PACIFIC 10 FOOTBALL / MAL FLORENCE : Stanford Considering a Change at Quarterback

It may not be the solution for struggling Stanford, but Coach Dennis Green almost has decided to change quarterbacks.

The Cardinal is 1-3 after losing to Notre Dame, 42-26, last Saturday night, and senior Jason Palumbis apparently is headed for the bench.

His replacement would be sophomore Steve Stenstrom from El Toro High.

“It looks like we’re going to make a quarterback change,” Green told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s not something we’re definitely going to do, but that’s the way it looks. The offense hasn’t been as productive as it should be.”

Palumbis has completed 57.8% of his passes but hasn’t thrown for a touchdown this season.

“I’m not pleased with the passing attack,” Green said. “We’re not spreading the ball enough. We have no big plays downfield.”

Palumbis completed 18 of 27 passes for only 153 yards against Notre Dame. Stenstrom completed eight of 10 passes for 124 yards.

“We need to give Stenstrom a chance to see if he can operate the offense,” Green said. “He throws the ball well, and he’s an alert player.”

Palumbis came into the season with a 63.6% completion record, best at a school that is known for its quarterbacks, such as John Brodie, Jim Plunkett and John Elway.

If Palumbis is demoted, it would take effect for Stanford’s game against Cornell Saturday at Palo Alto, and any quarterback should improve his statistics against the Ivy League team that has only a victory over Bucknell in three games this season.

The football Gold Sheet summarized the game in this way: “This would be a great match if it were a debate.”

Trivia time: In the past 50 years, how many Pac-10 teams finished the season unbeaten and untied?

California isn’t exactly dominating Pacific 10 Conference teams, with its victories over Arizona, 23-21, and UCLA, 27-24, coming on field goals in the final seconds.

However, the bottom line is the Bears are 4-0, and if they beat Oregon Saturday at Berkeley, it will be their best start since 1952, setting up a showdown game against No. 3-ranked Washington on Oct. 19 at Berkeley.

Oregon Coach Rich Brooks, whose team lost to USC, 30-14, on Sept. 28, said Cal is a better-balanced passing-running team than the Trojans.

The Bears have climbed to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll.

After the victory over UCLA, tailback Russell White said: “This lets the nation know we’re for real.”

As for Cal’s comebacks against Arizona and UCLA, quarterback Mike Pawlawski said: “When other teams get down, they stand around and hope somebody will fumble. We get down and we say, ‘Hey, we’ll just go out and get a touchdown, or field goal or whatever.’ We don’t stand around and hope a lot.”

Brett Salisbury is Oregon’s starting quarterback now that Danny O’Neil is out for the season after dislocating his right thumb.

Salisbury had to come back from a hernia operation in August, when O’Neil got the starting job by default.

Salisbury, a transfer from Palomar College, is the brother of Sean Salisbury, a former USC quarterback.

Brooks, on Brett Salisbury: “At 6-foot-3, he’s more comfortable in the pocket than Danny. He has an accurate arm, and he has been waiting for his chance.”

Salisbury is inexperienced on a major college level, but he will be 23 today, making him three years older than UCLA quarterback Tommy Maddox.

Trivia answer: Three. UCLA in 1954 and USC in 1962 and 1972.

Oregon State (0-4) is still striving for its first victory under new Coach Jerry Pettibone.

He’s operating with a young team. The Beavers started five freshmen in a 55-7 loss to Washington State last Saturday. Moreover, there are 13 freshmen on the two-deep rosters for offense and defense.

Oregon State has lost nine consecutive games going back to last season and 18 of 19 since the latter part of the 1989 season.

Coach Dick Tomey of Arizona, on Steve Emtman, Washington’s dominating defensive tackle: “No one has blocked Emtman in two years. The only player I can compare him to is Junior Seau at USC, both dominant players you can’t block.”