Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM ó After helping give Stanford a quick start in its opener, redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck and the Cardinal are looking for a different kind of early wake-up call.
The Cardinal are aiming to open with consecutive wins for the first time since 2004. But they must deal with a Wake Forest team still reeling from its lackluster opener and an early start time Saturday that can bother western teams that travel cross-country.
“It seems any time a west-coast team goes to the east coast, they schedule a noon game, and when east coast teams travel west, they schedule a game as late as possible,” Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We’re thinking of every way to screw with each other.”
The Cardinal (1-0), who arrived in Winston-Salem on Thursday to adjust to the time change, hope their internal clocks could become just as synchronized as their on-the-field timing was last week.
They’re coming off their most productive opener since 2005: A 39-13 beating of Washington State that left them atop the Pac-10 standings ó if only for a short while, because they’re the league’s only team to win a conference game.
Now, as they prepare to play in the east for just the 10th time since 1971, they’re looking to match their best start in five years by sending the reeling Demon Deacons to their second, error-filled 0-2 start in three years.
“We have to be ready to go early in the morning,” Wake Forest linebacker Matt Woodlief said. “It’s early for us too, but we have to be focused and ready to go.”
Luck, the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck threw for 193 yards and a touchdown in leading Stanford to its highest-scoring opener since its last trip east ó a 41-38 win four years ago at Navy.