Stanford returns to the site where last season’s most improbable victory took place.
But for the Cardinal (2-5 overall, 1-4 Pacific-10 Conference), the game is in the past, a distant memory of a season that produced six Pacific-10 Conference victories and a spot in the 2001 Seattle Bowl.
Gone is starting quarterback Randy Fasani, as well as hard-nosed running back Brian Allen.
Back, though, is 6-foot-7 wide receiver Teyo Johnson, and, well, there’s not much else going on for Stanford.
Junior quarterback Chris Lewis, the heir apparent to Fasani, has had to deal with injuries this season.
Penciled in to start for Lewis is freshman Kyle Matter, a 6-foot-3 signal-caller from Newhall, Calif.
First-year head coach Buddy Teevens is still upbeat, despite Stanford’s poor play to start the season.
“We’re an improving football team that has experienced frustration with not getting the win at the end,” Teevens said. “The attitude of our players is very resilient. They see things on tape that are encouraging as well. Obviously, they are frustrated, but also aware of the improvements we are making.”
In place of Lewis, Matter has completed 55 passes in 95 attempts, including a 10-for-22 performance against UCLA last week, a game the Cardinal lost, 28-18.
“I thought he played smart football,” Teevens said of Matter’s play against the Bruins. “He was harassed most of the afternoon, but he scrambled and picked up some key first downs for us. I thought he played really heady football. I was pleased overall.”
Johnson has been the pulse of the Stanford offense this season, a unit that has been sputtering and is last in the Pac-10 in passing offense with 194.1 yards per game. Johnson leads the team in receptions with 29 and yards with 356. But in the team’s most recent loss, UCLA, he had just 32 yards on four catches.
Against Arizona — Stanford’s only Pac-10 victory of the season — he had just one catch for two yards.
Oregon — which is often said to have the loudest fans in the Pac-10 — could present a problem for the struggling Stanford offense. Yet with Johnson’s height and Oregon’s smaller cornerbacks, the Cardinal could present a mismatch.
“Defensively, I’ve been very impressed with their inside linemen,” Teevens said. “Haloti Ngata and Igor Olshansky are big and physical guys that can run. David Moretti and Kevin Mitchell are very solid linebackers that move extremely well. Their defense backs have made a lot of interceptions.”
Overall, Stanford averages 353.3 total yards offensively per game, ninth in the Pac-10.
The Cardinal defense is not much better but is improving. The squad is sixth in the conference in total defense but last in scoring defense. Opponents have averaged 32.3 points per game against Stanford, including a season-high 65 scored by Arizona State. Three other teams — Boston College, Notre Dame and Washington — have all scored at least 31 points this season against the Cardinal.
“Our team continues to improve defensively with a very physical and aggressive style of play,” Teevens said. “We’re playing with a lot of enthusiasm … playing solid football. We knew that we had some talented athletes on defense.
“The biggest thing was just the time it takes for the players to grasp the system. The guys are feeling more comfortable with what they’re doing and having greater success as a result. I’m encouraged that they have responded so well, so quickly but not tremendously surprised.”
Stanford is a team beset by injuries and youth. In addition to Lewis, junior wide receiver Luke Powell has not fully recovered from an ankle injury.
The team’s relative youth may have also caught up with the Cardinal. Of the five quarterbacks listed on the roster, three are freshmen and a fourth is a sophomore. Lewis is the oldest.
But against Oregon, a team that Stanford has had success against in dire situations, the Cardinal are looking to grow up, and in turn,
get better.
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