19. Stanford

The similarities are remarkable. Both have cannons for arms, both excelled at football and baseball at Stanford. Both are unusually big for quarterbacks. But while John Elway has gone on to a Hall of Fame career with the Denver Broncos, Chad Hutchinson is just entering his second season as a starter with the Cardinal. "That's who I want to be compared to," the 6'5", 230-pound junior says of Elway. "Who wouldn't want to be? That's some pretty good company—but I've got a long way to go."

Hutchinson and Stanford both took huge strides last season. After a 2-5 start, the Cardinal finished with a five-game winning streak that culminated in a 38-0 waxing of Michigan State in the Sun Bowl. Hutchinson completed 22 of 28 passes for 226 yards against the Spartans and was named the game's MVP, as Stanford became the only Pac-10 school to win a bowl game last season. (Elway, by the way, never led the Cardinal to a bowl game.)

"There's no question that a good quarterback makes a big difference," says third-year coach Tyrone Willingham. "But our offensive line also started to put things together around the seventh game."

Stanford had been so dismal at the outset, however, that even with its late-season turnaround, it finished last in the Pac-10 in total offense, scoring and rushing. The slow-to-mature offensive line allowed a conference-high 43 sacks. "It was tough," says Hutchinson, who in the off-season pitched Stanford to the College World Series with his 97-mph fastball. "We took our lumps together, and we're better because of it. We should get off to a better start. It's up to the offense, because we know our defense is going to be solid."

Six starters return from the Pac-10's third-ranked defense, including senior all-conference end Kailee Wong, second in the league with 12 sacks, and senior inside linebacker Jon Haskins, who led the team in tackles. Says Willingham, "One thing that people are still overlooking is that Stanford plays defense."

Although the Cardinal has two tough nonconference games—at North Carolina on Sept. 13 and at home against Notre Dame three weeks later—the team doesn't face Pac-10 favorite Washington, thus substantially increasing Stanford's odds of playing in the Rose Bowl. Hutchinson, for one, and Willingham, for another, are ready for a run at the Rose.

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