With a 2-8 record and no chance for postseason play, the Cardinal went to Berkeley for the 101st Big Game with a simple goal: to salvage the season and deny Cal an invitation to compete in a Bowl game. By that modest measure, the season was a success. With a superb defensive performance highlighted by nine sacks of Cal quarterback Justin Vedder, Stanford topped Berkeley, 10-3, to wins its fourth consecutive Big Game.
The stalwart Big Game defense was a welcome surprise. Earlier in the fall, the Cardinal gave up 63 points to Oregon and 44 to Arizona State. A key problem this year: youth and inexperience. Of the 92 players on the opening day roster, 54 had never played in a college game.
But buried in the rubble of the season were a few gems. Stanford nearly knocked off UCLA, which was favored by 30 points. Free safety Tim Smith, a senior, finished first in the Pac-10, 10th nationwide, with six interceptions. Quarterback Todd Husak, a junior, racked up 3092 yards of total offense, the third Stanford player ever to break the 3,000 barrier (he's behind John Elway, '82, and Steve Stenstrom, '94). Flanker Troy Walters finished the season with 2,530 career receiving yards, an all-time Stanford record -- and he has another year to play.
"We're heading in the right direction," coach Tyrone Willingham said at season's end. "Even this year you can see some maturity in our young guys." Willingham, who next fall begins his fifth season at the helm, received a vote of confidence from Athletic Director Ted Leland: "Anybody who rubs up against him knows that in the long run we have the right guy running the football program."
