Tony Avelar/Associated Press
Kevin Hogan became Stanford's starting quarterback late in the season. He is 4-0 heading into the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin.
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Hogan simply stood there, his eyes despondent, fixated on something in the distance. Hogan and Stanford had just upset Oregon, on the road, in Hogan's second career start, and a television reporter was trying to elicit excitement, or at least a grin, during a postgame interview.
This was the same player who, as his teammates were screaming and searching for someone to hug in the moments after the game, had found his coach and apologized for a now-meaningless fumble that a teammate had recovered. For the reporter, no excitement would come.
A few teammates watched the interview on the flight home. Back at Hogan's suite, they watched again, laughing and debating whether Hogan was a robot.
"You would think he just lost a high school football game," said Kevin Reihner, a backup center and one of Hogan's roommates. "We always joke, Kevin Hogan is probably the least interesting person you'll ever meet in your life."
Of course, they used to say the same thing about Hogan's predecessor, Andrew Luck, the top pick in this year's N.F.L. draft.
But Hogan is no Luck, Stanford Coach David Shaw said. He laughed, adding, not even close. Maybe someday, Hogan will get there, Shaw hoped. The reason Hogan started and won Stanford's last four games, and the reason the Cardinal will play in Tuesday's Rose Bowl against Wisconsin, is that he plays and behaves like Luck.
During his redshirt year, Hogan had been told to emulate Luck, mimic his every move, said Pep Hamilton, Stanford's offensive coordinator. He watched how Luck rolled out and evaded would-be tacklers and improvised; how he read defenses and chose plays; and how he showed poise in the huddle.
Those skills would be expected of any Stanford quarterback thereafter.
Josh Nunes tried to be like Luck. He beat out Brett Nottingham, Luck's backup last season, to be Luck's successor. With Nunes, Stanford beat Southern California but lost to Washington and Notre Dame. Then the offense sputtered against lowly California and Washington State. Nunes could not run like Luck, or Hogan, for that matter.
At first, Hogan could not play like Luck, either. It took Hogan a season and a half to emulate Luck, until Shaw trusted him enough to split time with Nunes against Colorado on Nov. 3.
"Of all the guys we had in the quarterback room, his skill set was more like Andrew's than anybody else," Hamilton said. "The system had evolved and really had been built around Andrew's talents. So why not give a guy with similar talents an opportunity?"
Watch how and when Luck runs, Hogan had been told. At 6 feet 4 inches and 224 pounds, Hogan stands tall and is sturdy, like Luck. His teammates knew Hogan had long been ready physically. They had played pickup basketball with him and watched him throw down windmill dunks with ease.
"He'll hit a jump shot and not stop talking trash all the way down the court," Reihner said.
Colorado quickly learned, too. Stanford scored touchdowns on each of Hogan's first four drives. On a third-and-9, Hogan recognized man-to-man defense, which left him unaccounted for. He rolled right and took off down the sideline for 20 yards.
Hamilton reintroduced the quarterback rollouts and runs that he had set aside when Nunes was starting. The offense resembled what Luck had mastered. On third down, Hogan threw or ran as he pleased. Before the Colorado game, Stanford had converted 34.5 percent of its third downs. Since then, the Cardinal have converted 45.2 percent.
Shaw had no choice but to play Hogan, who led Stanford to victories over three ranked teams — Oregon State, Oregon, and U.C.L.A — before he helped to beat U.C.L.A. again in the Pacific-12 championship game Nov. 30.
Watch how Luck studies film, Hogan had been told. With Stanford, the quarterback is often given a choice of three or four plays and the freedom to choose which one he likes based on how the defense is aligned. Training a quarterback to think like a Stanford quarterback takes time.
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