October 06, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Cardinal know they're ready for the Irish

by Mark Thoma

After a 27-13 win over Washington last weekend, Stanford sits at 3-1 in the Pac-10. The Cardinal has a chance to equal last year's win total Saturday against Notre Dame, and it has already surpassed 2002's two-win campaign.

One thing the Cardinal hasn't fully overcome, though, is the long shadow cast by 5-foot-7 Tyrone Willingham. The former Stanford coach is in his third year at Notre Dame, and while his team is just 6-9 over the last two years against other teams, it is most definitely 2-0 versus the Cardinal.

Notre Dame handed the Cardinal its worst home loss of all time last year, 57-7. Particularly frustrating for Stanford was the fact that both teams entered the game with 4-6 records, yet Notre Dame played like a national championship team. The two-year tally? Willingham and the Irish 88, Teevens and the Cardinal 14.

The Irish are off to another inconsistent start this season. They defeated Michigan on Sept. 11, but opened their season with a loss Brigham Young and were blown out by Purdue last weekend, 41-16.

And Teevens, who has faced the inevitable comparisons to Willingham throughout his tenure on the Farm, did manage to do something last weekend that Tyrone never could at Stanford: defeat Washington.

After home games at home, the task ahead for Teevens is turning around that 1-10 mark on road the past two years.

Powering the Cardinal's first win over the Huskies since 1994, snapping a six-game losing streak, was junior tailback J.R. Lemon, who totaled a career-high 162 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 19 carries.

The hard-working Lemon also has a flair for the dramatic. Against USC, he took the last play of the first half 82 yards for a touchdown. Against Washington, he took the last play of the first quarter 58 yards for another touchdown.

Granted, the Cardinal wouldn't have lost possession had they let the quarter end; they would merely have switched sides of the field. But Trent Edwards hurried to get the ball snapped before the quarter expired because Lemon and he saw an opportunity.

"They were just real thin on that side, and we checked it outside (at the line)," Lemon said. "Our line has been good to me. The guy who was playing outside stayed outside, so I went back inside."

Lemon bounced around right end, cut upfield and saw nothing but green grass -- something he's seeing a lot more of this year than in his first two campaigns.

"The second you see that green, you've got to march forward," Lemon said. "I love seeing that green. That's the best thing to see."

Lemon has now gained 258 yards on 29 carries over the last two weeks, scoring four touchdowns. The Fayetteville, Georgia native has always had a knack for finding the end zone -- he entered the season with seven career touchdowns -- but he was never one to break off a long run. His career long entering this year was a 36-yard gain against Cal.

In the last two weeks, though, Lemon has broken off runs of 82, 58 and 54 yards.

So, what accounts for his breakthrough?

"My whole thing is, I'm just having to be patient," Lemon said. "Whereas last year, I was kind of nicked up. I had a couple injuries that set me back."

Not much is setting the 225-pound power runner back this season, though, as he's averaging 6.9 yards per carry. He also ranks fifth on the team with seven receptions, making him one of many Cardinal players to benefit from the maturation of sophomore signal caller Trent Edwards, who's thrown for 921 yards and seven touchdowns already this year.

The Stanford defense also turned in a big performance. When starting linebacker Jon Alston was knocked out of the game, Palo Alto High grad Timi Wusu stepped in and did enough to lead the team with nine tackles. Brandon Harrison blocked a punt that Nick Sanchez returned for another Cardinal touchdown.

Stanford's rush defense continued to excel, and leads the Pac-10 at 85.5 yards allowed per game. That's also 11th in the nation.

Notre Dame has shown somewhat of a vulnerability to the aerial attack this season, most recently having surrendered 412 passing yards to Purdue.

However, the Fighting Irish enjoy success with their own passing game. Over the last two weeks, Brady Quinn has completed 42-of-78 passes for 696 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

So while they may talk about Quinn this week, most Cardinal players won't be talking too much about Tyrone. That's a change from years past, when the team's older players struggled to deal with the loss of their former coach and mentor. This year's team, though, seems to have put all that behind it. It helps, of course, that a majority of the team's roster arrived on the Farm after Willingham left.

The Cardinal team also seems to have left the last two difficult seasons in the rear-view mirror.

"We've been in a bunch of different situations, and I think we've felt all the emotions that we can as a football team," Edwards said. "That's what separates this year's team from the last two years. We expect to win every game."

Edwards has already thrown for more yards and touchdowns than he did in eight games last year as a redshirt freshman, including 23-of-33 passing for 254 yards against Washington, but the Huskies did intercept him three times, all on their half of the field.

"The tough thing is turning the ball over in the red zone and not getting those points," Teevens said. "But the lesson is learned and we have to regroup against a tough Notre Dame team."

Lemon, for one, is ready for the challenge.

"That's the next stepping stone we've got to cover," he said. "I think we're progressing, but we've got to come and play. We are still trying to determine who we are."

If Lemon keeps running the way he has been the last two weeks, the Cardinal should be just fine.

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