Paye Returns to Lead Stanford to a 28-17 Upset Over Arizona

Arizona’s express to the Rose Bowl was sidetracked in a surprising location.

Stanford, a loser of five straight games and sitting on the opposite end to Arizona in the Pacific 10 standings, brought injured quarterback John Paye off the bench Saturday to lead a 28-17 victory over the Wildcats.

“Whenever I tried to throw across my body, there was some pain,” said Paye, who suffered a partially separated shoulder last week.

Paye was cleared to play by the team doctor just before the game, but didn’t start because reserve quarterback Fred Buckley worked out with the team all week.

Buckley completed his first five passes to stake the Cardinal (2-5, 1-3) to a 7-0 lead, but Arizona (5-2, 2-1) rallied for a 17-7 halftime lead.

Arizona’s David Eldridge fumbled away a kickoff return with 10 minutes left, and Stanford took over on the Wildcat 19. Five plays later, Paye dove over from a yard out for the final points in Stanford’s rally.

That score came just 2 1/2 minutes after Brian Morris’ five-yard scoring run capped a 74-yard march that gave Stanford a 21-17 lead.

Paye’s first touchdown came on a 14-yard strike to Thomas Henley that cut Arizona’s lead to 17-14. That score came after Stanford’s Toi Cook intercepted Arizona quarterback Alfred Jenkins to give the Cardinal the ball on the Wildcat 25.

Paye finished with 12 completions in 14 attempts for 116 yards. Buckley was 10 of 12 with 1 interception and 123 yards.

“It was like a black cloud that finally dissolved,” said Stanford Coach Jack Elway, who led a raucous cheer in the locker room afterward.

“We told our players to keep at them, and hope that we take advantage of our opportunities. We didn’t want to beat ourselves. That was our theme today, to not beat ourselves. We didn’t want to allow the big play.”