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By Rick Eymer
Palo Alto Online Sports

When Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan gets excited, at least those in the media, he'll smile a little and continue answering questions in a bland manner, never changing expression.

After the 11th-ranked Cardinal (7-1, 9-2) beat then No. 1 and undefeated Oregon in Eugene on Saturday, he was exceedingly dull in his answers to the sideline reporter and even more so in the post-game interview room.

"He's like that all the time," Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov said Tuesday. "We always kid him about sitting down for an interview in 'Talladega Nights.'"

It's in reference to the comedy featuring Will Ferrell who gives one-word answers in his first major interview.

Two starts into his major college career, Hogan has maintained a cool, calm demeanor that defies his alert, hyper personality on the field. That's probably how he likes it. Cool on the inside while dissecting the defense with laser precise inside.

The most animated he got during the weekly press conference was describing his fumble during the overtime period.

"I dove in there and got my hands on it," Hogan said in a monotone. "Then I heard the refs yell "white ball, white ball" and breathed a sigh of relief."

His best contribution in the game? "Getting us into the right plays," he said. "I made some mistakes and turned the ball over."

BEATING NO. 1
On Friday night, the Stanford women's basketball team knocked off No. 1 Baylor, 71-69. Chiney Ogwumike then tweeted to the football team: "You're up."

The Cardinal football team was watching their usual movie together when coach David Shaw reported the news about the win.

"The room erupted," Shaw said. "I think it is special. They lost one of the best players in the country and are trying to prove to themselves they are good and we lost one of the best players in the country and we still want to prove to ourselves we're good."

The No. 1 ranked Stanford women's soccer team and No. 1 ranked women's volleyball team also won over the weekend.

Shaw encourages his players to support other sports. Football players were seen at both Sunday's soccer match and men's basketball game.

Shaw and women's coach Tara VanDerveer talk every week.

"I've also talked to Dick Gould and Skip Kenney," Shaw said. "The biggest topic is how to coach these highly-motivated, highly-skilled athletes."

TEDFORD OUT AT CAL
California officially announced that football coach Jeff Tedford is out and a new search will begin immediately.

Tedford, who came to Cal from Oregon, spent the past 11 years in Berkeley, taking over a program that was in the doldrums and turning it around.

"We got to know each other quite a bit," Shaw said. "I have a lot of respect for him as a football coach and as a person. It's always a sad day, particularly what he's been able to accomplish. The way he conducted himself was exemplary."

Tedford won a school record 82 games during his tenure, which included five bowl victories.

"This was an extraordinarily difficult decision, one that required a thorough and thoughtful analysis of a complex set of factors," athletic director Sandy Barbour said in a statement. "Ultimately, I believed that we needed a change in direction to get our program back on the right track."

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