Allen Sparks Stanford’s Rally, 21-17

Stanford and Oregon State came into their contest as two of the top offensive teams in the nation. They left it with offenses in chaos, undermined by turnovers and missed opportunities.

Brian Allen scored on 37- and 20-yard runs in the fourth quarter as Stanford rallied to beat Oregon State, 21-17, Saturday in a tedious game that featured just two touchdowns in the opening 53 minutes at Stanford.

“The running game has been downplayed all year,” said Allen, a La Verne Damien High graduate who had 99 yards in nine carries. “All you need is enough carries to get the job done.”

Allen’s 20-yard touchdown with 6:33 left gave Stanford a 14-10 lead, its first of the game. Roddy Tompkins caught a 69-yard scoring pass for Oregon State on the next play, but Allen responded with his 37-yard touchdown run with 3:45 left.

Stanford, 4-2 overall and 4-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, won despite four turnovers, including two fumbles by tailback Kerry Carter within yards of the Oregon State goal line. The Cardinal has won its first four conference games for the first time since 1970.

Oregon State (3-3, 0-3), trying for its first winning season since 1970, committed three turnovers, bringing its total to 14 in the last three games, all losses.

“We fumbled the ball twice with a chance to score,” said Oregon State Coach Dennis Erickson. “When you give up those opportunities you’re going to lose.”