Something tumultuous can happen this weekend in northern California. No, it has nothing to do with UC Berkeley's protests against the Regents' 32 percent tuition fee hike; nor does it have anything to do with the fact that Cal's Memorial Stadium is located on a fault line.

The 14th-ranked Stanford Cardinal are one of the hottest teams in college football, and they will play host to the California Golden Bears this weekend in a Pac-10 Conference rivalry bout referred to as the "Big Game". The Golden Bears have won four of their last five games to move to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart has been mostly overlooked despite rushing for 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford has seen what the Stanford football team did to Oregon and USC -- score a combined 106 points against two defenses that held his offense to a total of two field goals.