Cardinal at a glance

2001 schedule Sept. 8 vs Boston College Sept. 15 at San Jose St. Sept. 22 vs Arizona St. Sept. 29 at USC Oct. 13 vs Washington St. Oct. 20 at Oregon Oct. 27 vs UCLA Nov. 3 at Washington Nov. 10 at Arizona Nov. 17 vs California Nov. 24 vs Notre Dame 2000 results (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) at Washington St. W 24-10 San Jose St. L 40-27 Texas W 27-24 Arizona L 27-3 at Notre Dame L 20-14 at Oregon St. L 38-6 USC W 32-30 Washington L 31-28 at UCLA L 37-35 Arizona St. W 29-7 at California W 36-30

In the backfield, the Cardinal have a power back in Kerry Carter as well as a breakaway threat in Brian Allen. They figure to split time. Last year, Carter rushed for 729 yards while setting a Stanford record with four rushing TDs against USC. Allen chipped in with 460 yards rushing, highlighted by a 70-yard TD scamper against Notre Dame. At FB, versatile senior Casey Moore is a multi-purpose threat. He's averaged 6 yards per carry during his career while factoring in as a capable pass-receiving option. Against Cal last year, he had the game-winning TD reception in overtime.

The one key graduation loss in terms of the skill positions was sure-handed DeRonnie Pitts. But the Cardinal have more speed and big-play potential this season. Sophomore Luke Powell really came on during the second half of the season. The 5-8, 169-pounder hauled in four receptions for 149 yards against UCLA, then had a 75-yard TD catch in the season finale against Cal. For the year, Powell averaged 27.9 yards per reception. Senior Ryan Wells also finished strong last year, with five catches against both UCLA and Arizona State. He's also a top-flight kickoff returner. Jamien McCullum also figures heavily in the mix, as does Caleb Bowman and impressive redshirt freshman Teyo Johnson. Of this group, Johnson could be the biggest surprise and impact newcomer to the Cardinal offense. The 6-7, 250-pounder is the younger brother of Riall Johnson. After moving from QB to WR during spring practice, Johnson hauled in a pair of TD receptions in the spring game. He's considered the wild card at this spot heading into fall practice.

At TE, four players are in competition. Redshirt freshman Alex Smith had a excellent spring game, but also factoring in are junior Darin Naatjes, junior Brett Pierce and senior Matt Wright. Look for the Cardinal to spread the wealth at the TE position.

The entire starting offensive line is back for the Cardinal, so the necessary cohesion should be there from the outset. Keying this group will be RG Eric Heitmann, center Zack Quaccia, RT Greg Schindler, OT Kirk Chambers and OT Kwame Harris. There is a chance that Quaccia could be shifted to guard, allowing 6-3, 290-pound sophomore Mike Holman an opportunity to take over in the pivot. Harris, who was the top recruit for the Cardinal in 2000, has the versatility to operate at either left or RT.

DEFENSE
Defensively, the Cardinal only have to replace four starters. But one of those players, DT Willie Howard, proved to be the real difference-maker up front. Despite constant double-teaming, he was still a force -- just ask Marques Tuiasosopo. In Stanford's 31-28 loss to Washington, Howard put on quite a show, recording seven tackles, a sack and a pass deflection. Also moving on to the NFL is OLB Riall Johnson, who did a great job of pressuring signal callers on a game-to-game basis. Those two losses are huge for the Cardinal.

Early on, they'll need a player to emerge up front who can create a disturbance behind the line of scrimmage. Two players to watch in that regard are senior DE Austin Lee and junior DT Trey Freeman. After dropping roughly 30 pounds since last season, Freeman checked in at 295 in the spring and really stepped up his performance level. Marcus Hoover will be at the other DE spot, with Matt Leonard working next to Freeman at DT.

Leading the defense from his ILB position is senior Coy Wire, a hard-working, instinctive performer who figures to total 15-plus tackles in just about every game if the DTs do their job occupying the interior offensive linemen. When Wire is free to flow to the football, he has few LB peers in the Pac-10. How about this for versatility: In '98, when he was a RB, Wire led the Cardinal in rushing. Then, last season, he led the defense with 81 stops, including 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks and one interception. The challenge will be making up for the loss of Johnson, who was an exceptional pass rusher. In the mix will be versatile senior Anthony Gabriel, who has experience at ILB as well as on the outside.

Setting the tempo in the deep patrol is the physically imposing 6-3, 225-pound FS Tank Williams, who recorded 66 tackles last season. He also picked off three passes. Senior Colin Branch will move in at SS, after seeing most of his action on special teams over the last two years. Returning at CB are seniors Ruben Carter and Ryan Fernandez. The latter came into his own last season, nabbing three interceptions. Carter, a 5-8, 170-pounder, has been a fixture in the Cardinal secondary the last three seasons.

Overview: With an early season schedule that is favorable, the Cardinal have a chance to enjoy some success out of the blocks. But from Oct. 20 (when they travel to Eugene to face Oregon) through the season finale against Notre Dame at home, the Cardinal will have to work through a rough stretch of games. On the plus side, Oregon State is off the schedule this season. With skill-position talent like Carter, Allen, Moore and Powell, the offense has a chance to produce more game-changing plays this season. Fasani is a tough, hard-nosed signal caller. The key will be whether he's able to remain at full strength the entire way. Fortunately for Stanford, a proven signal caller like Lewis is ready to step in. Also, the line is versatile and experienced.