"Our approach is we've got a big game next week," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "And if we're a good football team we've got a lot of big games coming up. This game is at home; some of them are on the road. For us, we can't care about what it is or who it is but we have to recognize that it's time to play big-time college football. We've got a good opponent coming in next week."

Things will take on a whole new meaning this Saturday, when USC comes to town looking to make it two in a row over the Cardinal in the Pac-12 Conference opener for both teams, set for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.

"It's fun to be out there, be able to play," Montgomery said. "I enjoy stepping on the field no matter what position I'm in, just playing with these guys on the team."

The first time he touched the ball was the first time he's returned a punt for the Cardinal. He scored on a 60-yard punt return and Stanford never looked back in its convincing 45-0 nonconference football victory over visiting UC Davis on Saturday.

If you were going by one game, Stanford receiver Ty Montgomery already would be penciled in as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. The dazzling senior showed no side effects from a repaired shoulder that kept him out of practice for a while.

"I tried to pull him off of the kickoff after that long touchdown reception, because he ran a long way, he looked at me and smiled and said I'm not coming off," Shaw said. "He goes down on kickoff and makes the next tackle. That's the kind of football player he is. He's dynamic. He's exciting. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Freshman Christian McCaffrey presented a few problems of his own for opposing coaches. The son of former Stanford great and NFL star Ed McCaffrey, Christian displayed a deft touch to his running ability, turning his first career reception into a 52-yard touchdown and adding 60 yards on punt returns.

Adding punt returner to his resume was likely something Shaw intended for other coaches to see on film. UC Davis spent the rest of the game punting away from him.

Montgomery added a 44-yard touchdown reception in addition to his punt return. Overall he recorded 159 all-purpose yards. This effort came from a player who was cleared by the doctors on Monday.

"I feel great with where we're at," Hogan said. "Coach Shaw talked to us about the game coming up, and it's not the Super Bowl, as some people might think. It's the next big game on our schedule, the next team on our schedule. And I feel great. I had a lot of time this offseason to get ready for week two. I think we'll have a good plan and have a lot of stuff to show."

The Cardinal has at least one tackle for loss in each of its past 47 contests, finishing with eight against UC Davis.

The shutout was the first since blanking Colorado, 49-0, in 2012 and the first at Stanford Stadium since a 38-0 win over Oregon State in 2010

Montgomery makes his mark early in Stanford's opening win