Pac-10 Roundup : Muster Has Off Day, While Chandler Leads Washington, 31-21

The Pacific 10 opener between Washington, ranked No. 13, and Stanford was billed as a match-up between Husky quarterback Chris Chandler and Cardinal tailback Brad Muster.

But only one of the stars figured in the outcome Saturday as Chandler passed for a career-best 314 yards to lead the Huskies to a 31-21 victory at Seattle.

Meanwhile, Muster, the 1986 Pac-10 Player of the Year, carried the ball only three times for a net of minus-two yards before leaving with a sprained left ankle. He sprained the same ankle on the first day of fall practice.

The decisive play came in the third quarter when Chandler threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Franklin to give the Huskies a 21-7 lead.

Franklin caught 8 passes for 209 yards before 73,676 fans on a sunny day at Husky Stadium, which was expanded from 59,800 seats during the off-season.

Chandler, a senior, completed 18 of 31 passes and was intercepted twice.

Muster left after being tackled by linebacker Tom Erlandson late in the second quarter.

Muster, a 6-foot 3-inch, 226-pounder, said he didn’t feel 100% going into the game, but the Stanford coaches decided he was needed.

“They felt comfortable having me play, but I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “I couldn’t push off on it. It hurt.”

The Huskies got short touchdown runs from their top two fullbacks, a three-yarder by Aaron Jenkins in the second quarter and a one-yarder by Tony Covington in the fourth quarter.

Brandy Brownlee, who transferred to Washington when the SMU football program was canceled for two seasons, kicked field goals of 20, 18 and 18 yards.

Stanford’s touchdowns came on a 41-yard pass from Greg Ennis to Charlie Young in the first quarter, a 69-yard punt return by Alan Grant in the third quarter and a 5-yard run by Young with 4:11 left in the game.

Ennis completed 14 of 37 passes for 266 yards with 2 interceptions.

California 42, Pacific 0--Chris Richards ran 76 yards to score on the second play of the game and added two more touchdowns at Berkeley as the Bears presented their new coach, Bruce Snyder, with a season-opening victory.

Quarterback Troy Taylor completed 18 of 22 passes for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns in Cal’s most lopsided victory in six years. The Bears, with a decided size advantage over UOP’s Tigers, registered their first shutout since 1982.

Richards totaled a career-high 154 yards in 14 carries. He ran 15 yards to score midway in the first period, and left the game with a sprained finger after scoring from 4 yards out in the third quarter. Tyrone Moore, who took over at tailback, had a 31-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

Washington St. 41, Fresno St. 24--Quarterback Timm Rosenbach ran 25 yards for one touchdown and threw 67 yards for another at Pullman, Wash., as Washington State broke away in the second half to beat Fresno State in Dennis Erickson’s debut as the Cougar coach.

The loss in the nonconference opener for both teams spoiled the return to Pullman of Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney, who coached Erickson at Montana State and was Washington State’s coach from 1968 to 1975.

Tim Stallworth set up Rosenbach’s touchdown run with a 49-yard punt return to the Fresno State 25 late in the third quarter. Two plays later, Rosenbach, a sophomore, spun to his left, picked up a block from running back Michael Pringle at the 20 and ran 10 yards down the left sideline into the end zone for a 20-16 lead.