Saturday was the fourth time since 2009 that Stanford has been a double-digit underdog.

The Cardinal have won all four of those games outright.

The run started under Jim Harbaugh at USC (see "What's Your Deal?"), continued with David Shaw in consecutive games against Oregon in 2012 and 2013, and repeated itself in the Coliseum this past weekend, when Stanford overcame a 10-point spread to beat the No. 6 Trojans 41-31.

'Stun' might be a better word than 'beat' -- especially considering the Cardinal couldn't even muster a touchdown two weeks prior at Northwestern before struggling for a full half offensively against Central Florida, a team that just dropped a home game to FCS foe Furman.

But perhaps the "where the heck did that come from?" type of landmark Stanford win shouldn't be considered surprising anymore. Inconsistent as they might be, the Cardinal have developed a track record of winning games they are not expected to. The phenomenon occurred last season, too, when a 6-5 Stanford team spanked No. 8 UCLA 31-10.

In the bowels of the Coliseum before Saturday's upset, Shaw offered a compelling reason as to why Stanford has developed a habit of coming out of the woodwork to take the league's best teams to the woodshed.

He asked every player who had played in two Pac-12 championship games to stand. Nearly half of the locker room rose.

"Our guys are used to playing in big games," Shaw said. "I wanted them to internalize that: It wasn’t too long ago that we were the best in the conference. We wanted to walk on the field knowing we’d accomplished a lot, and it was time to accomplish it again."

The Cardinal did, racking up 41 points and 474 yards of total offense against USC just two weeks after managing only 6 points and 240 yards in the season opener. Behind gutsy play from senior quarterback Kevin Hogan, the Cardinal showed primetime mettle, converting eight of 12 third downs and repeatedly executing clutch plays down the stretch.

If the well-rounded performance brought about a sense of déjà vu, the solid contingency of players who stood up in the Coliseum locker room had a lot to do with it. The disappointment of five 2014 losses combined with 2015's inauspicious start has at least partially concealed this truth: Much of the talent that made Stanford a Pac-12 force remains, and the program has replaced key departures with touted recruiting classes.

So, though the roster isn't devoid of firepower or battle-hardened veterans who have tasted victory, it has lacked in consistent results lately.

"We didn’t accomplish any of our goals against USC," Shaw said. "We won a football game and played well. We have to back that up with another football game."

Shaw said that the key to steadiness moving forward is avoiding mistakes. Clean play along the offensive line is especially important, since errors can trigger a devastating domino effect.

"If every [lineman] has two bad plays, then we have 10 bad plays [as a team]," Shaw said. "They continue to multiply. Our offensive linemen were smart, physical, and sharp this week."

Hogan, of course, is the critical variable. But an ankle injury suffered during the USC game has thrown his status for Friday's game at Oregon State into question, so Stanford might have to rely on a backup to maintain consistency at quarterback. Whenever Hogan is ready to play again, the Cardinal will be well-served to unleash him in a similar fashion to last Saturday -- he was especially sharp when simultaneously attacking with his arm and legs.

"It's hard to put into words what he means, it's so much," running back Christian McCaffrey said. "I think of him as a silent guardian. He's not very vocal, but he is the best leader on our team."

That command was on full display in the Coliseum, where Hogan's Cardinal looked like the favored power, and not the underdog. Stanford pulled off what some might call a predictable surprise while showing it's still a dangerous Pac-12 force in the process. Now, the challenge is rediscovering the consistency that defined the not-so-distant past.

"We're on the way to being the team we think we can be, and we’re going to get there by being consistent," Shaw said. "And that stands this Friday in Corvallis."