Stanford football: 15 greatest quarterbacks in Cardinal history

Once known as “Quarterback U”, the Stanford Cardinal have produced some of the best quarterbacking talent college football has ever seen.

Throughout the history of the Stanford Cardinal football program, fans of the team have seen numerous outstanding signal-callers, as is seen by their moniker of being “Quarterback U.”

From Pro Football Hall of Famers to one-year wonders, the list of men who led this program under center is long and quite impressive.

Here are the top 15 quarterbacks in Stanford history.

Steve Dils may have only started one season for the Cardinal, but boy, was it a special one, as he was one of the better quarterbacks in all of college football. Dils led the Cardinal to an 8-4 record in 1978, winning Most Valuable Player honors in the Bluebonnet Bowl, but that was far from his biggest achievement that season.

Dils led the NCAA in numerous categories, including completions (247), completion percentage (63.2) and touchdown passes (25). Also, his 3,153 yards led the conference. For all of his accomplishments, he was given the Sammy Baugh Trophy, which is taken home by the best quarterback in the country.

While Dils is in the top 10 in school history in many of the program’s single-season record lists, it was his game against the Washington State Cougars that will go down in school history as one of the more prolific ever.

Dils threw for 430 yards against Washington State, a record that stood for 20 years. His five touchdowns in a game are still tied for the program record.