Stanford's Quiet Ascendence is Quite Unbelieveable

Shaw, Luck and Harbaugh turned Stanford into a college football powerhouse. (Credits: Stanford Athletics)

When you think of Stanford, you conjure up thoughts of a beautiful Northern California campus nestled in little Palo Alto. You think about Stanford's academic prestige. You think about sharp looking, intelligent people roaming a gorgeous campus. You might even think about basketball. But football? When you think about Stanford, football never comes to mind. That's changing. Rapidly.

After Tyrone Willingham left for greener pastures in South Bend after the 2001 season, Stanford was left in an interesting position. Sure, they were coming of their first 9-win season since 1992, but football wasn't of the upmost importance. Five years of brutal seasons under Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris, led the Cardinal to hire Palo Alto native and former star NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh. It seemed like Stanford was heading in the right direction and football was becoming important again, important like it was during the two years that Bill Walsh led the team in the late 70s. But, the first two seasons made it seem like Harbaugh was more of a big-name hire than a football-smart hire. With his ass on the hot seat (9-15 in the first two seasons), Harbaugh pulled off a surprising season behind a Heisman runner-up and a stud freshman QB.

Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart might have saved Harbaugh's career in Palo Alto, but they did more for the school. Immediately it was apparent that Luck was going to be special. The sophomore quarterback was the quintessential pocket quarterback, with a glowing smile, interview charisma and just an all-around feeling the he was actually a Stanford guy. He represented the all-around greatness of Stanford and, at least on the surface, a full-blown "scholar athlete." Now, whether or not that is true is another story. Either way, Harbaugh and Luck created an extremely successful duo both on and off the field. Stanford was on the map for more than just their average SAT.

The 8-5, 2009 eventually morphed into a breakout 12-win season, the first in Stanford history (most they won before that was 10). Luck was a bonafide Heisman candidate and Harbaugh was looking like some sort of program-boosting genius. If it wasn't for a crushing loss against National Runner-Up Oregon, the Cardinal would've made their BCS first National Championship ever. Instead they ran ACC Champion Virginia Tech directly out of the building in the Orange Bowl. But it was after this magical 2010 season that Stanford really developed its identity of a football powerhouse.

Both Luck and Harbaugh easily could have left after hoisting the Orange Bowl. The QB was already being crowned a future NFL star (they were right) and NFL teams were salivating over the old ball coach. Although a divorce occurred, in no way was it bloody. It couldn't be bloody when the news came out that Luck was returning for his redshirt junior season and the way analysts gushed over the emerging Stanford defense. Then the season actually happened.

Stanford didn't miss a beat under Harbaugh's replacement, David Shaw. They won 11 games, though they once again couldn't crack the Oregon code, they never fell out of the Top 10 and appeared in the their second straight BCS game. Luck was no longer just a great college player, he was a household name. His composure and old school QB toughness made it hard to not embrace the 21-year-old and what he stood for. It was especially easy in an era of Scam Newton's and Jeremiah Masoli's. Again Luck represented everything Stanford stand's for. Intelligence. Confidence. Classiness. Excellence. He had it all and he hoisted the Cardinal to unimaginable football heights. Would they remain there once he left? The answer was quite surprising.

Last year was completely different for the Cardinal. They no longer were a Cinderella program. There were expectations. There was a hole at QB. Stanford now meant football and that should've been a tough load to burden. It wasn't. Shaw's boys exceeded expectations, winning 12 games once again and finally hoisting the Pac-12 Championship trophy. Instead of being headlined by a stud QB (freshman Kevin Hogan looked good however), they were led by the 11th best scoring defense. That defense derailed the high octane Oregon offense on the road 17-14, which was probably the biggest win in school history. They defeated Wisconsin 20-12 to win their first Rose Bowl in 41 years. Shaw and Harbaugh had created a powerhouse. People associate Stanford now with football, something you'd laugh at 10 years ago.

Going into the preseason this year Stanford was ranked #4, the highest preseason rank in school history. They're once again right on Oregon's heels and their defense returns strong as ever. Another BCS victory will further prove that Stanford is a football school and with their up-standing academic values, that's quite the feat.

Don't take the academics in the American Northwest too lightly, they're a legitimate threat to the SEC's streak. Would you ever think Stanford would win a National Championship? Nope. Well, time to start getting over that idea, hell it could happen this year.