STANFORD, Calif. — Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to set a single-season school record and No. 6 Stanford stated its case for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series by beating Oregon State 38-0.
Stepfan Taylor ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and Doug Baldwin caught two touchdown passes for the Cardinals (11-1, 8-1), who set a school record for victories with an emphatic close to the regular season.
Now Stanford needs to wait a week to learn its bowl fate, hoping for an at-large berth in the BCS with No. 1 Oregon having already wrapped up the Pacific-10’s automatic berth.
The Beavers (5-6, 4-4) need to beat the Ducks at home next Saturday to make it to a bowl game for a school-record fifth consecutive season. Ryan Katz threw three interceptions and losta fumble as Oregon State failed in its first attempt to become bowl eligible.
The weekend got off to a good start for the Cardinals before this game even kicked off. With Boise State losing Friday night and LSU falling to Arkansas earlier Saturday, Stanford has a chance to move up from sixth to fourth in the BCS standings - guaranteeing a berth in one of the highprofile bowls.
While TCU has the inside track for the Rose Bowl, Stanford would be an option for the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar bowls with the Fiesta or Orange being the most likely destinations.
If Stanford does not finish in the top four, they could end up in the Alamo Bowl because they lack the strong following bowls look for as they try to sell out their stadiums.
Sports, Pages 38 on 11/28/2010