Miami ? John Elway flashed his familiar grin, and Jim Harbaugh gave a jubilant shout from the sideline as Andrew Luck sprinted up the field to join a celebration in the end zone.

Nearly a quarter remained in the Orange Bowl, but the Stanford Cardinal were on the way to their first bowl victory in 14 years. And it was a blowout.

Luck, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns Monday night to lead fifth-ranked Stanford past No. 12 Virginia Tech, 40-12.

“I’m extremely excited,” Luck said. “Couldn’t be happier for the Stanford community.”

The Cardinal (12-1) likely will end the season ranked in the top 5 for the first time since the unbeaten 1940 team finished No. 2. Their success comes only four years after they went 1-11 and hired Harbaugh as coach to lead a turnaround.