In recognizing the 125th season of Stanford football and the 150th year of college football, GoStanford.com is celebrating and highlighting Stanford's football history with a season-long series by decade.
Stanford 125: The 1990s
Games of the Decade:
Oct. 6, 1990: Stanford 36, Notre Dame 31
The day before Stanford was to face No. 1 Notre Dame, Cardinal coach Dennis Green told the bus driver to take the team on a 'victory lap' around Notre Dame Stadium. It was bold, but Green wanted his team to visualize winning.
As the bus circled hallowed Notre Dame Stadium, Green uttered, "Move over, here comes the goddam Stanford Cardinal."
Stanford, a 17-point underdog, was 1-3 and hadn't won on the road in its past 12 tries. Still, Stanford handed the Irish its first home loss in five seasons and did it by overcoming a 24-7 deficit.
A fumbled snap and blocked punt reflected the nerves that afflicted Stanford early, but the team regrouped and its confidence grew as quarterback Jason Palumbis made key throws to Ed McCaffrey, Jon Pinckney, and Cory Booker.
"We realized, what are we afraid of?" Palumbis said. "What's holding us back? We can beat these guys."
Notre Dame muffed three punts, all recovered by Stanford, with two leading to touchdowns. Tommy Vardell finished nearly every second-half possession with a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Cardinal defense stiffened, with Seyon Albert stopping Notre Dame QB Rick Mirer on a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter. Linebacker Dave Garnett had 12 tackles, four for losses, including a third-down sack.
Trailing 31-28, Stanford faced fourth-and-2 at the Notre Dame 38 with 3:27 left. Palumbis called a keeper up the middle and dived for the first down, keeping the drive alive. With the ball at the 1, Vardell, leaped over the top and was upended, but landed on his back in the end zone to give the Cardinal its first lead, with 36 seconds left. It was his fourth touchdown of the game, and 11th in five games that season.
"We call No. 44 'Touchdown Tommy,'" Green said. "We know he's going to get the ball, everybody knows he's going to get the ball, and we want you to stop him."
Though mere seconds remained, Notre Dame drove quickly, reaching Stanford's 23 with six seconds left. On the game's final play, Mirer spotted tight end Derek Brown and delivered a pass that reached Brown's hands in the end zone.
The drama played out on Brian Webber's KZSU radio call: "AND THE BALL IS … DROPPED!"
Brown clutched his head in his hands while Stanford's players celebrated around him.
"My mind stopped for a moment," defensive back Kevin Scott said. "And then it hit me that we had just beat them."
Rhodes Scholar, U.S. Senator, and current presidential candidate Booker, playing for injured tight end Turner Baur, made four catches in his biggest performance of his Stanford career. McCaffrey had six catches for 111 yards, and Palumbis completed 26 of 34 passes to eight different receivers for 256 yards.
"This is not only beating the No. 1 team, but beating Notre Dame as the No. 1 team at Notre Dame," Green said.
A Stanford Daily editorial reflected the shock of Stanford's victory over the Irish and the program's first over an A.P. No. 1-ranked team: We beat Notre Dame. We beat Notre Dame. We beat Notre Dame.
"We just had to believe it was going to happen," Palumbis said. "We wanted to come in here today and shock the world and that's what we did."
Highlights
Tight end Cory Booker, shown here against USC, had four catches against Notre Dame.Peninsula Times Tribune photo.
Nov. 17, 1990: Stanford 27, California 25
Eight years after "The Play," the infamous and controversial multi-lateral kickoff return through the Stanford band that gave Cal the 1982 Big Game victory, Stanford won in dramatic fashion on "The Revenge of The Play."
Wrote the Stanford Daily's Debbie Spander: In what may have been the craziest, most improbable, most dramatic Big Game ever, Stanford pulled out an unbelievable 27-25 win as the clock hit :00.
Stanford trailed 17-3 in the first half and was down 25-18 with less than two minutes left before driving downfield on 13 plays -- mostly on passes to Chris Walsh and Glyn Milburn, and Milburn's runs. Milburn's 379 all-purpose yards set a conference record and 196 of those were on the ground.
From the 19, Palumbis hit McCaffrey in the corner with 17 seconds left to draw Stanford within, 25-24. Green ordered a two-point conversion for the victory and Palumbis passed toward McCaffrey again, but the Bears' John Hardy left his man to step in front of the ball and pick it off, igniting a wild Cal celebration. Fans jumped the low Memorial Stadium retaining wall and flooded the field.
Cal fans discovered their "victory" celebration to be foolishly premature, wrote the Stanford Daily.
"Everyone clear the field," the public-address announcer said. "The game is not over."
Twelve seconds remained, and Cal was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because of the crowd.
Kicking off from the 50, John Hopkins struck a squib that bounced off the leg of a Cal player and through the hands of Cal running back Russell White. Stanford's Kevin Scott pounced on the loose ball as players from both teams piled on top. Stanford had possession on the Cal 37 with nine seconds left.
As the Stanford offense returned to the field, Hopkins grabbed a ball to warm up for a possible field-goal attempt, only to discover that the sideline kicking net had been removed. Hopkins warmed up by kicking footballs into the stands.
Palumbis looked for McCaffrey again, but the receiver was covered and threw the ball out of bounds. But wait … Cal nailed Palumbis from behind after the throw, earning a penalty for roughing the passer. Fifteen more yards placed the ball at the Cal 22 with five seconds to go.
Hopkins, adequately warmed up, booted the ball through the uprights from 39 yards as time expired. Now, it was Stanford's turn to celebrate.
"They got theirs in '82," Milburn said. "And now we got ours."
Ed McCaffrey catches a TD pass with 17 seconds left to draw Stanford within one. Photo by David Madison/Getty Images.
Sept. 25, 1999: Stanford 42, UCLA 32
The words "Rose Bowl" rarely had reason to be spoken over the previous 28 years, but after Stanford's 42-32 victory over two-time defending Pac-10 champion UCLA, Stanford fans dared say them again. In only the fourth game of the season, Stanford already beat two of the expected contenders, Arizona and the Bruins, and was 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1971.
It wasn't just that Stanford could begin to think about the Rose Bowl, it was the manner of the victory that will be remembered, particularly the performances of two players – Troy Walters and Joe Borchard.
Starting quarterback Todd Husak bruised his ribs early in the second quarter and did not return. Borchard, a sophomore two-sport athlete who would play six big-league seasons as an outfielder, replaced him. On his first play, Borchard unleashed a deep pass toward Walters. The ball was slightly underthrown, but Walters adjusted. Against tight coverage, Walters tipped the ball as he was falling and gathered it in just before hitting the ground for a 50-yard gain.
Walters hauled in nine passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Early in the third quarter, Borchard found Walters on a deep slant. The receiver beat single coverage to make the catch at the 50 and sprinted the rest of the way for 98 yards – the longest touchdown reception in conference history.
"When you see Troy Walters lined up out there on someone, you think you want to get him the ball, and that's about all there is to it," Borchard said.
The score put Stanford up 28-3, but the thrill was short-lived. The Bruins returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to begin a rally that cut the deficit to 35-32.
With four minutes left, Stanford faced a third-and-5 at its own 15 yard line. The play was pivotal, because a Stanford failure would add fuel to the UCLA comeback. Borchard called his own number, and ran for 56 yards. That set up the clinching score, a 12-yard pass to DeRonnie Pitts.
Borchard completed 15 of 19 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He started the following week, in a loss to San Jose State and Husak returned to lead the Cardinal to its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1972.
Riall Johnson, Stanford's career sacks leader, celebrates in the 1999 victory over UCLA. Photo by David Gonzales/Stanford Athletics.
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Notable Coaches:
Bill Walsh (1977-78, '92-94)
Bill Walsh's third stint at Stanford – including as an assistant coach in 1963-66 and head coach in 1977-78 – was a sign of his dedication and passion for the school.
After coaching the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships during a Hall of Fame career, Walsh returned as Stanford's head coach in 1992.
Lowell Cohn, author of the 1994 book Rough Magic: Bill Walsh's Return to Stanford Football, compared the press conference in Burnham Pavilion to a coronation of the blue-eyed, white-haired Walsh, who was cheered by 600 people—fans, alumni and staff—and more than six dozen reporters from around the country.
"Walsh walked past them, got up to speak on a makeshift platform and, quoting Joseph Campbell, said, 'This is my bliss,'" Cohn wrote. "His face glowed. He was in his element. He had come home."
Walsh coached the Cardinal to a Pac-10 co-title in 1992 and a Blockbuster Bowl victory over Penn State. He had a 17-17-1 record in three years, but suffered two consecutive losing seasons and retired from coaching.
Walsh's Stanford ties were important to him. In 2002, Walsh began teaching a course on sports business management with professor George Foster at the Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Walsh, Foster and former Stanford wide receiver Gene Washington combined to create the annual NFL-Stanford Executive Education Program, designed to develop and deepen the core business skills of league executives.
Walsh rejoined Stanford Athletics in 2004 as special assistant to the athletic director, a position he held until his death in 2007 and served as interim athletics director. One of the greatest coaches in history will forever be linked to the Stanford community.
Bill Walsh, against USC in 1992. Photo by David Madison/Getty Images.
Tyrone Willingham (1995-2001)
Bill Walsh was instrumental in creating the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program, which began in 1987. Tyrone Willingham had served as an assistant at several college programs when he interned with the 49ers the first year of the program. That's where he met Dennis Green. The two bonded over morning racquetball games and, when Green took over the Stanford program in 1989, he brought Willingham aboard.
They coached together for six years, including three while Willingham served on Green's staff as running back coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
When Walsh resigned, Willingham took over. In seven seasons, he led the Cardinal to a 44–36–1 record, four bowl appearances, four winning records, and was undefeated in the Big Game. In 2000, Willingham has honored with the Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award, as "an outstanding college football coach and role model for career achievement."
Stanford earned its first outright conference title and Rose Bowl appearance in 28 years under Willingham in 1999.
Tyrone Willingham leads the Cardinal onto the field at the Rose Bowl. Photo by David Gonzales/Stanford Athletics.
Dennis Green (1989-91)
Dennis Green's 16-18 record masked Stanford's advancement as a program. From his first to third seasons, Stanford improved from 3-8 to 8-4, finishing second in the Pac-10 in 1991 and reaching the Aloha Bowl. As Stanford's head coach, Green coached such notable individuals as David Shaw, Cory Booker, Ed McCaffrey, John Lynch, Glyn Milburn, Steve Stenstrom, Tommy Vardell, and Bob Whitfield before moving on to the NFL.
"At Stanford, Coach Green created an environment of toughness, confidence and competitiveness that I was blessed to be a part of as a student-athlete," said Shaw, Stanford's Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, upon Green's death in 2016.
When Green became the first African American head football coach in Stanford and Pac-12 history, he changed the culture of the program, employing a smash-mouth, hard-nosed style while convincing players they could be smart and tough at the same time. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Stanford employs the same attributes under Shaw, who played two seasons as receiver under Green.
Green assembled a staff that included future NFL and major-college head coaches Brian Billick, Ron Turner and Tyrone Willingham.
"He changed my coaching career about how to structure a program, how to communicate in a program, and the determination needed to build a program," Willingham said. "With his connections with Bill Walsh and all of the ideologies they possessed and understood about the game of football, it changed my entire coaching career."
Green's first victory was an 18-17 win over Oregon, on John Hopkins' 37-yard field goal with no time left. Under Green, Stanford went undefeated against Cal, beat USC for the first time in 16 years, and pulled off a stunning 36-31 road victory over undefeated and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in 1990.
Green would go on to lead the Vikings into two NFC Championship games during his 13 years as an NFL head coach, but at Stanford, he was known for proving that a school with a great academic reputation could win in the modern age of college football.
"I don't think there is any question about it," Willingham said in 2016. "Denny was the one, in my opinion, that turned the Stanford program around. Outside of Bill Walsh and John Ralston, it had hit-and-miss success. Denny started a climb in the program that started building slowly on the right foundation. His philosophy that 'intelligence matters, no matter where you are,' was one of the key things, along with the physicality of playing the game of football, that brought Stanford back and set the groundwork for what David is doing today."
Dennis Green in 1991. Photo by David Madison/Getty Images.
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Prominent Players:
Steve Stenstrom (1991-94)
Steve Stenstrom had a poster of Joe Montana above his dorm room bed. Bill Walsh coached Joe Montana to three Super Bowl titles. Together, Stenstrom and Walsh formed a record-setting tandem in three seasons together at Stanford.
Stenstrom arrived at Stanford as the No. 3 quarterback, behind Jason Palumbis and John Lynch. When Lynch moved to defense and Palumbis was injured, Stenstrom took over and didn't let go, starting all four years and leading the Cardinal to two bowl games.
Stenstrom became Stanford's all-time passing yardage leader, a distinction he continues to hold. And it isn't even close. Stenstrom passed for 10,911 yards, perfecting Stanford's version of the West Coast Offense. His 3,627 passing yards in 1993 – in 11 games – also is the most in Stanford history.
Stenstrom broke 11 school and seven conference records while at Stanford. He was first in Stanford and Pac-10 history in career passing yards when he graduated, and seventh on the NCAA's all-time passing list.
Steve Stenstrom in the 1993 Big Game. Photo by David Madison.
Troy Walters (1996-99)
One newspaper article said the 5-foot-6 1/2 Troy Walters "looks more like a jockey than he does a football player."
Army and Sam Houston State were the only programs besides Stanford to offer him a scholarship. Tulsa was interested, but waited to see if a higher-priority receiver committed. Walters said he would have taken the scholarship if the Golden Hurricane offered.
Stanford was interested because coach Tyrone Willingham knew Troy after having coached with Walters' father Trent with the Minnesota Vikings.
"Everybody was afraid of my size," Walters said to the Tacoma News-Herald in 1999. "And I was not the fastest guy coming out of high school either. I knew that people didn't think I could make it and that helped motivate me to come out here and work harder to prove people wrong."
Opponents quickly learned to underestimate Walters at their peril.
At UCLA in 1986, quarterback Chad Hutchinson was throwing the ball out of bounds, when Walters leaped high to catch the ball with his fingertips over a defender. He landed in bounds and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.
The Biletnikoff Award is presented to the nation's most outstanding receiver and Walters earned it in 1999. A game-changer in every respect, Walters holds nearly every Stanford receiving record.
A sampling: career records in receptions (248) and receiving yards (4,047), season records for receptions (86, 1997) and yards (1,508, 1999), receiving yards in a game (278, vs. UCLA in 1999), most 100-yard receiving games in a career (19) and season (7), and longest reception (98 yards).
While at Stanford, Walters spoke at San Quentin, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, and high schools.
"I tell my story," Walters said to the San Jose Mercury News in 1999. "I tell people, look at me. Even though I play college football, I'm not the biggest or strongest. I tell people to work hard and it pays off."
After an eight-year NFL playing career, Walters began coaching. He is the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Nebraska. In the same positions, also under Scott Frost, in 2017 at UCF, Walters was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach.
Troy Walters in the 1999 Big Game victory that clinched a Rose Bowl berth. Photo by David Gonzales/Stanford Athletics.
Bob Whitfield (1989-91)
At 6-7, 300 pounds, offensive left tackle Bob Whitfield was surprisingly light on his feet.
Whitfield started every game of his collegiate career – 34 starts in three years – before leaving for the NFL a year early. He was a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons (eighth overall) and played 15 seasons in the NFL.
Whitfield described himself as "a big clumsy kid," until he started to play football in high school and took up break dancing. At Stanford, he was a jokester and a leader.
Now, Whitfield is the founder and CEO. of Patchwerks, Inc., which operated PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. Offering recording, production, mixing and mastering services, the studio has recorded or mixed more than 500 gold and platinum albums.
Whitfield returned to Stanford in 2012 and finished work on a degree in economics. He received his diploma with his kids present, including son Kodi, who played wide receiver and safety at Stanford from 2012-15.
Bob Whitfield, vs. Colorado in 1991. Photo by Getty Images.
* * *
Best Teams:
1992 (10-3)
Bill Walsh's return was everything anyone could have expected. Stanford went 10-3, won a share of its first conference championship in 21 years, and beat traditional power Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl, 24-3, in Miami.
Stanford, led by first-team All-Pac-10 outside linebacker Ron George, held the Nittany Lions to only 82 second-half yards while extending a 14-3 lead. Senior cornerback Darrien Gordon shut down Penn State star wideout O.J. McDuffie, recorded seven tackles and broke up six passes.
Steve Stenstrom completed 17 of 29 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
Glyn Milburn runs for yardage in a 23-9 victory over No. 11 USC in 1992. Photo by David Madison.
1999 (8-4)
The season began with a 69-17 loss at Texas. It was the most points Stanford allowed in a game in 55 years. But by the end of the regular season, Stanford players were raising roses to the sky.
When Casey Moore rumbled 94 yards for a touchdown in the Big Game to break open a 31-13 victory over Cal, Stanford essentially clinched its first Rose Bowl appearance in 28 years.
Stanford went 7-1 in the Pac-10 under coach Tyrone Willingham and 8-4 overall. Only a 17-9 loss to Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl dampened the enthusiasm of the season.
Willie Howard was the emotional leader of 'The Trench Dogs,' the Cardinal interior linemen. Riall Johnson was another front-line defensive star.
In conference play, Stanford downed No. 19 Arizona, 50-22, two-time defending Pac-10 champ UCLA, 42-32, USC 35-31, and also earned a 40-37 victory over Notre Dame.
Willie Howard celebrates the 1999 Big Game victory that clinched a Rose Bowl berth. Photo by David Gonzales/Stanford Athletics.
1991 (8-4)
Coming off four consecutive losing seasons, Stanford showed signs of life under Dennis Green, going 8-4 and earning its first bowl appearance in five years.
Overcoming a 1-3 start, the "Now Boys" reached the Aloha Bowl (an 18-17 loss to Georgia Tech in Honolulu). The season's high point, however, was a 38-21 thrashing of Cal at Stanford Stadium.
California came into Stanford Stadium on Saturday full of rhetoric, wrote T.C. Hall of the Stanford Daily. The Bears were the sixth-ranked team in the country. They were going to embarrass the Cardinal and bring the Axe back to Berkeley. They even bought little ax necklaces as motivation.
Cal can keep the jewelry. Stanford is happy to have the real thing.
Stanford beat USC for the first time in 16 years and earned victories over Top-25 teams Colorado, UCLA, and Washington State. The Big Game victory was the exclamation point.
'Touchdown' Tommy Vardell, covered with a blend of blood and grass stains, had a Big Game-record 39 carries for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Vardell would finish with school season records for rushing yards (1,188) and touchdowns (22).
Tommy Vardell on one of his 39 carries in the 1991 Big Game. Photo by David Madison.
* * *
Key Moments:
'Bus' Crash (Oct. 3, 1992)
In 1992, John Lynch still was regarded as an erstwhile quarterback with a future in baseball. However, one game and one hit changed that thinking and Lynch grew to regard that game as perhaps the greatest he played and certainly the most significant.
Lynch arrived at Stanford in 1989 as a blue-chip QB recruit from Torrey Pines High in San Diego. But, three years later, he still was unable to win a starting job. When he failed to beat out Jason Palumbis during 1991 fall camp, Lynch requested a switch to safety.
"I thought about quitting football," Lynch said in 2009. "It was really just frustration. Baseball was going well, but I wasn't really giving either sport my full concentration. I thought of maybe transferring. Instead I just wandered into Denny Green's office and said, 'Just put me on the field.'"
Lynch started the season opener at free safety, but after two games, he was replaced. Again, Lynch questioned his commitment to football, especially after being a second-round draft pick of baseball's Florida Marlins and playing a season in the minors. If he committed to baseball, the Marlins promised him a lucrative deal.
Bill Walsh, named Stanford coach in 1992, called Lynch into his office.
"Listen, I understand you have a heck of an opportunity with the Marlins," he said. "But I think you could be a Pro Bowl safety."
You've got to be kidding, Lynch thought to himself. He was barely playing.
"With all due respect …. " Lynch began to say.
About then, Walsh popped in a videotape of Lynch making a play. It was followed by footage of 49ers All-Pro Ronnie Lott making a similar play. Another of Lynch was followed by another of Lott, and so on.
For the first time, Lynch caught a vision of his own football potential.
Against Notre Dame, Stanford fell behind 16-0. But on the first play of the second half, Lynch changed the game.
Notre Dame sent its battering ram of a fullback, 250-pound Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, in a carry off tackle. Lynch met him with full force.
The hit was so hard that Bettis' helmet and the football went flying. Stanford recovered at the Irish 22-yard line and scored three plays later. And the comeback was on.
"I don't know if that ever happened to him before," Lynch said. "With a big back like Bettis, everyone goes low. I think I kind of surprised him."
The nationally-televised collision got Stanford back in the game and was big for Lynch too. He had nine tackles and an end-zone interception of a Rick Mirer pass that would have given Notre Dame the lead.
"Until you do it on a big stage, you don't really know how you're going to react in those situations," Lynch said. "After that game, I really felt I could play at a high level. It ignited my passion for the NFL. I knew then, in my mind, that I really wanted to play in the NFL."
Lynch would play 15 seasons in the NFL, make nine Pro Bowls, and win a Super Bowl. Now, he is the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, engineering that franchise's resurgence. And it all began with one hit.
John Lynch vs. San Jose State in 1992. Photo by David Madison.
Two-Sport Standout (Dec. 31, 1996)
In the most lopsided bowl game victory in school history, Stanford routed Michigan State, 38-0, behind the play of a quarterback with unique athletic talents.
Chad Hutchinson completed the 22 of 28 passes for 226 yards and was named as the game's Offensive MVP. Hutchinson was a two-year starter at Stanford and a baseball standout. While many players in Stanford football history – John Elway, John Lynch, Tyler Gaffney – played pro baseball, only two have ever reached the highest level in football and baseball.
Ernie Nevers is one. Chad Hutchinson is the other.
Hutchinson started nine games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2002 and five games for the Chicago Bears in 2004, during a three-year NFL career. In baseball, he pitched in three games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001.
As for that Sun Bowl game, Stanford earned its first shutout in 22 years and scored on offense, defense, and special teams. Also of significance is this was the only time Stanford has played against a Nick Saban-coached team. Stanford 1, Saban 0.
However, the fine print says that Saban was a defensive backs coach for Ohio State in 1981 when the visiting Buckeyes beat Stanford, 24-19.
Chad Hutchinson vs. Utah in 1996. Photo by David Madison.
* * *
After the kicking net was inadvertently removed, John Hopkins warms up for his winning kick in the 1990 Big Game by kicking footballs into the stands. Watching is freshman receiver David Shaw (No. 84). Photo by David Madison.
Lead photo: Troy Walters in 1999. Photo by David Gonzales/Stanford Athletics.
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Previous Stanford 125 stories:
1890s
1900s and 1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s