There’s a Will, but No Willingham

Tyrone Willingham left Stanford so fast last Dec. 30 he forgot to turn off the lights.

That’s what happens when the Notre Dame coaching job opens and the football school, like that old poster of Uncle Sam, wants you. Willingham left with papers on his desk and coffee in the pot.

Stanford players found out Willingham was gone as the rest of us did--on television.

Willingham returned in mid-January for the Cardinal’s postseason banquet, but that didn’t ease the hurt.

You could hardly blame Willingham for jumping to Notre Dame, yet some players still hold grudges and eagerly await Saturday’s chance to face their former coach when Stanford concludes its nonconference schedule in South Bend, Ind.

Cardinal offensive guard Paul Weinacht said Oct. 5 was the only game he had circled on his calendar.

It remains unclear, however, whether the Cardinal is capable of exacting revenge.

It appears Stanford, through games of Sept. 28, needed Willingham more than he needed it.

The 9-3 squad Willingham left in Palo Alto has struggled under first-year Coach Buddy Teevens, toting a ton of baggage and a 1-2 record into South Bend.

Last week’s 65-24 loss at Arizona State ranks as one of the worst in school history, the Cardinal giving up 535 yards while committing seven turnovers.

“We certainly helped them [Arizona State] every step of the way,” Teevens said.

What’s more, Teevens has not settled on a quarterback and has been rotating junior Chris Lewis and freshman Kyle Matter, with marginal success.

Willingham, meanwhile, has taken the 5-6 team he inherited from Bob Davie and transformed it into a top-10 contender at 4-0.

The start almost mirrors what Willingham did when he took over at Stanford in 1995, when he led a Cardinal team coming off consecutive losing seasons to a 4-0-1 start.

Clearly, Stanford at Notre Dame is not an ordinary game, as these schools have ties that bind.

Six former Stanford assistants followed Willingham to Notre Dame, and Willingham recruited the majority of Stanford’s current players.

“Before the game, we will have emotions, and after the game we will have emotions,” Willingham said. “There will probably be a lot of hugs and conversation. But at game time, I think they will be fierce competitors, and I know that will be the mind-set I’ll be in.”

Teevens is still trying to find himself in his first year and is, oddly, the outsider in this football family reunion.

He said he addressed the Willingham relationship with his players “straight up” but reminded his players of an important fact.

“We’re not playing a coaching staff,” Teevens said, “we’re playing a team.”

The good news for Stanford’s 112th-ranked scoring defense is Notre Dame’s offense has been the team’s weakness. It’s doubtful the Irish will be able to come close to scoring 65 points, especially if Notre Dame has to start former walk-on Pat Dillingham at quarterback in place of Carlyle Holiday, who is nursing an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder.

To be noted: Stanford has fared well in big games of late, defeating the last three top-10 ranked schools it has faced. The Cardinal beat No. 5 Texas in 2000 and last year beat No. 5 Oregon, the Ducks’ only loss last year, and No. 4 UCLA.

The difference, of course, is that Tyrone Willingham led Stanford to those upset wins, not Buddy Teevens.

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Pac Bits

Six of the nation’s top 14 passers are Pac-10 quarterbacks, led by Arizona State’s Andrew Walter, who leads with a 185.5 efficiency rating. The other five are Washington’s Cody Pickett (No. 5), Oregon State’s Derek Anderson (No. 9), Washington State’s Jason Gesser (No. 10), Stanford’s Kyle Matter (No. 12) and Oregon’s Jason Fife (No. 14)

Washington State’s Gesser, despite a torn rib-cage muscle, threw for 431 yards in last week’s victory against California. “He doesn’t have a different pain threshold from normal people,” Cougar Coach Mike Price said of his quarterback. “No, he hurts. He’s just tough. He just sucks it up and says ‘I’m going to do it anyway.’ ”

Dennis Erickson is one of college football’s most innovative offensive minds, but the Oregon State coach isn’t beyond poking fun at himself. “I spend most of my time offensively,” he said this week when asked how he divides his time at practice. “I think that really showed this week, obviously.” Oregon State is coming off a 22-0 loss to USC.

Arizona State (4-1) is the conference’s surprise school, winning four consecutive games after an opening loss at Nebraska. A victory over North Carolina in Tempe on Saturday would give Arizona State its best start since the 1996 squad that almost won the national championship, but let’s hold off on the comparisons. The 1996 team, led by quarterback Jake Plummer, started 5-0, with three of those victories coming against Washington, Nebraska (19-0) and Oregon. This year’s squad thus far has polished off Eastern Washington, Central Florida, San Diego State and Stanford.

There is no denying Arizona State’s firepower, led by Walter, a touted sophomore who has regained his starting spot after losing it in spring practice to freshman Chad Christensen.

“Andrew’s playing great right now,” Sun Devil Coach Dirk Koetter said. “He was recruited here by the previous staff, supposedly the savior of program. He struggled, they changed staffs, and there were mechanical issues that needed to be cleaned up. He came a long way.”

Will this be the year? California plays at Washington looking to end a 19-game losing streak against the Huskies. The Bears haven’t won since 1976.

Not everyone thinks the team with the best offense will win this year’s conference title.

“I believe when it all comes down to the end, you’re going to have to play good defense,” Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel said. “Right now, you’d have to say USC is doing that.”

USC leads the Pac-10 in scoring defense (11.8 points a game) and in total defense (205 yards a game).