Aug. 27, 2007

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2007 STANFORD FOOTBALL
Game #1 - No. 14 UCLA (0-0, 0-0) at Stanford (0-0, 0-0) September 1, Stanford Stadium
Stanford, CA, 12:30 pm, PT Fox Sports Net

GAME INFORMATION
Date: September 1, 2007
Kickoff: 12:30 pm
Site: Stanford, CA
TV: Live, Fox Sports Net (Matt Devlin, Warren Moon, Michael Eaves)
Radio: KNBR, 1050 am (Tim Roye, Bob Murphy, Mike McLaughlin)
Campus Radio: KZSU, 90.1 fm
Internet: gostanford.com (live audio, gametracker)
The Series: UCLA leads 43-31-3
Last Meeting: at UCLA 31, Stanford 0 (9/30/06)
Series Notes: UCLA has won last three
Last Stanford Win: at Stanford 21, UCLA 14 (11/3/03)

••••••••••••••••••••

Game Reset: Stanford opens its 113th season of intercollegiate football when it plays host to UCLA on Saturday, September 1, at Stanford Stadium ... The game will be televised live to a national audience on Fox Sports Net ... Stanford is coming off an 1-11 season in 2006 while the Bruins went 7-6 and advanced to the Emerald Bowl ... UCLA returns a Pac-10 leading 21 starters, including 10 on offense and 10 on defense, from a team that ranked second in the conference in total defense ... The Bruins are ranked No. 14 in the AP preseason poll and No. 17 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll ... Stanford returns 17 starters and 53 letterwinners from last year's team ... The game will mark the debut of Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh, a 15-year NFL veteran and, most recently, the head coach at the University of San Diego from 2004-06 ... Harbaugh, who attended Palo Alto High School, was named the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football at Stanford on December 19, 2006

Head Coach Jim Harbaugh: A 15-year NFL veteran and owner of an impressive 29-6 record at the University of San Diego, Jim Harbaugh was named Stanford's head coach shortly after the conclusion of the 2006 season ... Harbaugh spent the last three seasons (2004-06) as the head coach at USD, leading the Toreros to Division I-AA Mid-Major national titles each of the past two campaigns ... His 29-6 (.829) at San Diego included 11-1 campaigns each of the past two years, a school record 18-game win streak and two Pioneer Football League championships ... Harbaugh starred at Palo Alto High School as one of the top prep quarterbacks in the nation, then enjoyed a storied collegiate career at the University of Michigan (1983-86), leading the Wolverines to three bowl games while being named Big Ten Player of the Year in his final season in 1986 ... As a professional, Harbaugh finished his career among the Top 50 all-time in several passing categories and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1995 ... He played for five teams over 15 seasons (1987-2001) as a quarterback in the National Football League after entering the NFL as a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987 ... After seven seasons in Chicago (1987-93), Harbaugh played for the Indianapolis Colts for four years (1994-97) before playing one year with the Baltimore Ravens (1998), two seasons with the San Diego Chargers (1999-2000) and his final campaign with the Carolina Panthers (2001) ... In his brief coaching career, Harbaugh has been a part of one Super Bowl team (Oakland Raiders, 2002) and guided his USD teams to two national championships ... Harbaugh's dad, Jack, was Stanford's defensive coordinator in 1980 and '81.

Season Openers: Stanford begins the season with a Pac-10 game for the second straight year, but it is the first Pac-10 opener at home since 1991 (Washington) ... Overall, the Cardinal is 6-4 in its last 10 openers, including wins in its last three home openers ... Stanford began the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons with wins at Stanford Stadium over Boston College in '01 and San Jose State in '03 and '04 ... The Cardinal will also begin the season with four games at home ... The last time that happened, Stanford went 3-1 in 2004 with wins over San Jose State, BYU and Washington ... The September 1 start is Stanford's earliest since the 1992 season, when the Cardinal played Texas A&M on August 26 in the Pigskin Classic in Anaheim, Calif., in head coach Bill Walsh's return to Stanford.

The Schedule: Stanford's schedule is ranked No. 9 by CNNSI.com among the most difficult schedules in college football in 2007 ... The Cardinal, which begins the season by playing six teams that advanced to bowl games a year ago, will be tested early and often ... The team's opponents combined record a year ago was 99-55 - a winning percentage of .643 that is tops in the nation ... Stanford also plays a national best nine teams that played in bowl games last year ... The Cardinal has four teams on its schedule this season who won at least 10 games in 2006 (USC, California, Notre Dame, TCU) and four who are preseason ranked among the nation's Top 25 (USC, California, UCLA, TCU) ... Stanford plays eight of its 12 games at home, which includes seven against teams that advanced to a bowl game last season.

Close Games Describe Stanford-UCLA History: While the Bruins lead the all-time series with Stanford 43-31-3, the two teams have a history of playing competitively against one another ... UCLA has won the last three meetings against the Cardinal, but Stanford has won three of the last four against UCLA at Stanford Stadium ... Since 1977, Stanford is 8-7 versus the Bruins at Stanford Stadium ... In those 15 games, there have been seven games decided by a touchdown or less and five decided by a field goal or less ... Overall, in the 30 games played between the Cardinal and Bruins from 1977-2006, 16 of those games have been decided by a touchdown or less and 12 by a field goal or less, including four decided by a single point and one in overtime.

Coaching Staff: Among the nine assistant coaches on Jim Harbaugh's staff are a mix of former NFL players and coaches, former Stanford players, three coaches who were on Harbaugh's staff at USD and a defensive coordinator who guided one of the top defensive units in college football in 2006 ... Harbaugh's staff is young - average age 34.2 years old - and comes to Stanford from all parts of the country ... Two members of the Cardinal staff are former Stanford players, offensive line coach Chris Dalman (1988-92) and offensive coordinator David Shaw (1991-94) ... Dalman played seven years in the NFL while Shaw's resume includes nine seasons coaching in the NFL ... Defensive backs coach Clayton White played in the NFL; Lance Anderson, Tim Drevno and Shaw were on Harbaugh's staff at USD last season while Scott Shafer was running a defense at Western Michigan that ranked 11th in the country.

Team Captains: Fifth-year seniors T.C. Ostrander and Chris Horn have been selected by their teammates as 2007 team captains ... Ostrander, who started the final five games last season, was also chosen team captain following the 2006 campaign ... Horn, from Dayton, Wyoming, had been a First Team Academic All-Pac-10 selection the past two seasons ... He started all 12 games last year at defensive end and is expected to start at nose tackle this season.

Ostrander Now Full-Time Starter: Fifth-year senior T.C. Ostrander has played in 22 games and started seven in his Cardinal career, but 2007 will mark his debut as the team's No. 1 quarterback and full-time starter ... Ostrander played a backup role to Trent Edwards the past three seasons and received his playing time when Edwards was unable to play due to injury ... Now, it's Ostrander's turn to take the reigns ... He has thrown for 2361 yards and eight touchdowns in his career ... He started the final five games of the 2006 season and enters the 2007 season as one of the team's captains.

Receiving Trio: Head Coach Jim Harbaugh has called Stanford's receiving corps "potentially one of the best in the Pac-10" ... The reason for Harbaugh's optimism are his top three receivers: fifth-year seniors Mark Bradford and Evan Moore, and sophomore Richard Sherman, who combined have accounted for 216 receptions for 3444 yards, a 15.9 average and 25 touchdowns ... Both Bradford and Moore suffered through injuries in 2006 and both have returned for their fifth seasons on The Farm in 2007 ... Bradford could break into Stanford's all-time Top 10 in all receiving categories while Moore's 6-7 frame and Sherman's speed and athleticism help provide the Cardinal with three talented offensive weapons at the receiver position.

New Positions: Both Austin Yancy and Erik Lorig figured to play prominent roles for the Cardinal in 2007, but one would have thought the two sophomores would have made their impact on the offensive side of the ball ... Not so ... After being converted during the spring, Yancy, who started six games last year at wide receiver, has won the starting spot at strong safety, while Lorig, expected to compete for playing time at tight end, has won the starting nod at one defensive end position.

Notebook

• The Cardinal's offensive line will be anchored by juniors Allen Smith and Alex Fletcher, who have each started 20 games in their careers, six-year senior Tim Mattran, fifth-year senior Mikal Brewer and sophomore Chris Marinelli ... All five have starting experience ... Mattran and Brewer have each started six games while Marinelli has started five ... Mattran has been selected to the 2007 Rimington Watch List for the award given annually to college football's top center.

• The placekicking duties are still undecided with incumbent junior Aaron Zagory and fifth-year senior Derek Belch still competing for the starting nod ... Zagory hit 8-of-13 field goals last year as the team's number one PK ... Belch was the team's kickoff specialist a year ago.

• Stanford's defense includes six sophomores, three juniors and just two seniors among its starting 11 ... The only seniors among the starting 11 are CB Nick Sanchez and NT Chris Horn ... More than half the starting unit consists of sophomores.

• CB Wopamo Osaisai was chosen to the "All-Name" team by cbssportsline.com.

• Fifth-year senior Emeka Nnoli was expected to be the team's starting fullback for the second straight season ... But, he was forced to retire from football on August 12 due to a hip injury ... True freshman Owen Marecic has won the starting FB position.

• In addition to Marecic, two other true freshman appear on Stanford's two-deep chart: FS Taylor Skaufel and WLB Chike Amajoyi.

Player Notes - Offense

Mark Bradford, Sr., WR
• 118 career receptions for 1789 yards, 11 TDs • Injured in game two in 2006 and missed rest of season due to foot injury • Has a chance to be among Stanford's all-time Top 10 in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs

Mikal Brewer, Sr., LG
• Earned starting nod at left guard • Started six games in his career at both C and OG • Valuable backup and three-year letterwinner

Jim Dray, So., TE
• Returning starter at tight end • Started 11 games last season as redshirt freshman, catching 19 balls for 178 yards and one TD • Named to The Sporting News Pac-10 All-Freshman Team

Alex Fletcher, Jr., RG
• Beginning his third season in the starting lineup • Started first 20 games in his Stanford career in '05 and '06 before missing final three in 2006 due to injury • Started at RG in '05 and C in '06 and is expected to move back to RG in '07

Toby Gerhart, So., RB
• Will share time at RB with Anthony Kimble • Starting left fielder for Stanford's baseball team and a top major league prospect • Rushed for 375 yards on 106 carries as a true freshman in 2006 • Was regarded as one of the state's top baseball and football players as a senior at Norco HS in 2005-06

Anthony Kimble, Jr., RB
• Has started 17 games at RB the past two years • Career rushing stats: 180-714-4.0-4 ... also 33 receptions for 301 yards and two TDs • Came to Stanford as a highly-recruited wide receiver ... converted to running back prior to 2005 season • Changed his number from 26 to 5 in 2007 • Two-time Pac-10 All-Academic

Owen Marecic, Fr., FB
• True freshman from Tigard, Ore., who has emerged as the starter at fullback after expected starter Emeka Nnoli was lost for the season due to injury • Oregon prep Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 as a LB at Jesuit HS Chris Marinelli, So., RT • Started five games in 2006 as a redshirt freshman and named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team • Shoulder injury kept him out of spring ball, but he won the starting spot at RT during fall camp • Youngest member of Stanford's starting five on OL

Tim Mattran, Sr., C
• Received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA • Former walk-on in 2002; moved into the starting lineup in 2005 • Missed all of 2006 season due to high ankle sprain • Three-time Pac-10 All-Academic • On the Rimington Watch List as nation's top center

Evan Moore, Sr., WR
• Fifth-year senior who has missed 13 games the past two seasons due to injury • When healthy has used his 6-7 frame to be a very productive receiver • Career stats: 64 catches, 1074 yards, 16.8 avg., 11 TDs • Played basketball at Stanford for parts of two years

T.C. Ostrander, Sr., QB
• Fifth-year senior beginning his first season as full-time starter • Voted by his teammates as team captain (along with Chris Horn) for 2007 season • Born at the Stanford Medical Center; father, Clint, graduated from Stanford and was a member of the track and field team • Career stats: 167-351 (47.6), 2361 yards, 8 TDs, 8 INTs • Best games: 2004 at Oregon (18-29, 236 yds., TD); 2004 vs. Oregon State (17-45, 247 yds., 1 INT, 2 TD) • Backup to Trent Edwards past three seasons • Started final five games of 2006 season

Richard Sherman, So., WR
• Outstanding true freshman in '06 with 34 catches for 581 yards, 17.1 avg and three TDs • First-Team Pac-10 All Freshman Team • Team leader in '06 in receptions and receiving yds • Averaged over 101.5 receiving yards per game in last four contests of 2006

Allen Smith, Jr., LT
• Has started the past 20 games, including the last 19 at left tackle • Started all 12 games at left tackle in '06 • Has All-Conference potential

Player Notes - Defense

Fred Campbell, So., MLB
• Has played both inside and outside linebacker but is slated to start at middle linebacker in 2007 • Started one game (vs. USC) last year • Played in nine games last year but was limited at times due to injury.

Pannel Egboh, Jr., DE
• Started all 12 games at DE last season • Led all DL on team with 45 tackles and 5.5 TFL • Will share time with Udeme Udofia at one DE spot

Levirt Griffin, So., DE
• Competing with Erik Lorig for starting spot at one DE position • Played in all 12 games a year ago during his true freshman season as a reserve defensive lineman

Chris Horn, Sr., NT
• Fifth-year senior voted by his teammates as defensive team captain for 2007 • Has played both DE and DT during his career, but is expected to start at NT this season • Two-time First Team Pac-10 All-Academic

Erik Lorig, So., DE
• Converted tight end who is battling for a starting spot at defensive end • Had three catches for 21 yards as backup TE and six tackles on special teams in 2006

Pat Maynor, Jr., WLB
• Started nine of games in 2006 at both outside and middle linebacker when he had 44 tackles and three TFL • Has earned starting spot at weakside linebacker

Bo McNally, So., FS
• Played in all 12 games in 2006 with one start • Moves into starting role at FS in 2007 • Had two INTs in Stanford's lone win a year ago at Washington, returning one 49 yards for a TD

Wopamo Osaisai, Jr., CB
• First Team All-Pac-10 in 2006 as a specialist when he started six games and played in all 12 • Had a 72-yard INT return for touchdown versus Arizona in 2006, the 4th longest in school history • School record holder in 100m at 10.39

Nick Sanchez, Sr., CB
• Stanford's most experienced defensive back • Will be in the season-opening for the third straight season • Started 16 games at CB the past two years • 100 career tackles is tops on the team

Tim Sims, Sr., CB
• Has battled injuries during spring and fall camps, which has limited his practice time • Started seven games in 2006 when he led all CBs last season with 54 tackles and tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss for a team-best -27 yards

Clinton Snyder, So., SLB
• Expected to be one of the team's top defensive players in 2007 • Started 11 games in 2006 and was third on the team with 83 total tackles (#10 Pac-10) • Three forced fumbles in 2006 was 4th in Pac-10 • First Team All-Freshman and Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic in 2006

Ekom Udofia, So., DT
• Started all 12 games in 2006 at NT as a redshirt freshman • Named Third Team Freshman All-American and First Team Freshman All-Pac-10 • Second among Cardinal DL in 2006 with 43 tackles

Udeme Udofia, Sr., DE
• Started nine of 12 games in 2006 at OLB • Moved to DE where he will share time with Pannel Egboh • Has played in 31 career games and started 20 • Three career blocked kicks and 77 career tackles

Austin Yancy, So., SS
• Converted WR has won starting job at SS • Had 16 catches for 168 yards as a true freshman WR in 2006 when he started six games at WR

Player Notes - Specialists

Jay Ottovegio, Sr., P
• Fourth consecutive season as starting punter • Career average of 40.6 • Has a chance to become school's all-time leading punter • Has averaged 40.0 or more yards in 23 of his 34 career games