Earlier this afternoon, news broke that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has received an invitation to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Oregon running back LaMichael James, and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore will accompany Luck in the front row of the Best Buy Theatre in Manhattan as fellow finalists for the award. Current estimates place Luck at third in the voting, behind Newton (the run-away favorite) and James. Luck narrowly trails James, though, and could catch the Duck speedster before voting concludes. To stay updated on the most accurate Heisman projection in the country, check out StiffArmTrophy.com. They’ve predicted the winner of the last eight Heisman Trophies, and their system produces vote projections that come absurdly close to the actual results.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh, on the other hand, might be settling down in Northern California. Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby offered Harbaugh a new contract of undisclosed terms and has indicated that Harbaugh intends to accept the deal. The new contract comes in the wake of numerous rumors that Harbaugh would be a leading candidate to accept the Michigan coaching job if the Wolverines decide to fire current head coach Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez has won just 15 of his 36 games as a coach for the Maize and Blue, and has not yet beat Ohio State in three seasons in Ann Arbor.

The new contract also comes after seemingly divided student sentiment regarding the terms of Harbaugh’s employment. A petition demanding that Stanford extend a new contract to Harbaugh won over 1,000 signatures, but some students have questioned the ethics of giving Harbaugh a multi-million-dollar-per-year deal while academic departments are scrambling for adequate funding.

It would be premature to say for sure that Harbaugh will be at Stanford for years to come, or even next year, but reports at this time look promising for the Farm.

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