It's official: Stanford head coach Buddy Teevens is on the hot seat.
After stumbling through back-to-back losing seasons, Stanford is 4-4 in Teevens' third year at the helm and sits alone in seventh place in the Pac-10. Stanford has dropped four of its last six games since Sept. 25, when it suffered a 31-28 setback against No. 1 USC.
With three games left, including Saturday's trip to No. 23 ASU, Stanford (4-4, 2-3 Pac-10) needs two wins to be bowl eligible. That doesn't leave the Cardinal with much room for error. Next week's game against Oregon State will be a toss up, and Stanford will be heavy underdogs in the Nov. 20 season finale at No. 4 California.
Despite heavy speculation about his future, Teevens remains steadfast in his mission to turn Stanford into a winner.
"We're closer to where I'd like us to be," said Teevens, who is 10-20 in two-plus seasons at Stanford.
To Teevens' defense, Stanford is starting eight underclassmen, including four sophomore offensive linemen. Quarterback Trent Edwards, who has thrown eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, is a sophomore, and two of Edwards' top three receivers -- flanker Evan Moore and wide receiver Mark Bradford -- also are sophomores.
For Teevens, progress is measured by more than wins and losses.
"The physical toughness is something I believe strongly in, and our team is playing much more physical," said Teevens, who replaced Tyrone Willingham, now at Notre Dame, after the 2001 season. "What I have seen is a commitment and an embracing of what we're doing and how we're doing it. A big portion of it has been leadership. I've seen it to a greater degree with our current senior class, and I believe we've got leaders in the younger classes as well, which is important in terms of continuity over time."
Small recruiting classes have kept Stanford from generating the depth of its Pac-10 counterparts. Over the last three years, 53 players have signed national letters of intent with Stanford. By comparison, ASU has signed 74 players during that span, including 44 the last two years alone.
"It is a unique situation," said Teevens, whose 2004 recruiting class featured just 12 players. "You have to be very exact on the people you offer because the young men that come in value a Stanford education, and they will graduate. They're not going to flunk out of school.
"We have young guys on the team that were not recruited by anybody else, but they have the ability, and they will develop into NFL-caliber players. You have to really do your homework [in recruiting]."
Teevens discounts the notion that Stanford's players aren't capable of excelling in school and positioning themselves for the NFL.
"Football is important to my guys," Teevens said. "Sometimes people would have you believe that you choose a school like Stanford for academics as opposed to football. I want guys to choose it because they can reach their dreams of an NFL opportunity without compromising themselves academically."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
