Stanford believes it's primed to stay on top

Stanford will turn to QB-in-waiting Brett Nottingham, running back Stepfan Taylor, its talented tight ends and — the Cardinal hope — a healthy Shayne Skov at linebacker to carry on.

Although their national title hopes were dashed weeks ago, leaving one last mark with another monumental win would mean so much. Stanford could match its 12-1 record from a year ago, capped by a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. That helped the Cardinal finish fourth in the final AP poll, the school's best ranking since the unbeaten 1940 team finished No. 2.

By the end of the week after last season's bowl win, Harbaugh was gone. Soon, it will be Luck walking away from campus to begin his NFL preparations.

He can leave with the comfort of knowing his teammates are in good hands.

"I think we've had very good recruiting classes come in, probably better than us," Luck said. "I guess we'll see. I know they've had higher ratings and grades and all those things. Hopefully we've been able to bring in good guys, and hopefully the legacy will continue long after we're gone."