For Washington, Emotions Run Deep : College football: In game that combines elements of grudge match and wake, Huskies roll over Stanford and Walsh, 31-14, as former coach James looks on.

In case you’re wondering--and you might have been after watching Saturday’s somber pregame tribute--former Washington coach Don James is actually alive and doing quite well. He’s riding yachts, lining up tee times, signing new radio deals and generally acting like someone glad to be done with football or, if nothing else, the Pacific 10 Conference.

Saturday, he took his place in a private box at Husky Stadium and happily watched as 12th-ranked Washington did what it usually does to Stanford, that is, overwhelm it.

This time the score was 31-14 . . . but with feeling. Lots of it. Enough that James’ replacement, longtime assistant, Jim Lambright, was more worried about putting the brakes on his team’s emotions than he was about beating 15th-ranked Stanford.

“All we wanted to make sure is that they didn’t explode before they went out there,” said Lambright, who spent the whole week pressing buttons and pulling the heartstrings of his players.

The way Lambright looked at it, this was a game for James, who resigned Aug. 22 in protest of conference sanctions against the Husky program. It was a game for Stanford coach and revisionist historian Bill Walsh, who called the Huskies “mercenaries” and then spent the summer denying it. It was a game for the Pac-10 Council, which levied the penalties against Washington.

In short, Lambright had hit upon the mother lode of motivational treasure.

It worked. Every bit of it. The Huskies held a grudge and a wake all at the same time. They defeated the Cardinal for the 10th consecutive time and Walsh for the fourth. At the same time, they paid homage to James and stuck it to their favorite conference.

“It tells the Pac-10 that what they did really (ticked) us off,” said D’Marco Farr, who was originally ruled ineligible for Saturday’s game by the conference, appealed and was reinstated in time to get 1 1/2 sacks and generally make life miserable for Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom.

The Cardinal never had much of a chance. When it moved ahead of Washington, 7-3, early in the second quarter, Walsh seemed more surprised than anything.

“We actually got the lead somehow, though I don’t know how it ever happened,” he said.

It didn’t last for long. The Huskies took the kickoff and drove 77 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback Damon Huard, making his first start, passed to tight end Mark Bruener for a nine-yard touchdown with 5:23 left in the half.

The Huskies were ahead, but something was missing. They were playing as if they could feel the pressure of James’ gaze.

“I was a little concerned,” said wide receiver/backup quarterback Eric Bjornson. “I felt like we were playing a little tight.”

Bruener took care of that. On the first play of Washington’s second possession, he found himself wide open in the Stanford secondary. Sixty-six yards later, he was standing in the end zone and the Huskies had a 17-7 lead with 9:27 left in the third quarter.

Then second-team Washington tight end Ernie Conwell did his part, sneaking past Stanford defenders for a 26-yard scoring reception with 6:33 left in the quarter.

“The minute they broke those two pass plays,” said Walsh, “we were dead.”

Huard completed 14 of 23 passes for 174 yards. He passed for three touchdowns and ran for another.

But the best thing he did was hand the ball to tailback Napoleon Kaufman, who ran for 195 yards and one touchdown in only 24 carries. Stanford couldn’t touch him.

Then again, Stanford couldn’t do much of anything. The Cardinal rushed for only 35 net yards. Stenstrom, who was knocked out of last year’s Washington game in the third quarter, survived this one, but barely. He was sacked six times and threw two interceptions.

Afterward, Washington’s Farr tried to find something nice to say about Stenstrom, who, if nothing else, managed to stay conscious this time around. Or as Farr said of his postgame meeting with Stenstrom: “He was coherent.”

Actually, Farr complimented Stenstrom on his quick release, which isn’t exactly a shocker. Had you been Stenstrom Saturday, you would have been tossing the ball quickly, too.

Washington gained 500 net yards compared to Stanford’s 274. It was a performance that prompted Walsh to step to the postgame podium, look at the assembled media and simply say, “Whew.”

Walsh had done his best to downplay the game. When Stanford’s charter flight arrived Friday, he stepped off the plane wearing Groucho Marx glasses, mustache and nose. Little did he know his team would imitate the Marx Brothers 24 hours later.

The crowd at Husky Stadium was waiting for him. His first steps onto the field for pregame warm-ups produced a chorus of boos usually saved for the Pac- 10. Walsh didn’t seem to mind. He waved.

“I’m sort of an old campaigner,” he said. “I’ve been in much tougher situations. When you leave Giants Stadium after winning, those are the ones you worry about. Or when you’re playing the Bears and have someone eight feet away with a megaphone in your ear saying everything about your anatomy and the size of it. This was good old-fashioned fun.”

There were also some tears, most of which came from James. Shortly before kickoff, Washington’s players emerged from the stadium tunnel and slowly walked to midfield. Once there, they turned to James’ sky box and pointed toward him. Then they knelt and raised their helmets in salute. The crowd didn’t know whether to applaud or weep.

Said James later: “I like the view, but I’d rather be there (on the field). I’m more nervous than I thought I would be.”

He can relax. The Huskies appear to be in good hands. Lambright had never coached a game before, but he knew to get Kaufman the ball as much as possible. He also knew to pick on Stanford’s inexperienced safeties and to keep mentioning those favorite Washington buzz words: sanctions . . . Walsh . . . James.

“This is the sort of game that you want to take the emotions and use it,” Lambright said. “To me, it’s just one huge win. It’s a beginning.”

There is also a happy ending--at least, for Washington there is. After Saturday’s victory, Lambright was asked if he planned to pop the cork on a bottle of wine sent from Walsh as a peace offering.

No way. Instead, he planned to sip from a bottle presented to him by a Washington follower.

“He told me, ‘Coach, we don’t want you to have to drink any of that Napa Valley wine after a victory,’ ” Lambright said.

So Saturday night Lambright drank a little wine from a Washington winery. Chances are he also raised his glass in honor of James. Everyone else did.