There was a poignant scene at the conclusion of Stanford's victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night, players gathering as one for their customary salute to the crowd. As the band played on, the players swayed back and forth, hearing cries of adulation from the stands, everyone realizing that the Cardinal's seniors were largely responsible for yet another home victory - Stanford's 16th in a row.

It wasn't clear, right then, whether this would be the final Stanford Stadium appearance for coach David Shaw's fifth-year mainstays: the likes of Shayne Skov, Trent Murphy, Ben Gardner, Josh Mauro, Khalil Wilkes and Kevin Danser. Arizona State had a 13-0 first-half lead over Arizona, suggesting anything might happen. Perhaps there would be a miracle in Tempe, Arizona would come storming back, and Stanford could host the Pac-12 title game next Saturday.

It wasn't to be. Shaw admitted he didn't have "the emotional energy to watch another football game right now," and he needn't have bothered. Arizona State wound up cruising to a 58-21 victory on its home field, and now the Sun Devils are calling it a homestand.

Although he masked his feelings well, Shaw couldn't have been happy with certain developments against the Irish. As the second half began, the Cardinal had to call timeout before running their first play. A rough patch by cornerback Alex Carter - first a pass-interference call, then a personal foul that had originally been called "targeting" (grounds for ejection) - set up a Notre Dame touchdown that cut Stanford's lead to 21-13. Kevin Hogan threw two interceptions, the second of which, with 6:23 left, left the distinct impression that the 25th-ranked Irish (8-4) could pull it out.

Asked about any "problem" his team might have had, however, Shaw answered, "Was there a problem? Tyler Gaffney rushed for 190 yards against a very good football team. Our seniors accomplished their goal. Ten wins, didn't lose a home game, and now a shot at the Rose Bowl."

It took a pair of clutch interceptions from junior cornerback Wayne Lyons to really nail this one down, and if things seemed a little bit off at times, perhaps it was because so much was going on elsewhere. On an astounding day and night for college football, Palo Alto didn't feel like the place to be.

Midway through the first quarter, the stadium's big video screen showed Auburn's Chris Davis racing 109 yards with a missed field goal to wreck Alabama's unbeaten season with one second to play, arguably the most stunning high-stakes finish in collegiate history (players are officially credited with 100 yards on such returns, but Davis fielded the ball near the very back of the end zone.) Unbelievable? To say the least. This was Big Game '82 without the trombones.

Earlier in the day, Michigan's Brady Hoke became a sentimental favorite for Coach of the Year, going for a two-point version in the final seconds against Ohio State when a routine extra point would have meant overtime. The gamble failed and the Buckeyes prevailed, 42-41, but here's to Hoke and the Michigan players who implored him to go for it.

Drama was unfolding at every turn. Interim USC coach Ed Orgeron finally ran out of magic in a 35-14 loss to UCLA, making it likely that the Trojans will go after a marquee name for the 2014 season. And then came the game in Stanford's crosshairs: not much of a game at all, as Arizona State improved its conference-best record to 8-1. As they prepare for a trip to Tempe, the Cardinal players will do well to remember their 42-28 home victory over ASU in mid-September. Most of it, anyway.

It was a brutal mismatch in many ways, Stanford rushing to a 29-0 halftime lead that grew to 39-7 after three quarters. Hogan threw two touchdown passes to Ty Montgomery, and the irrepressible Gaffney scored twice during a 95-yard rushing day.

The finish wasn't so pretty. Stanford sat on the ball throughout the fourth quarter while the Sun Devils rallied for 21 points. There was an unmistakable loss of focus, linebacker A.J. Tarpley calling the final minutes "unacceptable."

Count on a different story Saturday. Stanford has a way of correcting its mistakes and turning them into a distant memory. If I were a betting man, with some time off around the first of the year, I'd book a trip to the Rose Bowl.