Stanford's strong finish to 2014 has spilled into 2015 with the announcement that quarterback Kevin Hogan and defensive back Wayne Lyons would be returning as a fifth-year seniors.

Both announced their decisions via Twitter.

Hogan finished the year with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 65.9 percent of his throws for 2,792 yards. He also accounted for 295 yards on the ground and five touchdowns.

Stanford, which came into 2014 as the two-time defending conference champs, failed to three-peat. But it played quite the spoiler at the end of the season. After knocking off Cal for the fifth straight time, the Cardinal upended UCLA in the regular season finale, denying the Bruins the South Division title. They kept rolling with a 45-21 win over Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl to finish the season 8-5 (5-4).

Hogan showed a strong control of the offense in the final three games, completing 76 percent of his throws -- including a 16-of-19 performance and two touchdowns -- in the win over UCLA.

With highly-regarded backups Ryan Burns and Keller Chryst waiting in the wings, there were thoughts that Hogan might jump to the NFL -- or possibly even transfer. But head coach David Shaw gave Hogan a vote of confidence several times during the bowl season.

Hogan took over for Josh Nunes midseason in 2012 and helped guide the Cardinal to back-to-back Rose Bowls in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. They beat Wisconsin the first year and lost to Michigan State following the 2013 season.

He’s 24-8 as a starter and 11-6 against Top 25 teams. Coming into 2014 he boasted a 10-1 mark against ranked teams, but Stanford struggled offensively for a large portion of the season and were just 1-5 against ranked teams in 2014.

Including Hogan, who is on pace to graduate in the spring, Stanford returns eight of 11 starters on offense next season.

Shortly after Hogan's announcement, Lyons made his. He appeared in all 13 games and recorded 30 tackles, breaking up three passes and forcing one fumble.