By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Cardinal's commitment to excellence worries Tomey
Taking over for 1999 Biletnikoff Award Winner Troy Walters is not an easy job - senior wide receiver DeRonnie Pitts just makes it look that way.
Walters, taken in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings, left Stanford following 1999's Rose Bowl as one of the school's most prolific receivers.
Pitts, though, is on the right track to make his stay at Stanford as legendary as the player he lined up alongside for the past two seasons.
The Cardinal's success this season has gravitated mainly around Pitts both for his leadership on-and-off the field.
Pitts scored twice last weekend in Stanford's upset victory against then-No. 6 Texas.
Stanford will need another big game from their playmaker versus Arizona, which has the 12th ranked scoring defense in the nation Saturday to be successful.
As a junior, Pitts was named Second Team All-Pac-10, finishing the year catching 58 passes for 853 and eight touchdowns.
The fifth-year senior from Saginaw, Mich. ranks first in the Pac-10 in receptions per game (6.67) and touchdowns (four) and has accounted for 40 percent of the Cardinal's receptions in the first three games of the season.
"They might be a little upset because we got them last year," Pitts said of Arizona. "We have to come out and run the ball, then open it up with our passing. Nobody's been able to do that yet and if we can, I think our defense has to stop their run."
The Stanford defense held the Texas Longhorns to just 13 net-yards rushing on 28 carries last week and has been a strong point for the Cardinal early in the season.
The "Trench Dogs," as the Stanford defensive line calls themselves, are led by Outland and Lombardi Award Candidate Willie Howard.
The fifth-year senior from Mountain Hills, Calif. will get the chance to match up this week against Wildcat offensive lineman Marques McFadden.
McFadden will move to left guard on Saturday in order to try to stop Howard and feels the Stanford defensive line is not as good as they are made out to be.
"Really, they aren't really that good," McFadden said. "It's just the way they execute. They do a few cheatful things. They cheat a little bit by grabbing and holding when they are in their stunts. But you got to fight through that, which is part of the game."
UA head coach Dick Tomey might be a little more worried than his starting guard.
"Their defense in the Rose Bowl game (last year) was probably the best defense that Wisconsin played," Tomey said. "I think they did a sensational job, so I think that a kind of a hidden component in all their victories has been their defense. In the Texas game their longest run in the second half was two yards, I have never seen that."
While the defense has remained a constant for the Cardinal throughout the season, the offense - notably redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Lewis - will be under intense scrutiny this weekend at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.
Lewis took over for injured quarterback Randy Fasani in the first quarter against Texas and went on to throw for 12-of-33 for 214 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Fasani will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow on his torn meniscus in his left knee.
Stanford head coach Tyrone Willingham feels that his freshman quarterback from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Calif., brings a new style of play to Stanford.
"I think he brings high school and career experience at the position - he's been a quarterback for some time," Willingham said. "He's worked on the position (and) has an understanding of the position.
"He brings athleticism as being both a standout athlete in football in his high school career and also a volleyball player in his high school career. All those things are key points for him in terms of taking over the reins of our offensive system."
Tomey was visibly impressed with the poise Lewis showed against Texas.
"He was terrific - he comes in the game and they keep right on going and he makes a couple of tremendous throws," Tomey said of the Cardinal's fourth-quarter scoring drive, which was led by Lewis. "We tried to recruit Chris (and) we thought he was the best available quarterback in the country two years ago."
Throughout his six-year reign at "The Farm" in Palo Alto, Calif., Willingham has had great success with his backup quarterbacks.
He feels it is due to the practice system where both starters and backups have the exact same expectations.
Willingham has led Stanford to three bowl berths including a berth in the Rose Bowl last season as Pac-10 Champions and is considered by some to be one of the best-kept secrets in college football.
"He's committed himself to making this one of the top programs," Pitts said. "He's not going to leave until this place is known as a football school."
Willingham knows that for the Cardinal to succeed in 2000, they will need a win this weekend at home versus the Wildcats.
"This year, they're already one of the better teams in the country in terms of rushing defense and scoring defense," Willingham said. "They're probably in the top 13 or lower in both categories. That, to me, says one thing that says you're always (competing) in every football game. If you're always in the game, to me that means you've got a chance to win them. And you'll probably win more than your fair share."
