[OutsiderFan]

Funny, when Hogan first ascended to the starting QB spot I never expected we would see a thread like this precisely because he had bunch of games in which he led the team to victory in the second half of the game. (See Terry's post earlier on this thread). His ability to rally the team seemed like a strength to me. Some of the responsibility for the losses mentioned, in my mind, rests more on the shoulders of other parts of the team. (Defense, Special Teams), though the spotlight will focus more squarely on the QB.

This is why it's hard to believe Hogan doesn't have a couple heroic last minute drives in him.  He has been clutch, albeit not in the final minutes of games Stanford needs to score in to win.  Stanford has really only not been "in" one game in Hogan's career as a starter, at Oregon in 2014.  Other than that and at ASU last year, Stanford has had second half leads in every game he has played in to my memory.

I feel pretty strongly Stanford will have to have at least one last minute scoring drive to win a game this year, and I'd like to think Hogan can do it, but until he does, I will be at least a little bit skeptical.

As an aside, the supporting cast issue definitely is a major factor, but I see many guys on offense who can make big clutch plays in the passing game, more than in 2013.

[OutsiderFan]

Funny, when Hogan first ascended to the starting QB spot I never expected we would see a thread like this precisely because he had bunch of games in which he led the team to victory in the second half of the game. (See Terry's post earlier on this thread). His ability to rally the team seemed like a strength to me. Some of the responsibility for the losses mentioned, in my mind, rests more on the shoulders of other parts of the team. (Defense, Special Teams), though the spotlight will focus more squarely on the QB.

This is why it's hard to believe Hogan doesn't have a couple heroic last minute drives in him.  He has been clutch, albeit not in the final minutes of games Stanford needs to score in to win.  Stanford has really only not been "in" one game in Hogan's career as a starter, at Oregon in 2014.  Other than that and at ASU last year, Stanford has had second half leads in every game he has played in to my memory.

I feel pretty strongly Stanford will have to have at least one last minute scoring drive to win a game this year, and I'd like to think Hogan can do it, but until he does, I will be at least a little bit skeptical.

As an aside, the supporting cast issue definitely is a major factor, but I see many guys on offense who can make big clutch plays in the passing game, more than in 2013.