Sophomore cornerback T.J. Rushing snatched a snippet of hopefulness from the Big Loss to Cal on November 22. “We’ll bounce back,” he told reporters after the Cardinal fumbled its last chance at a bowl game, losing to the Golden Bears 28-16. “That’s what the game is about.”
The voice of youth did its darnedest to drown out the naysayers, but the Cardinal’s final game—a 57-7 rout by Notre Dame on November 29—spoke louder: four wins + seven losses = a season that felt like a stomach-churning ride on Great America’s Invertigo coaster. Anticipation began a slow climb with early wins over San Jose State, 31-10, and Brigham Young University, 18-14. Then came the first descent: four consecutive losses, to Washington, 28-17, the University of Southern California, 44-21, Washington State, 24-14, and Oregon, 35-0. The Cardinal’s upset of UCLA, 21-14, and defeat of Arizona State, 38-27, raised hopes before the Oregon State Beavers sent them plummeting again with a 43-3 drubbing. After that loss, campus critics complained that the Cardinal was outscored 78-3 by the state of Oregon this year.
The defeat at the hands of the Fighting Irish was worse—in fact, the worst home loss ever. Although both schools went onto the field with 4-6 records, Notre Dame took charge with three touchdowns in the first quarter and never lost the momentum. By halftime, the Irish were leading 34-0 and Cardinal fans already were leaving the stadium. “I’m embarrassed we played the way we did,” head coach Buddy Teevens said after the game. “I thought we were ready to go. It’s my responsibility.” For Teevens, who had compiled a 2-9 record in his rookie year, this year’s 4-7 showing was an improvement. But he acknowledged that “to go out like that, yes, it’s disappointing.”
The final game of the 109th season marked the first return visit of Tyrone Willingham, who led the Cardinal from 1995 to 2001, taking the team to the Rose Bowl in 2000. Stanford seniors lined up to shake hands with him after the game. Quarterback Chris Lewis, who was last in line, and Willingham hugged for a long moment before parting in tears.
The Cardinal played a tough schedule that included eight 2002 bowl teams, and there were some bright spots on defense. The squad held opponents to under 100 yards rushing in five games, and the UCLA upset was fueled by eight sacks, an effective blitzing scheme and a 90-yard punt return by senior Luke Powell.
Stanford was one of the youngest teams in the nation, with a true freshman class of 30 and a redshirt freshman class of 17—almost half of the 96-member squad. The young guys made significant contributions, led by redshirt freshman Trent Edwards, who was named starting quarterback after the season opener and started four games before suffering a shoulder injury against WSU and a thigh injury against Cal. In eight games, Edwards completed 77 of 170 pass attempts for 750 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Mark Bradford, who played in all 11 games and started the last seven, had 37 catches for 587 yards and three touchdowns, while freshman running back David Marrero carried the ball 37 times for 115 net yards.
The team’s youth may be this season’s silver lining. The Cardinal does graduate several stars: Powell, left tackle Kirk Chambers, who started 45 consecutive games, and punter Eric Johnson, who set single-season school records for number of punts (86) and yardage (3,687). But this year, Stanford doubled last season’s win total. Maybe an eight-win season is up next.
