Stanford Has a Feast at Arizona’s Expense

Having to play without quarterback Randy Fasani again and minus sidelined defensive mainstays such as safety Simba Hodari and end Austin Lee didn’t have much of an effect on Stanford on Saturday night.

Chris Lewis passed for three first-half touchdowns, and Tank Williams figured in two fumble returns for scores as the No. 16 Cardinal rebounded from a tough loss with a 51-37 rout of Arizona at Tucson.

The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in a 5:16 span of the fourth quarter, but Cardinal Coach Tyrone Willingham inserted first-stringers who came out after taking a 51-16 lead.

“We have quite a few guys out of our lineup and they are impact players,” Willingham said. “When it went deeper, it stressed us a little bit, but the guys stepped up.”

Teyo Johnson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who plays varsity basketball and is a backup quarterback, caught two of Lewis’ scoring throws and set up Stanford’s go-ahead score with a 24-yard reception in the first quarter.

Johnson, redshirted last year, finished with season highs of eight catches for 116 yards.

The Cardinal (6-2 overall, 5-2 in the Pac-10) dropped in the polls after a 42-28 loss to Washington last week but got back on track for a significant bowl bid by opening a 27-13 halftime lead and scoring twice on defense in the third quarter against Arizona (4-6, 1-6).

No. 11 Washington State 28, Arizona State 16--Raonall Smith returned a disputed fumble 27 yards for a touchdown and running back Dave Minnich threw for another score for the Cougars at Tempe, Ariz.

The Cougars (9-1) remained tied with No. 7 Oregon for first place in the Pac-10 at 6-1. Oregon holds the tiebreaker because of its victory over the Cougars.

Arizona State (1-5, 4-5) trailed, 14-9, when Andrew Walter, who replaced Jeff Krohn at quarterback to start the second half, scrambled for a short gain and was tackled by Smith.

The ball popped loose, Smith picked it up and ran untouched for the score to make it 21-9 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.

Television replays clearly showed that Walter’s knees hit the ground well before the ball came loose, and the angry crowd pelted the field with plastic water bottles and other debris.