Stanford Shines Brightest

While Michigan State defenders raged around him like a storm, Chad Hutchinson remained safe inside a pocket of Stanford blockers.

“I just sat back there and dished it off,” said Hutchinson, who passed for 226 yards and a touchdown Tuesday in Stanford’s 38-0 rout in the Sun Bowl.

Playing only three quarters, Hutchinson directed four scoring drives as Stanford (7-5) recorded the second-worst shutout in the Sun Bowl’s 63 years. The worst was a 42-0 Texas victory over Maryland in 1978.

“He’s getting better each week and he’s got the competitive fire to be a great player for us,” said Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham, whose team finished the year with a five-game winning streak.

The key was a play-action passing game that seemed to leave the Spartan defense confused, allowing Hutchinson, the game’s most valuable player, to consistently find an open man. He completed 22 of 28 passes with one interception.

The Cardinal defense did the rest, holding Michigan State (6-6) to 227 total yards.

The Spartans came into the game averaging 416 yards and 32.5 points. But both their running and passing games were unsuccessful.

Quarterback Todd Schultz was eight for 21 for 68 yards and two interceptions before leaving the game because of an injury in the third period. He was replaced by Bill Burke, who finished four for seven for 71 yards.

“It was hard to tell what kind of defense they were playing. Their defense was jumping around a lot so by the time they switched, it was too late to make a change and we had to run the play that was called,” Schultz said.

The Spartans managed only 76 yards on the ground, led by Duane Goulbourne with 51 in 12 carries.

“This feels like reaching the top of the mountain and then jumping off,” said Sedrick Irvin, who had only 31 yards in nine carries.

Stanford took a 38-0 lead in the fourth when Jeff Allen blocked a punt and Tim Smith returned it six yards for a touchdown.