Week seven of the 2004-05 football season pits Pacific-10 Conference upstart Stanford against its former head coach, Tyrone Willingham, and Notre Dame.
As the late Rodney Dangerfield of the Pac-10, Stanford is looking for respect after tallying a 3-1 start. Stanford’s only loss so far came two weeks ago against undefeated defending National Champion Southern California in a 31-28 nail-biter at Palo Alto, Calif.
Buddy Teevens, now in his second year as Stanford’s head coach, leads the Cardinal into Southbend, Ind., this weekend, which marks Stanford’s first away game of the season. The Cardinal are coming off of a 27-14 win against Washington, which saw junior J.R. Lemon rush for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
Stanford’s sophomore quarterback Trent Edwards has proven himself to be reliable, regardless of his questionable arm-strength. He is a steady performer who has very accurate throwing in the pocket. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Kent Baer will try to capitalize on Edwards’ lack of experience by forcing heavy pressure on him all game.
For Stanford this season, defense wins games, and this Saturday the Cardinal will need another stingy outing by its defense in order to keep the game in its control.
Willingham views Stanford’s defense as nothing less than formidable.
“They pose a lot of threats,” Willingham said. “Their defense is very strong, they are aggressive.”
Aside from its defense, Stanford’s special teams have also left their mark on this year’s season — they have blocked three punts and one field goal.
The Fighting Irish are in desperate need of a win Saturday to rebound after suffering a schalacking last weekend against Purdue, 45-16. Despite the loss, Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Brady Quinn passed for a career-best 432 yards.
This weekend marks the 19th time these two teams have played each other.
Washington (0-4 overall, 0-2 Pac-10) vs. San Jose State (2-2)
Washington is still searching for its first win of the season after falling to 0-4 Saturday against Stanford. The defeat marked the second conference loss of the year for the Huskies, who have nowhere to go but up in the Pac-10 standings. They square off against San Jose State (2-2) this Saturday in Seattle.
Last week’s game saw Washington head coach Keith Gilbertson make a quarterback switch and bring in redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell. Gilbertson plans on starting him this weekend against the Spartans.
“I thought he (Bonnell) gave us some really good stuff,” Gilbertson said. “I thought he threw the ball very accurately … everything was right on the money.”
Bonnell will face an aggressive San Jose State defense this weekend that features an eight-man front. The Spartans are ranked third in the Western Athletic Conference, thanks to their high powered offense. Junior tailback Tyson Thompson is averaging 6.2 yards per carry this season and senior quarterback Dale Rogers leads the WAC with a QB rating of 181.8.
The Huskies have been plagued all season with a sub-par defense best known for surrendering 322 rushing yards to UCLA tailback Maurice Drew three weeks ago.
Offensively, the Huskies will need to establish a running game early to take the pressure off Bonnell, who is still new as a starting quarterback. Sophomore tailback Kenny James and senior fullback Zach Tuiasosopo will have their work cut out for them running the football. James currently leads the team in rushing yards with 293.
UCLA (3-1, 1-0) vs. Arizona (1-3, 0-1)
What a difference a year makes. Karl Dorrell, now in his second year as the head coach of UCLA, has surprised many after starting the year 3-1 heading into Saturday. The Bruins take on Arizona at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., for their Pac-10 home opener.
First-year Arizona head coach Mike Stoops has done wonders for the Wildcats this season regardless of their 1-3 record. Arizona’s defense has kept every game close, including last week’s loss in Tucson, Ariz., against Washington State. Two out of three Arizona losses have been in games decided by two points or less.
Dorrell said his squad is well-prepared for Saturday, and every game counts immensely from here on out.
“Now we are in the meat of our Pac-10 schedule,” Dorrell said. “The non-conference games are over, and now it’s time to get to the business at hand.”
The Bruins feature a talented offense led by Drew, who is top in the conference in rushing yards with 669 yards. Drew will be challenged by Arizona’s defense Saturday and will have to take any yards that his offensive line can provide for him.
Arizona sophomore quarterback Kris Heavner has posted a 135.34 QB rating, good enough for fourth in the conference and will look to ignite Arizona’s offense. This may prove difficult considering that UCLA features a relentless defense lead by junior middle linebacker Spencer Havner.
The Bruins have played some of the best football the school has seen in years and are coming off of a respectable win last week over San Diego State, 33-10.
Scott J. Adams is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald
