The Wow Boys: A Coach, a Team, and a Turning Point in College Football

In 2002 ESPN rated football’s shift to the modern T-formation offense as the second best sports innovation of all time—just behind baseball’s free agency. The story behind the move to the T-formation is also the story of a season unparalleled in the annals of college football—the year Stanford’s new coach, fresh from seven dismal seasons with the University of Chicago, deployed an out-of-favor offense to take a team of talented underdogs to a Rose Bowl victory.

The Wow Boys (the ti…