Stanford Cardinal
2001 record: 9-3 (6-2)
Coach: Buddy Teevens (13th season, 44-69-1; at Stanford, 1st season)
Starters returning: 7 offense, 3 defense, 1 specialist

Outlook: One thing we can be sure of with Stanford: always bet the over. The Cardinal will have a ton of offense, but their defense figures to be no more imposing than the French army.

New head coach Buddy Teevens, a former quarterback at Dartmouth, takes over for Tyrone Willingham, now at Notre Dame. Teevens is hailed as Steve Spurrier's former offensive coordinator at Florida, but that's a bit like being Tiger Woods' caddy.

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Excluding two holes on the line -- spots that will be filled by experienced players -- the top offense in the Pac-10 returns essentially intact. Quarterback Chris Lewis threw as many passes last season as "starter" Randy Fasani, while 235-pound Kerry Carter alternated the past two seasons at tailback with the departed Brian Allen.

Lewis needs to avoid critical mistakes. He completed 55 percent of his passes last year, but one out of every 11 completions ended up in opposing hands.

The receiving corps is outstanding, headlined by hulking 6-foot-7 Teyo Johnson and elusive 5-8 Luke Powell. Stanford welcomes back its top six pass catchers from a year ago.

Then there's the defense, where co-defensive coordinators, Tom Williams and Mark Banker, will make due with only three returning starters from a unit that was mediocre in 2001. Things figure to be OK up front, but the linebackers and defensive backs are particularly suspect.

The Cardinal opted to play only 11 games, and six of those will be on the road. The good news is they miss nemesis Washington.

Stanford tends to be good every other year. Considering the players must digest new offensive and defensive schemes, this appears a candidate for a down year.

Key game: Stanford pays a visit to Notre Dame and Willingham on Oct. 5. It's key because it's darn interesting.

Keep an eye on: Freshman outside linebacker Michael Craven and sophomore defensive end Amon Gordon. The Cardinal defense will need young players to step up and these guys are prime candidates.

It's a good year if . . . A potentially dominant offense pairs with a surprisingly adequate defense to produce another bowl team.

Ted Miller covers the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.