COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Stanford Makes Grade With Comeback Effort : Pacific 10: Cardinal overcomes two-touchdown deficit with strong second half in 36-24 victory over Washington State.

Stanford rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat Washington State, 36-24, on Saturday.

“The second half was a real gut check for our team,” said Cardinal Coach Tyrone Willingham. “We were sloppy in the first half and we didn’t play with any poise. In the second half, it was a test of courage and our guys rose to the challenge.”

Mark Butterfield completed 19 of 31 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns as Stanford, 6-3-1 overall and 4-3 in the Pacific 10, overcame a first-half deficit by scoring four touchdowns after halftime. Anthony Bookman was a key, rushing for 123 yards in 20 carries and running back four punts for 73 yards.

“Anthony stepped up to the play. We needed a back to come through,” Willingham said. “He really broke things open and charged our offense.”

Stanford tied it, 17-17, early in the third period on Mike Mitchell’s eight-yard scoring run.

Bookman took a pass from Butterfield and scampered 25 yards down the right sideline to put Stanford ahead, 24-17, with 10 minutes remaining in the third period.

Damon Dunn took a handoff from Bookman on a reverse and raced 10 yards for a score as Stanford increased the lead to 30-17 in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars (3-7, 2-5) answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Leaf, his third of the game, to Shawn Tims to cut the deficit to 30-24 with 10 minutes to play.

But a minute later, Mark Harris outjumped two Washington State defenders to grab Butterfield’s pass and then ran into the end zone to complete a 54-yard scoring play.

Leaf, a redshirt freshman, completed 26 of 44 for 273 yards with an interception.

“We were tough. We were competitive. We gave the effort. What we didn’t do was make the plays when we had the opportunities to make the plays,” Washington State Coach Mike Price said of the second half. “I thought Ryan played well. He competed and gave us a spark.”

Leaf took over when starter Shawn Deeds suffered a shoulder injury in the first series. Deeds and Leaf were promoted when Price benched starter Chad Davis on Monday for poor sideline behavior.

Leaf connected with Bryant Thomas for a 21-yard scoring play to put Washington State up, 7-0, midway through the first quarter.