For several seasons, college football analysts had been singing the praises of Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham. So how ironic it was that Willingham’s ascension to the Notre Dame job was based less on his own resume, and more on what was missing from George O’Leary’s.

A stunning revelation that O’Leary fudged about his academic and playing credentials opened a firestorm of national debate -- and subsequently lured Willingham away from Stanford, where he had built the Cardinal into a West Coast power.

Next on the scene is Buddy Teevens, a coach who combines plenty of football know-how with a stellar academic background. Teevens played quarterback at Dartmouth and later coached the Big Green to consecutive Ivy League titles in 1990 and '91. Between those two stints, he had coached at Maine, leading the program to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 21 years.

The only blight on Teevens’ coaching career is a five-season tenure at Tulane (1992-96) in which the New Orleans school went 11-45. However, Teevens recruited most of the players who guided the Green Wave to a 12-0 mark in 1998.

In his five seasons since being fired at Tulane, Teevens returned to his roots as an offensive coordinator -- spending two years at Illinois and the last three at Florida. Working under offensive mastermind Steve Spurrier, Teevens joined Florida weeks before the 1999 Orange Bowl, beginning a string of four consecutive New Year’s Day Bowls. The Gators ranked first or second in SEC total offense during each of the next three seasons.

Florida was especially explosive last season, with Rex Grossman putting up the kind of numbers that warranted a Heisman Trophy. The Gators suffered upset losses to Auburn and Tennessee, but whipped ACC champ Maryland in the Orange Bowl and wound up ranked in the Top 10.

Across the country on the opposite coast, Stanford was reaching the nine-win plateau for only the 11th time in program history, finishing the season ranked No. 16.

Stanford’s season began with a 38-22 win over subsequent Music City Bowl champion Boston College. Then came a wild 51-28 victory against Arizona State, a game in which 11 players scored touchdowns. The Cardinal earned its first 3-0 start since 1986 with a 21-16 win over Southern Cal, but then came a 45-39 loss to Washington State. Stanford won the possession battle and out-gained WSU 439 yards to 354, but the Cougars scored on a blocked punt and an interception return.

Stanford regrouped for its next game against unbeaten Oregon, pulling off a stunning fourth-quarter comeback in a 49-42 upset that snapped the Ducks’ 23-game home winning streak.

The Cardinal knocked off another unbeaten team a week later, beating No. 4 UCLA, 38-28. A 42-28 loss to Washington ensued, but again Stanford rebounded to rip Arizona, 51-37, in Tucson -- a decision that left Arizona winless in home conference games for the first time in 35 years.

Stanford survived a 35-28 scare against Cal in the Big Game, before defeating Notre Dame, 17-13, and the regular season closed with a 41-14 romp over San Jose State. Then came a 24-14 loss to Georgia Tech in the Seattle Bowl.

Seven starters return from that Stanford offense, basically providing Teevens with a wealth of firepower.

Gone is Randy Fasani, a fifth-year senior who went 11-4 as a starter during his final two seasons. Into his place steps senior Chris Lewis (6-3, 215), who has a better upside than Fasani, but has yet to display the predecessor’s skill as a reliable decision-maker. Lewis was at the control for Stanford’s biggest moment in 2001, the comeback win at Oregon that ultimately kept the Ducks out of the national championship game. Lewis enjoyed other promising performances, including a 20-of-29 outing against UCLA in which he threw for 250 yards and three scores (albeit counterbalanced by three interceptions). He threw four touchdown passes against Cal, hitting on 20-of-38 for 390 yards, but that afternoon was tempered by three interceptions. Perhaps his crispest game of the year came in a win over Arizona when he completed 13-of-23 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns -- and no passes caught by the other team. Lewis finished the season 90-of-163 for 1,277 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Subbing for Fasani in 2000, Lewis started three games, completing only 92-of-204 attempts (45 percent) for eight touchdowns and five picks. But included in that was a three-touchdown game that sparked a come-from-behind victory over No. 5 Texas.

Behind Lewis are junior Ryan Eklund (6-7, 205) and sophomore Kyle Matter (6-3, 195).

Officially, the Cardinal lost its starting tailback in Brian Allen (899 yards rushing, nine touchdowns, 5.2-yard average), but returning senior Kerry Carter (6-2, 235) has split time at the position during the last two seasons and deserves equal credit for the surprising surge in Stanford’s ground attack.

The Cardinal ranked 23rd in the nation in rushing last season and led the Pac-10 at 201 yards per game -- the first time that has happened since the league began keeping records in 1954. Allen finished sixth on Stanford’s career rushing list with 2,211 yards, but Carter -- a former Canadian schoolboy star -- currently stands 11th at 1,515 yards. Assuming Teevens doesn’t abandon the running game for a pass-first scheme, Carter should surpass Allen by season’s end.

A more physical back than Allen (who went to the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round), Carter scored a school record-tying four touchdowns in the stunning upset of Oregon, including the game-winner with 1:12 to play. He is the only player in Stanford history to have scored four touchdowns in a single game twice.

Carter rushed for 472 yards and nine scores in 2001, totals that were diminished by a shoulder injury suffered against Washington, forcing him to miss the final four regular-season games. His 11 catches for 158 yards led Stanford’s running backs.

The top reserve at tailback is sophomore Kenneth Tolon (6-1, 190), who gained 346 yards on 54 carries in his debut season.

At fullback, senior Casey Moore (6-2, 240) has started the last 33 games, rushing for 613 yards -- at 5.9 yards per carry -- and 10 touchdowns.

The entire receiving corps returns, highlighted by Luke Powell (5-8, 170) and Teyo Johnson (6-7, 245). Powell is a small but slippery flanker known for turning short catches into long gainers. Seven of his receptions went for 50 yards or more, including scoring catches of 79, 76 and 75 yards. He ended the year with a team-high 40 catches for 790 yards and seven touchdowns.

Powell had four 100-yard receiving days, led by 158 yards on six receptions against San Jose State. He had 152 yards on five catches against Cal; 143 yards on six catches against Arizona State; and 124 yards on four catches against Southern Cal. In the Seattle Bowl loss to Georgia Tech, Powell recorded 94 yards on five catches.

Johnson was the 2001 Co-Freshman of the Year in the Pac-10 after making 38 catches for 565 yards and seven touchdowns. A starter at forward on the Cardinal basketball team, Johnson arrived at Stanford expecting to play quarterback. But after a red-shirt season he switched to split end, and the results were glowing. He earned fourth-team Freshman All-America honors by The Sporting News. His top game was an eight-catch, 116-yard outing against Arizona, which included two touchdowns.

Like so many of his teammates, Johnson loved Stanford’s new offense.

Fifth-year senior Ryan Wells (6-0, 195) has made 19 starts the last two seasons and gives Stanford another deep threat. He caught 31 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns in 2001, including three catches for more than 50 yards. His touchdown catches of 69 and 46 yards sparked Stanford to a win over Boston College in the season opener.

Stanford isn’t hurting at tight end, where returnee Brett Pierce (6-6, 245) has started 15 games the last two seasons. The junior made 19 catches for 258 yards and three touchdowns in 2001, including a 45-yard catch-and-run against Cal.

The offensive line that paved the way to the conference’s top rushing attack has a couple of holes to fill -- big ones. Gone are All-American left guard Eric Heitmann and second-team All-Pac-10 center Zack Quaccia. Heitmann became a seventh-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers, while Quaccia went 16 picks later to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, all-conference right guard Greg Schindler (6-6, 310) returns, along with tackles Kwame Harris (6-7, 308) and Kirk Chambers (6-7, 295), giving Stanford one of the most experienced and technically sound lines in the West. The trio has combined to start 67 games, and Schindler and Harris were second-team all-conference selections last season.

Schindler is entering his fourth season as a starter, having played two seasons at tackle before moving to guard in 2001. Harris is a junior who signed with Stanford in 1999 and was widely regarded as the nation’s top offensive line recruit. He’s probably one of the few who plays the violin.

The junior Chambers has started all 23 games at left tackle since returning in 2000 from a two-year Mormon mission. He has been reliable, but unable to garner all-league acclaim with the position stocked with talented players. This could be his breakthrough season.

Senior Paul Weinacht (6-5, 300), another veteran player with experience, will move into a full-time role -- most likely the spot vacated by Heitmann. Weinacht has started 10 games the last two seasons.

At center, senior Tom Kolich (6-6, 280) was Quaccia’s backup for two years and is now in position to seize the starting job. He is being pushed by junior Dustin Stimson (6-3, 305) and sophomore Andy Clavin (6-2, 265).

Providing depth at the tackle spots are juniors Edmond O’Neal (6-4, 280) and Mike Sullivan (6-7, 300). Stimson and freshman Brian Head (6-4, 275) are the backups at the guards.

Three-year starter Mike Biselli has graduated, leaving the job to red-shirt freshman Michaal Sgroi (5-11, 195). Biselli’s final season was adequate -- he was 10-of-16 on field goals, but only 8-of-12 from inside of 40. His longest was a 44-yarder against Arizona and he had two kicks blocked. He was 48-of-50 on extra points.

Those numbers certainly aren’t beyond the reach of Sgroi, who came to Stanford from Plymouth, Mich., where he was ranked by Tom Lemming as one of the nation’s top prep place-kickers with a reputation for accuracy and a strong leg.

Teevens hopes that Stanford’s stable of young defensive linemen are ready to shine, considering that the defense loses both ends from a unit that led the Pac-10 against the run (109.6 yards per game). Austin Lee and Marcus Hoover have departed, taking with them 54 tackles and nine stops for loss.

Sophomore Amon Gordon (6-3, 267) and junior Louis Hobson (6-3, 250) are the likely replacements. Gordon rotated between end and linebacker as a red-shirt freshman, making 15 tackles and two sacks. He also blocked a punt in the upset of Oregon. He received a medical red-shirt in 2000 after sustaining a shoulder injury.

The Toronto native Hobson made 13 tackles and two sacks at rush end, playing in 12 games behind Hoover. Hobson also made interceptions against UCLA and San Jose State. Whereas the defensive ends are questions, the Cardinal looks solid at the tackles, where senior Matt Leonard (6-4, 290) and nose guard Craig Albrecht (6-4, 290) provide an experienced nucleus. Leonard’s 16 tackles a year ago included 4.5 sacks, but those numbers would have been better if not for a mid-season back injury that kept him out of four games. Albrecht transferred from Northwestern in 1999 and has developed into a hard-nosed contributor. He made 22 tackles in 2001, including five for loss, while starting six games.

Albrecht has a trusty sidekick at the nose tackle in fifth-year senior Trey Freeman (6-3, 295), who started five games but was hampered by an ankle injury. Freeman’s play improved dramatically last fall after he dropped 30 pounds. He wound up with 30 tackles.

Stanford will be hard pressed to replace inside linebacker Coy Wire, who was chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the third round. But that’s only part of the problem, considering that outside linebackers Matt Friedrichs and Anthony Gabriel are gone as well.

Wire was an All-Pac-10 standout whose 92 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks were all team-highs. Wire also broke up two passes and returned a fumble 89 yards for a score against Arizona.

Friedrichs was third on the Cardinal with 56 tackles, including 7.5 behind the line, while Gabriel made 30 tackles, 6.5 of which were for loss.

As co-defensive coordinator Tom Williams reconstructs this unit virtually from scratch, he will turn to junior Brian Gaffney inside. A two-time letterman, Gaffney (6-2, 233) played in all 12 games as a backup last season, making 11 tackles. Beyond that he has been primarily a special teamer, although there is reason to believe he will show some of the ball-hawking ability he used to record 202 tackles as prep senior in Phoenix.

Behind Gaffney are junior Jake Covault (6-3, 240) and sophomores Jared Newberry (6-3, 235) and Pat Jacobs (6-2, 236). Covault made five tackles in 2001, while Newberry was a seldom-used fullback (although he scored on a 19-yard run against Arizona State).

At one outside spot, freshman Michael Craven (6-1, 220) will be given a long look as a starter, as will fellow freshman Jon Alston (6-1, 205) and junior Brian Brant (6-3, 230) The leading contenders on the opposite side are sophomore David Bergeron (6-4, 235), freshman Capp Culver (6-2, 215) and 25-year-old senior Scott Giles (6-4, 225), another former Mormon missionary

Co-defensive coordinator Mark Banker has a large task ahead in getting the secondary up to specs. Three full-time starters and one part-timer have graduated.

The player Stanford will miss most is All-America free safety Tank Williams, who became a second-round selection by the Tennessee Titans. Williams was the team’s second-leading tackler with 69 stops and its interception leader with five.

Supplanting him is senior Colin Branch (6-0, 205), who started five games at strong safety in 2001. Branch made 23 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups in his limited role. He will be backed up by senior Jason White (6-0, 188) and freshman Timi Wusu (6-3, 185). White hasn’t approached the level of play that his big brother Terry did in becoming an All-Big 12 safety at Oklahoma in 1997 and '98.

At strong safety, the hole left by Simba Hodari should be plugged by sophomore O.J. Atogwe (5-11, 190), although freshman Kevin Schimmelmann (6-3, 215) and junior Jim Johnson (5-10, 185) are in the running. Atogwe played in all 12 games last season, primarily on special teams, making four tackles.

But the critical positions are the cornerbacks, who must play well for Stanford’s new defensive scheme to prosper.

Last year’s starters -- Ruben Carter and Ryan Fernandez - combined for 103 tackles, 23 breakups and three interceptions. But several reserves saw extensive playing time. Sophomores Stanley Wilson (6-1, 182) and Leigh Torrence (6-0, 177) finished spring practice as the leaders. Wilson made one interception last season, while Torrence had 10 tackles. The other cornerbacks in the mix are senior Garry Cobb (5-11, 180), freshman Calvin Armstrong (6-1, 190) and senior Chijioke Asomugha (5-11, 190).

Eric Johnson (5-11, 175) averaged 38.1 yards per punt in 2001, ranking him next-to-last in the Pac-10. Likewise, Stanford was at the bottom in net punting with a 28-yard average.

Brian Allen was an All-Pac-10 kick returner whose 26.6-yard average was 18th nationally, so his contribution will be hard to replace.

However, punt returns shouldn’t be a problem. Powell was voted a first-team All-America punt returner by the Football Writers Association of America. His return average of 16.0 yards led the conference and ranked second in the country.

Teevens put the stamp on a class that included six offensive linemen -- four of those prep All-Americans. David Beall (6-5, 300) of Vancouver, Wash., was rated the seventh-best offensive line prospect in the nation by SuperPrep, while Jon Cochran (6-6, 290) of West Des Moines, Iowa, was ranked the No. 2 lineman in the Midwest by Prep Star.

Jeff Edwards (6-7, 265) of Atlanta earned Prep Star All-American honors as a three-year starter in Georgia’s largest high school classification. Josiah Vinson (6-4, 310) of Irving, Texas, was rated by Tom Lemming as the No. 12 offensive line recruit in the nation and did not allow a sack during his final two high school seasons.

The other offensive line signees aren’t exactly slouches. Matt McClernan (6-6, 260) of Norcross, Ga., moved from tight end to tackle and was selected to SuperPrep’s All-Dixie team. Ismail Simpson (6-5, 300) was among the top 10 players in Oklahoma.

Stanford signed four defensive backs, highlighted by Marcus McCutcheon (6-0, 180) of Huntington Beach, Calif., the son of former Rams star Lawrence McCutcheon. PrepStar tabbed him the No. 6 defensive back in the nation.

Quarterback David Lofton (6-4, 200) of Plano, Texas, is the son of former Packers receiver James Lofton. He spent just one season under center, producing 17 touchdowns and more than 2,000 yards of total offense.

The brainiacs at Stanford will need every IQ point they can muster just to calculate the scoreboard math this season. The Cardinal offense should score at will, but the defense may be the weakest in the conference.

After a successful stint under Willingham, how this team responds to Teevens is anyone’s guess, but matching last season’s nine wins is a long shot.

Stanford will be a rarity this fall, playing only 11 regular-season games while most teams opted to add a 12th. The Cardinal also plays six road games, including trips to Boston College and Notre Dame.