PACIFIC 10 ROUNDUP : Fans Feel Aftershock; Stanford Loses to Utah

Cornerback Sean Knox batted away a Steve Smith pass in the back of the end zone on the last play of the game to preserve a 27-24 Pacific 10 Conference victory for Utah over Stanford on Saturday at Palo Alto.

An 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Stanford Stadium during the third quarter but caused no damage and play resumed immediately.

Scott Mitchell, the nation’s leader in passing and total offense last season, teamed with Darrel Hicks on a 23-yard touchdown pass play with 34 seconds remaining in the game to give the Utes (3-5) the lead for good.

Stanford (1-6) took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Utah 17, where the Cardinal sent the field goal team out with five seconds remaining. After Utah called a timeout, Stanford Coach Dennis Green changed his mind and Knox swatted a pass intended for Ed McMaffrey.

“I was going to kick, but the team and other coaches wanted to go for the touchdown,” Green said.

Mitchell completed 30 of 56 passes for 388 yards for Utah. Smith was 18 of 32 for 288 yards. Each threw for three touchdowns in a battle between two predominantly passing teams.

Washington 29, California 16--Le-Lo Lang returned a blocked kick and an interception for touchdowns as the Huskies’ beat the Golden Bears at Berkeley in a Pac-10 game that, like the one at Stanford, was hit with the same 4.8 aftershock in the third quarter.

Spectators felt the aftershock, but play was not halted and no damage was reported.

A crowd announced at 20,000, one of Cal’s smallest in the last 25 years, dotted 80,000-seat Memorial Stadium on a rainy afternoon.

After Cary Conklin’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Orlando McKay early in the third quarter gave Washington a 10-7 lead, Lang picked off a pass by Troy Taylor and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown to put the Huskies ahead 17-7.

The return was the third-longest in Washington’s history.

The Golden Bears made it 17-13 on Taylor’s 25-yard pass to Brian Treggs. But the conversion was blocked, the Huskies picked up the ball and Lang got credit for two points by carrying the ball the final 12 yards after a series of fumbles and laterals kept the ball alive.

The Huskies are 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-10. Cal is 2-5 and 0-4.

Oregon 27, Arizona St. 7--Derek Loville rushed for 203 yards in 30 carries and scored three first-half touchdowns, including a career-best 68-yard run, as the Ducks won a rain-plagued Pac-10 game at Tempe, Ariz.

The Ducks (4-3 and 3-3) had lost all nine previous games against Arizona State (3-3-1, 0-2-1) in a series that began in 1966.

Loville, whose set a career high of 215 yards last season against Idaho State, had 170 yards in 21 carries in the first half as Oregon built a 24-7 lead.