Aug 28, 2008

Stanford wields Axe, wants more

By Cam Inman / Bay Area News Group

Six Stanford footbal players arrived for Monday's roundtable discussion with the media, and credit them - the scholar athletes, that they are - for humbly leaving behind The Axe in its nifty case down the hall.

At last viewing, back on Dec. 1, Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal raucously celebrated the retrieval of that ancient hardware after its five-year stint across the shore in Berkeley.

Stanford is desperately hoping this season doesn't end against Cal in the Big Game, and for that to happen, for the Cardinal to break a six-year bowl drought, it must pile up early-season wins, starting with tonight's debut against Oregon State.

Yes, Barack Obama will draw a bigger crowd (by about 50,000) that night to Denver's Invesco Field. But loyal Stanford supporters down on the Farm will be rallying behind their own great orator, Harbaugh.

Sorry to disappoint, but Harbaugh didn't spew any fightin' words Monday. There was no proclamation of Oregon State being the greatest team in history. There was no 3 a.m. moment - well, unless you've been waiting an hour past closing time to learn that Tavita Pritchard is the starting quarterback.

"We're definitely getting closer - (in terms of) quality of players, the improvement in the players," Harbaugh said. "That's the linchpin when you're trying to turn a program around and get closer to a championship."

A Pac-10 championship? Hey, it doesn't hurt to dream of Pasadena, but Stanford will be happy if it ends up in San Diego, El Paso, Honolulu, Las Vegas or San Francisco. Did we mention the Pac-10 has agreements with an all-time high seven bowl partners?

"Our goal every year is to get to a bowl, and for a lot of us, it's our last chance," senior running back Anthony Kimble said. "We'd take any bowl game, obviously, but we're aiming for the top with the Rose Bowl."

In a question aimed at Monday's Stanford Six (not to be confused with the Axe-grabbing "Immortal 21" in 1930), did they know the whereabouts and names of those seven bowls reserving a seat for the Pac-10 ?

"Win No. 6, then we'll worry about the spots," answered Stanford safety Bo McNally, alluding to the six wins that would make Stanford bowl eligible.

Stanford's last postseason party: 2001 Seattle Bowl. Then came the Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris eras, and along came just 16 wins over five years.

Harbaugh brought a spark back to the program last year in his first season, highlighted of course by that ladsbroker special over host USC (a 24-23 stunner on Oct. 6). The cherry on top of a 4-8 campaign was a 20-13 win over the visiting and snowballing Cal Bears.

"All the sophomore jinx stuff, we don't believe in," Harbaugh said. "We have veteran guys. We've been through it. We trust each other. We rely on each other."

Added McNally: "I've never felt this confident in my team and this coaching staff. The trust, the bond is really good. It's something you need to be a top program."

You also need top players. Linebacker Clinton Snyder is one, as Cal fans can attest from last year's Big Game. He said that win, along with the upset of USC, still provide momentum for this year's group, at least in terms of the euphoric feelings Stanford players experienced in them.

"Momentum comes from the feeling you get in the win," Snyder said.

They certainly have enough guys who remember those wins.

"We've got 11 returning starters," McNally said of the Stanford defense. "It doesn't get much better than that."

And what can be better than returning the Axe to that spiffy case? An ensuing bowl game, of course. The first step comes Thursday against the Beavers, who won 23-6 at home last year against Stanford en route to a 9-4 record.

That bowl bid better be alive (with five or six wins already in their pocket) before finishing with this daunting hat trick: at Oregon (Nov. 8), vs. USC (Nov. 15) and at Cal (Nov. 22). Holding serve in the first four home games is huge, and stealing a couple road wins (maybe at TCU or UCLA) would put Stanford over the top.

"Every game counts," Harbaugh said.

Hey, that's Cal's 2008 slogan. Says so on Cal's media guide. Apparently the Axe isn't enough to take from Cal. Nor will it be at this season's end.