No more Cardinal 'what-ifs' as they face former coach

STANFORD, Calif. — Rarely did a day go by last season that Stanford's players didn't speak Tyrone Willingham's name.

As in: Would the team be better if Coach had stayed? Surely, he would have known just how to deal with the Cardinal's problems.

Willingham and his former players have moved on by now, but their past ties will be an undercurrent Saturday when Stanford faces the coach's current team, Notre Dame.

"The attention and commitment to this coaching staff has been 180 degrees different. You don't hear the comments, 'If Tyrone was here . . . ' It seemed like every day or every other day," Stanford receiver Luke Powell said. "Going 2-9, you're looking for any answers to why it was happening. That was an easy one, because Notre Dame was doing well."

This weekend's matchup features two 4-6 teams that have seen their share of struggles this season. The Fighting Irish aren't nearly as good as they were last season, Willingham's first, and three of their losses were by at least 30 points.

Still, this game won't be lacking for emotion.

"We want to win just as bad as they do," Notre Dame linebacker Courtney Watson said. "We have the same record. We want to win for Coach just as much as they want to beat him. We have our own reasons for being ready to play the game, and they have theirs."

New Stanford coach Buddy Teevens sensed his players' divided loyalties last season — it was hard not to. But he understood that many had been recruited and coached by Willingham before he left for South Bend.

So Teevens forced himself to block out his players when he had to. There was so much more to be concerned about for the former Florida assistant.

"I changed a lot of things," Teevens said. "It was overwhelming for a lot of guys. I've been through enough transitions, five or six of them. When you lack success in the former regime, it's a lot easier. Older groups have a harder time changing so drastically."

Eventually, the Cardinal bought into Teevens' ways. They forgot Willingham, the man who spent seven seasons on Stanford's sideline as head coach and another three as an assistant.

"I'm sure it was tough on" Teevens, Powell said. "I felt bad for him he had to hear those things. In essence, we didn't really give him a chance to be successful because we were divided as a team."