COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Butterfield Proves Worth Wait for Stanford, 47-33

Mark Butterfield, who has waited for a chance to play while Steve Stenstrom was setting passing records at Stanford, finally got his turn Saturday, and he wasted no time in making the most of it.

Stenstrom has graduated, and Butterfield, a fifth-year senior, threw for two touchdowns in his first start for the Cardinal, which beat San Jose State, 47-33, and made Tyronne Willingham a winner in his coaching debut.

“I waited four long years for this and I think I did a decent job,” Butterfield said. “I just wanted to go out there, not make too many mistakes and keep the ball moving. There’s things we can improve upon, but we scored enough points to win and that’s our job.”

Damon Dunn also returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in the Cardinal’s first season-opening victory in nine years.

“I think we made some mistakes we’ll learn from,” said Willingham, who was previously an assistant for the Minnesota Vikings and hired in December to replace Bill Walsh.

Butterfield, who had fallen to third on the depth chart last season, completed 13 of 23 for 188 yards.