Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has heard of lot of comparisons to Peyton Manning during his time under center for the Cardinal. But now he has another fact in common with the Colts’ injured superstar that is rare in the NFL and almost unheard of in college. Like Manning, Luck is now calling his own plays.

“We put the formation out there and let Andrew call the play,” said Stanford head coach David Shaw. “It’s 100 percent up to him to get us in the right play…I don’t know if there are too many college quarterbacks that can truly call the game. It’s not coming from the sideline. It’s coming from him on the field.”

Seventh-ranked Stanford rolled out the new hurry-up offense with Luck calling the plays during last weekend’s 45-19 victory over UCLA. And Luck showed just how efficient the system could be, going 23-27 for 227 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.

When healthy, Manning has long been an effective play-caller for the Colts offense. With these new duties, the Manning/Luck comparisons will only grow as we go through this season — and into the 2012 NFL draft.

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