Freshman quarterback Hogan ignites Stanford
BOULDER, Colo. – Kevin Hogan fixed Stanford’s sputtering offense with a mixture of heady play, a terrific right arm and quick feet.
The redshirt freshman replaced scuffling senior quarterback Josh Nunes on Saturday and ignited the 15th-ranked Cardinal to a 48-0 rout of Colorado, the Buffaloes’ first shutout at home in 26 years.
“We knew we were going to give Josh the first two series and give Kevin the next two series and see where we went from there,” Cardinal coach David Shaw said. “And Kevin took the ball and ran with it.”
Hogan picked apart the nation’s worst defense, throwing for 184 yards and running for 48 more in just two quarters.
“He’s big, strong fast runner,” Buffs linebacker Brady Daigh said. “I think he spread out their offense a little more and took them from sideline to sideline. We had game-planned for him all week, but we didn’t expect him to take as many snaps as he took.”
The Buffaloes were powerless to respond, gaining 76 yards of offense behind three overwhelmed quarterbacks who led an offense that managed just two snaps on Stanford’s side of the field.
The Cardinal (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) handed the Buffs (1-8, 1-5) their first shutout at Folsom Field since a 28-0 loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 15, 1986, snapping a streak of 150 straight games in which the Buffs had scored at home.
Nunes has found it difficult to follow in the gargantuan footsteps of Andrew Luck, the top pick in last spring’s NFL draft. After Stanford’s first two drives ended in punts, Hogan came in and led the Cardinal on six straight scoring drives before punter Daniel Zychlinski was needed again.
Hogan completed 18 of 23 passes with two touchdowns, no interceptions and two sacks before giving way to Brett Nottingham in the fourth quarter with the Cardinal comfortably ahead 45-0.
“Well, you see the mobility,” Shaw said. “It’s not just the scrambling for a couple of yards. He’s fast, he can run, he’s athletic, he can throw on the move, to the left and to the right. … I can’t find a lot of negatives to what he did today. I’m very, very impressed.”