November 02, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Making do with a Lemon

by Rick Eymer

With Stanford's top wide receiver Mark Bradford turned cheerleader on the sidelines, quarterback Trent Edwards had to look for new avenues in the passing game.

Redshirt junior J.R. Lemon stepped in, and then stepped up.

Lemon remained at his halfback position, but in addition to gaining 53 yards on the ground, he was the leading receiver in the Cardinal's last-second loss to visiting UCLA, 30-27 in overtime, on Saturday in a Pac-10 Conference contest.

Even if Bradford is back in time for Stanford's visit to top-ranked USC this Saturday at 7 p.m., Lemon will likely remain a premium choice in the short passing attack that distinguishes the West Coast Offense.

Lemon, making his first start of the season, caught his first two career touchdown passes as Stanford built a 24-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter before faltering against the nation's seventh-ranked team.

"It felt good to get back into the flow of things," Lemon said. "When you get your opportunity you have to capitalize. I feel like I'm ready to go."

Lemon was Stanford's leading rusher last year but he wasn't much of a receiving threat. He had 19 career receptions before catching six passes for 50 yards against the Bruins.

Lemon, who missed two games last year with an injury, has been limited because of injury this season. He said "it was one of the more frustrating times." But he paid attention to his playbook and looked comfortable in Stanford's new offense as he saw extended action for the first time.

"We know, if we execute we'll be OK," Lemon said. "We have confidence in the system and we're comfortable with the things we're asked to do. We're getting to where we understand the ever changing schemes. We know it works and that makes it easier to learn."

Lemon's 13-yard scoring catch midway through the first quarter was his first touchdown of any kind since last Oct. 16 against Washington State. It took a little more than a quarter to score again, this time on a nine-yard pass.

The running backs are vital to the success of the West Coast Offense (think Roger Craig for the 49ers), and Edwards and T.C. Ostrander have completed 44 of their 149 attempts to the running backs.

While the future suddenly looks better, the latest loss gave Stanford no solace.

"A loss is a loss," Lemon said. "The bottom line is winning."

It was the second time Stanford lost on the final play of the game, both at Stanford Stadium.

Senior nose tackle Babatunde Oshinowo took a moment before entering Stanford's shell-shocked locker room minutes after the game. His massive 300-pound body, arms to his side, helmet in his right hand, stood motionless, like some ancient warrior, backlit by the stadium lights.

Oshinowo allowed himself one last cry of anguish - a loud "AUUUUUGH" - before joining his teammates in a sullen room at the open end of Stanford Stadium.

Oshinowo spoke quietly and eloquently afterward.

"It can't be much more heartbreaking than this," he said. "But how can you accept the good without accepting the not-so-good times? It was one of those moments, surreal in a sense. Either you win or you don't, and we didn't. But we'll be fine."

In many ways Stanford (3-2, 4-3) will be better for the loss, even in the wake of perhaps the most gut-wrenching way to have a victory snatched away on the game's final play.

Taken as a single entity, Stanford's loss can be viewed as devastating. A look at the big picture, though, and the loss is actually more of a turning point, a positive step in the right direction.

The facts are undeniable; Stanford did surrender a 21-point lead in the final seven minutes of regulation and it wasn't pretty. A pair of pass interference calls on UCLA's game-tying drive were inexcusable, as were the 87 yards worth of penalties.

The offense, which scored 10 points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter to go up 24-3, suddenly sputtered.

All it would have taken was one play by someone on defense, someone on offense, someone on special teams.

The one additional play never happened, and the better team won.

That's also the good news. Stanford has good, solid athletes on its side and they dominated the more talented Bruins for nearly 53 minutes.

Stanford just doesn't have an answer for All-American-type players like running back Maurice Drew, quarterback Drew Olson, receiver Mercedes Lewis, or linebacker Spencer Havner, or the five returning all-Pac-10 selections. The Cardinal can't match the speed of the Bruins' receivers, and they don't have the same depth as UCLA, either.

One other thing: Stanford continues to fight against a losing mindset over the past few years. Just before the opening of fall camp, Cardinal coach Walt Harris emphasized the need to reverse that kind of collective thinking. The seniors have never experienced a winning season, and a defeatist attitude prevails in the collective psyche on campus. Harris and the players are fighting an uphill battle, and are getting closer.

"We played gallantly," Harris said. "We did a lot of things to put ourselves in a position to win. But we also did a lot of things down the stretch that caused us to slow down. We let them off the hook."

Stanford did not commit a turnover for the fourth straight week, and forced two UCLA turnovers. The Bruins had turned it over just four times previously. The Cardinal are ranked fifth in the nation in turnover margin.

The continued improvement of Edwards and the return of Lemon are enough to give Stanford hope for the rest of the season.

Since his disastrous performance against Oregon, Edwards has put together a solid season and has made significant advancements in executing the offense.

"Trent is a warrior," Stanford senior fullback Nick Frank said. "He rallied around us. He never gave up on us. He's definitely our leader and he's come up big in big games. We look up to him and that's evident. We didn't doubt what we could do. We haven't been able to get past four wins since I've been here, but this team is different."

Last season Edwards finished the year ranked eighth (110.3) in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency. This year he's 21st in the nation (147.4) and is consistently improving his efficiency rating.

Edwards has thrown just two interceptions (in 171 attempts), and Stanford has thrown three - tied for second in the nation with UCLA and Central Michigan.

When Bradford was knocked out of the game early, Stanford not only lost its deep threat but also its possession receiver. Lemon helped make up for the loss and Justin McCullum stepped into Bradford's role.

"To lose Bradford was to lose our big threat. It was huge," Harris said. "Mark has shown he has ability. I thought Justin played well in his place."

So there was Stanford, up by 21 points at the midway point of the fourth quarter. The Cardinal didn't play well the rest of the way, but that had more to do with multi-faceted and multi-talented UCLA.

The Cardinal overachieved on Saturday, and in the process began forging a path out of the tangled web of negativity.

When Bradford was knocked out of the game early, Stanford not only lost its deep threat but also its possession receiver - forcing the running backs and Edwards to assume a greater burden.

"To lose Bradford was to lose our big threat. It was huge," Harris said.

So there was Stanford, up by 21 points at the midway point of the fourth quarter. The Cardinal didn't play well the rest of the way, but that had more to do with multi-faceted and multi-talented UCLA.

The Cardinal overachieved on Saturday, and in the process began forging a path out of the tangled web of negativity.

"We're excited we could improve enough to play at that level, but it's not enough to play well and lose," Harris said. "Stanford wins in every other sport and football needs to win."

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