PACIFIC 10 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL / DAN HAFNER : Top Quarterbacks Disappoint

After two weeks of the 1994 football season, some are beginning to wonder what has happened to all those great Pacific 10 Conference quarterbacks.

Much of the preseason hype focused on about a half dozen outstanding quarterbacks who were expected to lead their teams to big years.

Although several teams have played only once, only three of the 10 conference teams have unblemished records.

Of the three with 2-0 marks, only UCLA, with Wayne Cook, has one of the highly rated quarterbacks. And Cook was anything but dominant in the Bruins’ victories. Although he passed for almost 500 yards, Cook has only two touchdown passes.

The passer who probably has come closest to living up to the ballyhoo is Stanford’s Steve Stenstrom. Despite Stenstrom’s sensational performance at Northwestern, the Cardinal had to settle for a 41-41 tie.

Stenstrom overcame two of his fumbles, completing 25 of 38 passes for 374 yards and a touchdown. He also drove Stanford into position for the short field-goal attempt that failed at the end.

Before the season, Stanford Coach Bill Walsh said, “Steve Stenstrom is the best college passer in the nation.”

Stanford’s lack of a running attack has put added pressure on Stenstrom, but sophomore Mike Mitchell ran for 136 yards against Northwestern, 10 more than he gained all last season. He also was credited with a touchdown, although he dropped the ball a stride before he reached the goal line.

Other than Stenstrom, there were some major disappointments at quarterback last week. Oregon Coach Rich Brooks maintains that if Danny O’Neil played in one of the population centers, instead of in Eugene, he would be regarded as one of the real stars. Pardon the Hawaii Rainbows if they aren’t buying that.

After passing for four touchdowns in a rout of Portland State, O’Neil was supposed to lead the Ducks to their second victory Saturday night at Honolulu.

But with O’Neil suffering from flu and hardly able to practice all week, the Ducks were trounced, 36-16. The Rainbows intercepted three of O’Neil’s passes, Junior Faavae returning one 44 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

O’Neil will get a chance Saturday to rebound when he returns home to play Utah. He will have to do it without wide receiver Kory Murphy, who is out for the season with a spinal injury.

When Dave Barr was sound last season, the California Bears were unbeatable. It was when he was out or hampered by injury that the Bears lost their four games. Barr regained his best form to lead Cal to a 37-3 rout of Iowa in the Alamo Bowl.

Barr was in good health Saturday at San Diego State, but Cal lost, 22-20, on a field goal as time expired.

Barr, who completed 68% of his passes last season, was 21 of 34 for 242 yards, with one touchdown and a costly interception.

Until this game the Aztecs had lost 17 in a row to Pac-10 schools.

Preseason pick for the best quarterback was USC’s Rob Johnson. Many expected him to go in the first round of next year’s NFL draft.

But in his first two games, Johnson has played poorly. He has been a tentative passer, waiting too long and getting sacked too often.

When the Trojans rallied to defeat Washington, it was the running game, not Johnson’s passing, that brought the Trojans from behind. When Penn State overwhelmed USC early, Johnson could do nothing to help his team get back in the game.

*

Washington made a smart move last spring when it made an all-out effort to get running star Napoleon Kaufman to return for his final collegiate season.

The decision seems to have benefited the Huskies as well as Kaufman.

Teams ineligible for postseason play often have little incentive. The Huskies, on probation for misuses in their summer jobs program among other NCAA violations, found a way to give their team a reason to play by building Kaufman into a Heisman Trophy contender.

And Kaufman stands to make a lot of money.

Make no mistake about it, this is Kaufman’s team. Under ordinary circumstances, as soon as the Huskies clinched Saturday’s victory over Ohio State, Kaufman would have left the game for good.

Instead, coaches kept him in until he gained a personal-high 211 yards. The Huskies figure the first four games against four of the nation’s best teams would give Kaufman the exposure he needed. The performance against an Ohio State team known for its defense was a great start.

Kaufman was somewhat battered and bruised after rushing 58 times in the first two games. But he gets this week off and should be ready for the next two big ones--at Miami and home against UCLA.

*

The other two unbeaten teams, Arizona and Washington State, don’t have quarterbacks considered among the elite, though the Cougars are expecting big things from redshirt sophomore Chad Davis, who set state career passing marks at three Southern California high schools.

Arizona and Washington State rank one-two in the conference in total defense with the Wildcats the leaders at 222 yards per game. The Cougars have given up only 39 yards rushing in two games, best in the nation.