With 52 seconds left in the first half against top-ranked USC, Stanford was leading 21-17. But the Trojans had just scored another touchdown, and Oshiomogho Atogwe, Stanford’s senior free safety and defensive leader, had seen enough. “They ain’t gonna lay down,” he warned his brethren on the Cardinal bench. “We gotta put ’em down! We just gave them that touchdown—let’s go D!”
Seconds later, Stanford’s sideline erupted with delight as running back J.R. Lemon broke free for an 82-yard touchdown dash, giving the Cardinal a 28-17 halftime cushion. This Stanford squad—a 22-point underdog picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac-10 conference—was pushing the defending national champions all over the field.
Although Stanford failed to score in the second half against the re-energized Trojans and fell 31-28, that September 25 performance made for a powerful statement: don’t underestimate the Cardinal.
Head coach Buddy Teevens, though pleased with his team’s effort and perhaps intrigued by its potential, wasn’t interested in moral victories. “You look at how we’re capable of playing, offensively and defensively, and there are a lot of good things there,” Teevens said after the USC game, which followed earlier wins against San Jose State (43-3) and BYU (37-10). “But you’ve got to be consistent for 60 minutes. As I told the team, there’s no solace in coming close. It’s a loss. We had the opportunity to beat a good football team and we let it go.”
In a solemn postgame locker room, sophomore quarterback Trent Edwards agreed. “You wake up at 7 in the morning in the off-season and work so hard to win games like this—and to not convert just rips your heart out,” he said. “To know that we were right there knocking on the door helps a lot. But there are still adjustments to make.”
Those adjustments could determine whether the positive early-season energy and attitude translate into a successful turnaround for the program.
- Josh Fried, ’01
