Have injuries to star players ruined the bowl season for Bay Area fans?    Can Stanford cope with Oklahoma’s powerful defense without quarterback Andrew Luck, who will not start in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl and may not play at all?   Will Cal have enough of a big-play threat without Jahvid Best, who won’t play in the Dec. 23 Pointsettia Bowl against Utah and may have played his last game for Cal?

Tavita Pritchard is an emotional leader -- Photo by Kingsley Willis

But Best’s absence robs viewers of a chance to see how he would respond after that harrowing fall that resulted in a concussion.   Whether Cal is better with Best or not, his speed and big-play potential make him a prime piece of football entertainment, and one can only wonder whether he would have the same inclination to dive for the goal-line, hurdle tacklers or catch passes across the middle in the fearless manner he did before.

As it turns out, the reason Best will not play in the Poinsettia Bowl, it seems, is not the concussion and back problems so much as an inability to get back into football condition in time.    If the Bears had beaten Washington like they were supposed to, they might have landed in the Sun Bowl, and the extra eight days may have been enough to get Best in adequate shape.

Even in that scenario, his playing time would have been limited and he would have had to go against the Oklahoma defense, which ranks seventh in the nation against the run and limited Oklahoma State’s two outstanding backs Keith Toston and Kendall Hunter to a combined 68 yards on 20 carries in the final regular-season game.

Instead it will be Stanford’s Heisman Trophy runnerup Toby Gerhart who will challenge the Oklahoma defense without much of a passing threat to support him.

There remains a chance that Luck will play some in the Sun Bowl, depending how the broken index finger on his throwing hand heals, but the starter will be Tavita Pritchard, and there is a reason Luck supplanted Pritchard as the starting quarterback.

Jahvid Best has been a daring runner -- Photo by Dave Stephenson/Icon SMI

Pritchard does have the monumental upset over USC in 2007 in his first career start on his resume, but his numbers in that game – 11-for-31, one interception, one touchdown, four sacks – were mediocre.  The reason the Cardinal won that game was because USC quarterback John David Booty threw four interceptions while playing with a broken finger on his throwing hand, a rather interesting coincidence considering Stanford current quarterback situation.

Pritchard has not thrown a meaningful pass this season, attempting just three for a total of one yard.    To suggest that he will be ready to face Oklahoma is presumptuous and shows why coaches sometimes have backup quarterbacks throw passes with a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, risking claims they are pouring it on.

If Luck cannot play and play effectively, it is hard to imagine Stanford’s offense being anything close to the machine it was the second half of the season.    Gerhart was just as good last year as he was this season, but without Luck’s passing threat to complement him in 2008, Gerhart was not even all-Pac-10,  much less all-American.

Luck is a prototypical NFL quarterback.  In fact, he is a better NFL prospect than Best, and with Gerhart’s expected departure to the NFL, Stanford will rely more heavily on Luck next season, which could enhance his pro status.   Luck has everything the NFL is looking for in a quarterback – poise, arm strength, accuracy, good decision-making, toughness, good instincts and mobility – and he could be one of the top picks in the 2010 NFL draft.   Although Luck has three more years of college eligibility, players are eligible to enter the NFL draft three years after graduating from high school, and since Luck redshirted his freshman season, he could turn pro after next season.  It may be tough for him to turn that down.

Andrew Luck can throw accurately while on the run -- Associated Press photo

Best, a junior, can turn pro this year and he has already submitted paperwork to the NFL to get an appraisal of his draft status.   At the moment, Best is right on the cusp of being a late first-round or early second-round pick, although that could change dramatically depending on what NFL teams see in workouts and what they determine about Best’s durability.   With the NFL cracking down on players playing with head injuries, the pros may not want to invest a lot of money in someone who is susceptible to concussions.   And it has been proven that people who get a concussion are more likely to get another one.

Best has until Jan. 15 to decide whether he wants to enter the NFL Draft, and it will be a tough call.    If he comes back and plays effectively and injury-free, he could certainly improve his draft status, win some awards and help Cal.    But if he does not have a good year or suffers more injuries, his draft status could plummet.   And what would his status be with Cal next season with Vereen playing so well in his absence?

 Plus, a running back’s career is short, and playing another year of college ball shortens it further.  ESPN college football analyst Robert Smith was a running back in the NFL and he recommends  running backs turn pro as soon as they are ready because they have only a certain number of hits in their body.

The average length of a running back’s career in the NFL is about three years, and a back’s productivity can decline with frightening suddenness, as Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson have demonstrated recently.  One can only wonder when the 49ers’ Frank Gore will hit the wall now that he’s in his fifth season.

Best has a lot to consider.