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On Saturday, Kevin Hogan reportedly walked out of the Stanford locker room a winner and an owner of some crutches. Yes that is right, Hogan was seen on crutches and with a boot on.
Stanford QB Kevin Hogan is leaving the Coliseum in a boot on left foot and on crutches.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) September 20, 2015
This is obviously sad news for the Cardinal faithful, because he was really on a hot streak. Not until Monday night was it revealed that Hogan would be questionable for Friday's matchup in Corvallis (Oregon State). It was revealed, Kevin Hogan did not practice on Monday and will probably not practice until later this week (per Andy Drukarev). Drukarev also reported what coach David Shaw said about the injury. Shaw confirmed the ankle injury and revealed Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns would share time if Hogan, god forbid, were unavailable to play.
Shaw confirms Hogan did suffer an ankle injury. If he can't go some combination of Burns/Chryst would play. Essentially gametime decision.
— Andy Drukarev (@StanfordRivals) September 22, 2015
Ok so let us dive deep down into the world of worst-case scenario and be a pessimist for a bit. Keller Chryst is a sophomore QB (redshirt freshman) from Palo Alto. Chryst is familiar with this Stanford team because his dad actually worked with Jim Harbaugh back when Harbaugh was still at Stanford. It was a smooth transition for Chryst because his powerhouse high school runs the same offense that the Cardinal run.The downside of playing Chryst is that he is young and has only ever run the scout team offense. He has had limited snaps and even in the spring game he only had eight attempts. Of those eight attempts he completed just a mere one.
Stanford QB Kevin Hogan didn't practice today. Probably won't until later in the week. Won't have a firm update until later in the week.
— Andy Drukarev (@StanfordRivals) September 22, 2015
Ryan Burns is a little bit more experienced in this Cardinal offense. Burns is a junior and he also has had limited game day snaps. He played in 2 snaps last season and on his first snap he ran for 20 yards. Burns would probably get the nod to start the game against the Beavers only because of his seniority and knowing Shaw, he just goes with the most senior players in a toss up decision. Burns also played in the spring game. He completed 9 out of his 18 passes, which is better than Chryst's 1 of 8.
Now it is time for the matchup. Thank god we are not playing UCLA or Oregon this week because Stanford would be in some serious trouble. Oregon State is 2-1 this year and one of those two wins was against an FCS opponent (they only won (26-7). Oregon State is replacing nine of their eleven starters on the defensive side of the ball, so they are also very young on defense. This is an excellent break for Stanford, but their defense is best suited against the run. Stanford needs their excellent backfield to step up if Hogan can't play. The running back corps was great against USC and they need to do it again. Hopefully the run will be able to set up the pass and Chryst/Burns will be able to scorch the Oregon State secondary for big yardage.
Hogan is questionable. Stanford has enough tools to still beat Oregon State, but this is not an ideal situation. Let us hope this article was for naught and Hogan plays.