Quarterback Kevin Hogan played arguably the best game of his career in Stanford's 41-31 win at USC last week, but an ankle injury may keep him out of tonight's tilt at Oregon State.

Coach David Shaw has said that Hogan's availability will likely be determined around game time, though he did enjoy an "encouraging" practice on Thursday. The Cardinal worked on their contingency plan this week. Backups Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns split the majority of repetitions, and both may play against the Beavers if Hogan is unavailable.

"If he can't play, then some combination of those other two guys will play," Shaw said.

For what it's worth, Chryst is the one who sprung into action and began throwing warm-up tosses on the sideline after Hogan was injured early in the third quarter at USC. But a hobbled Hogan completed the game, so Chryst never officially entered.

"It was extremely gutty," Shaw said. "I won't name any names but I've gotten texts and emails from some of the toughest football players I've ever been around and some of those guys have called and texted me and said that they were inspired by watching Kevin. It was a great performance."

But the situation may change tonight, and if it does, Stanford will start a new quarterback for the first time since Hogan took over for Josh Nunes in November 2012. Both of the Cardinal's backup options are physically imposing: The redshirt freshman Chryst measures 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, while the redshirt sophomore Burns checks in at 6-foot-5, 229 pounds.

Chryst, who attended Palo Alto High School across the street from Stanford Stadium, was considered one of the country's most polished quarterback prospects in the 2014 recruiting class. Burns, a Virginia native, signed with the Cardinal in 2013 after running a triple-option offense in high school.

So while Chryst may be generally considered to be the better pocket passer of the two, Stanford is confident with the abilities of both.

“They’re both showing why we recruited them,” Shaw said during spring practice. “Both have talent, ability, size, athleticism, arm strength, accuracy — all that you’re looking for.”

There were, however, concerns that both quarterbacks hadn't mastered the playbook yet this offseason. That's one reason why Hogan was the coaching staff's most attractive starting option in 2015 even after struggling for much of 2014. His hot finish to the season and decision to return for a fifth year, of course, sealed that deal.

But now Stanford is thrust back into a position where they may have to test their quarterback depth for the first time in three seasons. Oregon State hasn't been great defensively, but the Cardinal must still brace themselves for the possibility of a scary unknown: a pair of quarterbacks seeing their first meaningful college action on the road.