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Senior wide receiver Marcus McCutcheon walked out of Stanford’s football locker room on Saturday night but he was in no hurry to walk up the ramp and out of the stadium. McCutcheon took a right turn and headed back toward the field.

He stayed in the background and watched as a bulldozer and a huge backhoe began to dig up the turf on the 50-yard line. Other players followed, like senior linebacker Taualai Fonoti, junior punter Jay Ottovegio, and junior long snapper Brent Newhouse.

“I just wanted to get one last look at the stadium,” McCutcheon said. “I’m never going to see that again.”

And so many players bid farewell to the old place, where 84 years and one week of memories have been played out before millions of spectators. For the Stanford football team, the end was the same as the beginning. The Cardinal lost its first football game played there, and lost its last one – a monumental 38-31 setback to visiting Notre Dame, which clinched a spot in the BCS while eliminating Stanford from bowl game consideration.

“I love my teammates,” shouted senior linebacker Timi Wusu, the Palo Alto High grad who worked his way from walk-on to consistent contributor. “I just want to be with my teammates. I’m not good with sadness. I don’t know how to deal with sadness. I got my joy. This could be the last time I ever put on football pads. I don’t know. I’ll have to have a talk with God and see what His plans are for me.”

Wusu was credited with three tackles in his final game at Stanford, and he leaves with no regrets. His decision to cross the El Camino Real for college was exactly the right thing to do for him.

“I have so many friends that I will have with me for the rest of my life it’s unbelievable,” Wusu said. “That’s what life is all about.”

The people -- not the stadium, not the tradition -- his people with whom he surrounded himself will not be forgotten. His career may be over, but his bond with friends and family are stronger then ever.

Wusu, who will be seeking a medical career, danced in the clubhouse with his teammates, and he danced on his way back up the ramp. Stanford (5-6) finished less than a minute away from a bowl game; a minute that seemed so distant at the start of the season, when the Cardinal was predicted to finish ninth in the Pac-10.

Another victory was within reach, but once again slipped away in the closing seconds. There’s no need to remind each other of the heartbreaking losses to UC Davis, UCLA and now Notre Dame.

“There have been more downs than ups,” Stanford senior defensive end Julian Jenkins said. “But this year has been a year of hope. We think we’ve come out of the funk and there are no doubts where we are going.”

When Jenkins returns as a civilian next season, he expects big things from his comrades in pads.

“I see them executing perfectly and coming off a great winter and spring,” he said. “They will be the product of a new era of Stanford football with a winning attitude. I have become more team-oriented since I’ve been here. I’ve come to realize that this really is a team and that you can’t do anything without your teammates.”

Some final images:

Senior nose tackle Babatunde Oshinowo limping slightly as he walked off the field for the final time, the sweat glistening in the stadium lights and the Stanford band playing “It’s All Right Now,” in the background. Notre Dame’s Victor Abiamiri (10 tackles, four quarterback sacks) made it a point to seek out Oshinowo for a private moment and handshake.

Junior quarterback Trent Edwards letting go of a beautifully thrown ball just as ABC cut away from a sideline interview with former San Francisco 49er and Notre Dame star quarterback Joe Montana. That ball landed in the hands of senior flanker Justin McCullum and went for a 38-yard touchdown.

The bulldozers, backhoes and dump trucks idling in the wings as players from both sides walked past on the way to their respective locker rooms with fans lined up yards away behind the fence cheering their favorites.

The young man with a big smile who cradled a plastic hard hat (a giveaway at the game) full of turf from the playing field. He plans to plant it in his backyard.

“There have been so many tough times but I can take the good from it,” Oshinowo said. “I have no regrets about coming to Stanford with everything that has happened.”

As the lights dimmed for the last time for many players, an afterglow provided a new light for those coming back. With the new stadium scheduled for completion in time for September of 2006, there will be a renewal of commitment.

“We have a lot of work to do this off season,” said T.C. Ostrander, who replaced Edwards with 8:38 left in the third quarter. “We need to become better physically and better and stronger athletes. We have to train, and train smart and keep our noses in the playbook.”

Ostrander, who led Menlo-Atherton to a Central Coast Section title, has seen a lot of playing time the past two years because of the pounding Edwards has taken.

The Ostrander who threw a 76-yard pass to Mark Bradford and then a four-yard touchdown pass to Matt Traverso in the final two minutes to give Stanford a 31-30 lead was not the same Ostrander who stumbled his way through the UC Davis loss.

Ostrander did not perform well in his first attempt with the new playbook, but it’s obvious he’s been paying attention. He was 11-of-15 for 197 yards against the nationally-ranked Irish. Ostrander was 7-of-17 for 108 yards and an interception against the Aggies.

Ostrander and Stanford came a long way since that game; just not enough.

“After we scored that last touchdown I felt so good because we had worked so hard and we had a shot,” Ostrander said. “It wasn’t over. And now our best leaders go without having gone to a bowl game. That’s hard for the rest of us.”

Stanford coach Walt Harris felt bad for the seniors but insist they left a legacy.

“We’re going to lose some very fine football players,” he said. “It’s a hard group to replace. Bottom line I believe these seniors have left us something tangible and that’s the ability to fight back. We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of fighting to do.”

For once, the off season comes with a promise of better days ahead.

Stanford Stadium was constructed in 1921 and designed with engineering techniques unearthed at 2,000-year-old amphitheaters in Pomeii.

The new stadium, expected to be completed in time for the start of the 2006 football season, will have 30,000 fewer seats, better sightlines, more restrooms and concessions, and better access. The new stadium will have 50,858 seats, compared to the current 85,800.

The stands will also be moved closer to the field, eliminating the current running track that circles the field. The project is expected to cost $90 million.

A 2002 study found that the stadium’s infrastructure had reached the end of its service life. The current earthen berm and landscaping will be retained for the new stadium.

Staff writer Don Kazak contributed to this story.