Defending Stanford’s Andrew Luck

He's the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

He's a virtual lock to go first overall in the 2012 National Football League Draft.

He's the quarterback for No. 4 Stanford University.

Corvallis, meet Andrew Luck.

Luck, who's been called the best NFL draft prospect since Peyton Manning, has played in Corvallis before — a 38-28 loss in 2009, when he was a redshirt freshman. But that was then and this is now.

Luck and the Cardinal, who will face the Beavers at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Reser Stadium, have lost only one game since the start of the 2010 season. Their current 16-game winning streak is the longest among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Stanford is as complete as any team in the nation, and it all starts with the man under center.

"It's pretty easy to look at his gifts," head coach Mike Riley said. "He's not only a great passer, accurate passer, good arm, all that stuff; he's a very gifted athlete. He can run with the best of them. He can run any style of offense — if you wanted to run the spread with him, he'd probably be pretty good at it."

Just take a look at some of the numbers Luck has put up: 176.9 quarterback rating (5th in the nation), 71.9 completion percentage (5th), 2,218 passing yards (18th), 23 touchdowns (5th), only three interceptions and just four sacks.

And that's not even half of the story.

"And then you add some of those intangibles, like intelligence and poise," Riley said. "And so that ability to look at a defense and pretty much know where he's going to go with the football. So he combines all those attributes to basically have accomplished what he's done there at Stanford, which has really changed the dynamics of that whole program."

Luck's presence truly has changed the football program in Palo Alto. For an entire decade, Stanford had been a doormat for the conference. From 2002 to 2008, Stanford was 25-55. It all changed when Luck arrived on campus. Stanford has gone 28-6 since the start of the 2009 season with Luck under center.

The Oregon State defensive players are humbled by the opportunity to play against a quarterback of Luck's stature.

"It's really an honor for me to play against him," said redshirt freshman defensive end Scott Crichton. "It's a great opportunity for me and the rest of the defense to play against him."

"He's one of the best in the country," said cornerback Jordan Poyer. "You can say that he's one of the best — even if he was in the NFL he could be one of the best. When we go against him, it's going to be pretty special."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion should benefit from watching someone as talented as Luck go to work.

"He's obviously one of the best players in the nation and there's a lot to be learned from him," Mannion said.

Mannion has only started six games in his career and is still learning the ropes. His inexperience has come up in crucial times for the Beavers. Luck is someone who barely makes any errors, and limiting mistakes is something Mannion needs to strive to improve.

"Andrew Luck is a great example of a great quarterback for a young quarterback to look at," said Riley.

All of the different variables that Luck brings to the table make for a quarterback who is nearly impossible to game plan against. Focusing in on one of his skills won't cut it because he can do so many different things with the ball.

"It's hard; a lot of teams have tried," Poyer said. "He's a mobile quarterback, he can move, he throws on the run, and he puts balls only where his receivers can catch it and he rarely makes mistakes."

"He's just an athlete," Crichton said. "He knows the game, he's accurate, he can run, he has all the tools for a quarterback. He's going to be a tough challenge for us."

Luck has already been a major part in the turnaround of Stanford's football program, and he will likely be seen as a savior to whichever NFL team nabs him in the draft. He would have been the top pick last year had he not decided to return to school to get his degree.

For Oregon State Saturday, their focus is going to be stopping the man who will probably make more money from his signing bonus than the players on the field or the fans in the stands will make in a lifetime.

Warner Strausbaugh, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com