A game against Colorado is generally a formality. The Buffs are awful. They are beyond awful. Teams are probably challenged more playing their scout team in practice than they are playing Colorado on Saturdays, so what was Stanford really going to get out of their game in Boulder besides an easy 48-0 win? How about a new quarterback?
With Josh Nunes struggling, Stanford wanted to get Kevin Hogan a look against the Buffs and once Hogan got his chance, he made the most of it. He had a marvelous game and by the time it was over, there was no doubt who would start for the Cardinal next week.
Well, Stanford has found its next QB. After sticking with Josh Nunes for eight up-and-down weeks, David Shaw vowed to give Kevin Hogan "12 to 20 snaps" against lowly Colorado. Hogan got a lot more than that, and after the redshirt freshman led the Cardinal to scores on his first six drives and completed 18 of his 23 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns, Shaw announced that he will start next week at Oregon State.
Duh.
Nunes started the game 3-for-5 for just 23 yards, so he didn't make an especially strong case to keep the job and Hogan did everything in his power to take it away from the junior. Now the job is Hogan's.
Next week will be a whole different animal for the freshman, though. Colorado is, well, Colorado, and next week, the Cardinal take on No. 13 Oregon St. Of course, that is followed up by a trip to Eugene for a clash with No. 2 Oregon. Hogan won the job with a great performance, but the real tests are still in front of him.