Walsh Finds Reality Harsh in Return to College Ranks

To paraphrase Bill Walsh’s favorite sound bite along the comeback trail to Stanford University and college football and gut-wrenched 20-year-old quarterbacks with sweaty palms:

This is his bliss?

At the time, Walsh was attempting to wax poetic about his decision to squeeze himself back into the very cramped quarters of the head football coach at Stanford--small office, smaller margin for error--after 10 years of cruising through the National Football League and three more in front of NBC’s microphones.

At the time, of course, Walsh was months, and then weeks, away from the reality of teen-aged mistakes, blown referees’ decisions, blitzing Southwest Conference defenses and, most telling of all, the lack of Joe Montana.

Reality was Wednesday night, however--cold and stark and three points short. Stanford lost Walsh’s return to The Farm, to the farmers from Texas A&M;, 10-7, in a Disneyland Pigskin Classic that will be remembered mostly for its punts.

Twenty-two punts. Thirteen by A&M;’s David Davis and nine by Stanford’s Paul Stonehouse, the two legs that should have walked away with the two most valuable player trophies if the hardware were truly awarded on merit and effort beyond the call of duty.

In between hang-times, two (allegedly) Top 20 teams had one hell of a time trying to drag the football across the goal line. Stanford scored first, on a two-play, 15-yard drive following Glyn Milburn’s punt return deep into Aggie territory. Three quarters later, A&M; retaliated when Jeff Granger, the first and fourth quarterback to be used in R.C. Slocum’s all-comers meet, lucked into a breakdown in the Stanford secondary and short-armed a wobbler that found its way into the palms of tight end Greg Schorp, who had been loitering in the Cardinal end zone.

The winning field goal came eight plays after Walsh’s new quarterback, junior Steve Stenstrom from El Toro, threw short to David Calomese deep and had Aggie cornerback Aaron Glenn fair catch the interception on his own 18-yard line. A youthful mistake, a costly consequence, as Walsh noted when his eyes followed Terry Venetoulias’ 39-yard clincher splitting the uprights.

Only 35,240 were in the Anaheim Stadium stands, but nearly as many seemed to be squeezed into Walsh’s first postgame press conference the second time around.

“Well,” Walsh said as he squinted into the bright lights. “This is quite a press conference.” He smiled, but the feeling passed quickly.

“That was very frustrating,” Walsh continued. “It was a very tough first game for us and we lost a close game on a couple of broken plays . . .

“I was frustrated, and I haven’t been frustrated in a long time as a coach when it comes to moving the football.” He tried to remember when. “Maybe a Raider game, four or five years ago, I don’t know,” he said.

Stanford had 236 total offensive yards for the game, 78 after halftime.

Stanford had 161 passing yards for the game--a good quarter’s work for Walsh’s very first Cardinal quarterback, Guy Benjamin, now one of Walsh’s assistants--and only 77 after halftime.

Stanford had 14 first downs for the game. Three came after halftime.

Stenstrom spent most of the night on the run, scrambling right, left and into the face masks of A&M;’s brutal pass rush, and his numbers showed: 17 of 33, 161 yards, five sacks. He also was charged with two interceptions, although one in the third quarter was clearly trapped by Aggie cornerback Derrick Frazier, clear to all except the official nearest the scene.

The running game abandoned Walsh as well, with Milburn, so slippery in the first 30 minutes, getting buried again and again in the last 30. After 51 yards in the first half, Milburn managed but 12 in the second.

Walsh did his best to deflect the damage.

“I thought everyone but me did a great job,” Walsh declared. “I got frustrated in the third quarter because we couldn’t get anything going on offense.”

The author of the NFL bestsellers “Montana To Clark” and “Montana to Rice” seemed insulted by the rust that had collected on his clipboard. Playbook, why fail me now, here, in the land where we used to run the Rams underground?

“Tough opener,” Walsh assessed. “That A&M; defense, it’s a tough opener for a new staff like ours.”

Walsh promised improvement.

“Hey,” he said, “we still have to learn more about our players. We have to learn how to use Miller better. We have to develop bigger running backs, so we can run inside more effectively.”

That comes through recruiting and long weight room sessions. In this league, there are no trades for 230-pound fullbacks.

Walsh is learning, his players are learning. After Wednesday, they might all brush up on the Stanford record book and study the 1977 and 1978 football seasons.

Walsh lost his first games in those seasons, too. A legend still got born.