Will Stanford's huge victory boost Cardinal recruiting?

New coach Jim Harbaugh is breathing life into Stanford recruiting. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

By Mike Farrell, Special to SI.com, Rivals.com

How ridiculous was Stanford's upset over USC last weekend? When you look at it from a recruiting perspective, it is akin to the New York Yankees being upset by the Hickory Crawdads.

Who?

Exactly.

Here is some food for thought:

• From 2003-07, USC finished first each year in the Pac-10 team recruiting rankings. During that same span, Stanford never finished higher than fifth and finished last two of those years.

• Nationally, USC hasn't finished lower than third since 2003, while Stanford's highest ranking is 25th in 2003. Other than that year, the Cardinal hasn't finished higher than 40th.

• Since 2003, USC has signed 24 five-star players. Stanford since 2003? It has signed none.

You get the point. The 85-man USC roster is loaded with prep All-Americans. The Stanford roster is loaded with smart kids, most of whom were lightly recruited. So how did Jim Harbaugh overcome this talent discrepancy to lead his team to one of the biggest upsets of the season? That's a question for the football gods.

One thing is clear: Harbaugh has Stanford headed in the right direction. After success under Tyrone Willingham, Stanford has become a laughingstock in the Pac-10. And while this still is a 2-3 team with blowout losses to UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State, things are getting better in Palo Alto.

Taking a quick look at Stanford's recruiting success this year, Harbaugh and his staff have done a good job. Houston quarterback Andrew Luck could have chosen a more established program, but the national top-100 prospect decided to learn under Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback, and try to build something at Stanford.

Harbaugh's top target was Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian wide receiver Christopher Owusu, who has excellent speed and one of the best set of hands in the country. You throw it near Owusu and he catches it. Like Luck, Owusu could have committed to a more established program.

1 of 2