The Stanford Cardinal travel to Chestnut Hill as they once again begin their season against the Eagles. Last year, BC fell to the Cardinal 38-22 in Palo Alto, California, and the Eagles look for some revenge in their first challenging football game of the year. While The Cardinal have lost head coach Ty Willingham to Notre Dame in this year’s version of "Musical Coaches", they replaced him with a Spurrier acolyte in Buddy Teevens. The Cardinal return seven starters from last year’s offense but only two from last year’s defense. The big question mark will be on the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinal, but Stanford should be one of the top offensive teams in the Pac-10 this year.
The starting quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal will be senior Chris Lewis. Lewis had some playing time last year when incumbent starter Randy Fasani went down to an injury mid- year. Lewis finished the season with a 55% passing ratio, and had 12 TDs and 8 INTs. He will be the starting QB for better or worse this year, and is surrounded by a supporting cast that will help him elevate his 2001 numbers.
Stanford comes off a year in which they led the Pac-10 in rushing with 201 YPG. It was the first time since stats were kept that the Cardinal led the Pac-10 in that category. While they lost one tailback to graduation, returning tailback Kerry Carter has more than enough experience to shoulder the complete load this season. Last year he ran for 471 yards and nine scores, but missed the last four games due to a shoulder injury. He’s also a dangerous receiver from the backfield, which will force the Eagles' defense to play honest on the pass. However, there are big holes in the Cardinal offensive line, as two key seniors departed. But the three returning players are very strong and should protect Lewis and open holes for the running game.
Stanford probably has the deepest receiver corps that the Eagles will play against this year. Returning at wide receiver will be both Luke Powell, and two-sport athlete Teyo Johnson. However the major threat to the Eagles' secondary will once again be Stanford's third receiver Ryan Wells. Wells, a fifth year senior, gives Lewis an excellent third option against the untested Eagle DB’s. He burned the Eagles last year with 6 catches for 138 yards and two scores of 46 and 69 yards respectively. If that triple threat at WR wasn’t enough for the inexperienced BC corners, Brett Pierce returns as a solid TE. In Teevens’ Spurrier offense the Eagles are going to have to be aware of those receivers at all times.
The good news is that the Cardinal only return two players with experience on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive line returns only two players with any experience, and the other roles are expected to be filled by red-shirted freshmen and backups who have seen limited action. Matt Leonard is the only returning starter on the D line, and he accounted for 16 tackles and 4.5 sacks. The linebackers are all new; the only returning LB with any experience is junior Brian Gaffney, who is primarily a special teams player. The other projected LBs are freshmen and one converted fullback.
The loss of All-American safety Tank Williams to the Titans in the second round of the draft has left the Cardinal secondary without a standout leader. Only one member of the DB's has game experience, and that is senior Colin Branch. The other members of the Stanford secondary are untested, much like their BC counterparts.
The Eagles have a big advantage in special teams. Stanford punter Eric Johnson was second to last in yards per punt, and Stanford finished last in punting in the Pac-10. While oft-overlooked, the field position advantage could be a large gain for the Eagle offense. The Cardinal lost one of the best kick returners in the country this past year, however Powell is expected to replace him as he averaged about a 16 yard gain per punt last year.
Eagle fans, head for the storm cellars and lock the doors because this game will be a hurricane of offense as two of the top offensive teams in their respective conferences go head to head in what should be a great game at Alumni. Lewis and St. Pierre should each throw for more than 200 yards in the air. In the end, Boston College returns more experience on the defensive side of the ball in this game, and Stanford is one of those Pac-10 schools that does not travel well to the east. The Eagles should win this highly entertaining shootout at home.
Bill Ratkus is a staff writer exclusively for eagleinsider.com. He can be reached at eaglecatamount@hotmail.com.