Stanford’s Air Attack Hits UCLA

UCLA is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Pacific 10 and heading back out of the top 20 and talking about how it needs to look in the mirror and make a stand in the name of Jan. 1 in Pasadena. But that’s the problem. The Bruins just saw the Bruins.

Saturday afternoon, in a town that hasn’t caught on to what the rest of the conference is well aware of, Stanford had the crank-it-up offense and the big-time receivers, even the close call at the finish. Copyright infringement went all the way to the 42-32 victory over UCLA before only 47,432 that put the Cardinal securely atop the Pac-10.

The Bruins had come to feel as if that spot belonged to them. They call themselves the two-time defending champions, although Washington State beat them head-to-head in 1997 and went to the Rose Bowl on that basis, and went into the ’99 opener feeling the pride of ownership. It had, after all, been 16 games since UCLA had lost in the conference.

The eviction notice, temporary or otherwise, came in bold letters, no matter the fourth-quarter comeback that kept things interesting. Stanford, which gave up 69 points to Texas in an opening-week loss, just beat Arizona and UCLA in an eight-day span, after starting league play with a victory over Washington State.

“It hurts,” Bruin fullback Durell Price said. “It’s maybe a step or two backward. But every championship team, you sometimes have to take a step backward to take 10 forward.”

This would be the backward portion. Because it means the Bruins will now need some help to reclaim the conference title. And because the events at Stanford Stadium looked so much like a rewind to the Bruins of ’98. Only for the other team.

It was Stanford that had the explosive passing game. Flanker Troy Walters set a conference record with a 98-yard touchdown catch, handling the last 60 or so of it on his own, and had 278 yards in all, third-most ever in the Pac-10 and the best showing of all time against UCLA. The Edgerrin James of the air.

It was Stanford that had the dependable quarterback. Not only because of Walters’ statistics, all on nine receptions. When starter Todd Husak went out because of bruised ribs with 13:04 left in the first half, backup Joe Borchard, from Camarillo High, completed 15 of 19 for 324 yards and five touchdowns. Together, Husak and Borchard were 21 of 27 for 465 yards, the most ever by a Bruin opponent. That led to 672 yards in offense, second to the 689 surrendered against Miami on the Bruins’ modern list.

It was Stanford that made the most of a potential disaster. Punter Sean Tolpinrud severely wounded UCLA, taking off on his own after a bobbled snap to turn fourth and seven from the 50 into first and 10 on the Bruin 18. On the next play, Borchard hit Walters for a 35-17 lead with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter, what eventually became the winning points.

“It was a matter of Sean Tolpinrud having a great awareness of the situation,” Cardinal Coach Tyrone Willingham said. “It’s one of those basketball plays where a guy shoots a 30-footer and the coach is sitting on the bench saying, ‘No! No! . . . Yes!’ when it goes in. That was kind of my reaction to Sean.”

And it was Stanford that survived a close finish, a Bruin trademark six or so games ago. It was needed because UCLA’s reaction to Tolpinrud was to cut that 35-17 deficit to 35-32 when DeShaun Foster scored from a yard out early in the fourth quarter and quarterback Drew Bennett went in from the four with 7:14 remaining. But then the Cardinal countered by grinding 4:12 off the clock on the ensuing possession, helped by Borchard’s 56-yard scramble and capped by a 13-yard pass from Borchard to DeRonnie Pitts, to end UCLA’s thoughts of a comeback from 28-3.

“We realized that we couldn’t have the same type of half that we had in the first half,” said UCLA’s Lovell Houston, who got a surprise call to return a kickoff and responded with a 95-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to help the cause. “We came out with a new level of intensity that we should have had in the first half. We just ran out of time.”

Said defensive tackle Anthony Fletcher: “It’s real tough. We came in knowing that they [Stanford] were the type of team on a roll after a couple big wins and had a lot going for them. We knew what we were in for. I guess we just didn’t respond right away. And when we did, Stanford knew what to do.”

Now to see if the Cardinal knows what to do with another lead, having already gotten by Arizona and UCLA to go 3-0 in the Pac-10 for the first time since 1971.

“We’ll always say we’re the team to beat,” Fletcher said. “There are a lot of good teams in the Pac-10. But UCLA is the reigning champions until someone knocks us off.”

He meant in more than one game.

WALTERS WORKS

Receiver has nine catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns, including a 98-yarder. Page 14

THE BAND PLAYED ON

The Stanford band chose an expected theme for its day against UCLA. Page 14

HOLDING THE KEYS

On a day of big plays, Stanford made biggest ones when it counted most. Page 14

STATS, PAGE 14

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No Stopping Them

The UCLA defense has given up plenty of yardage in the first four games:

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Opponent Rush Pass Total Result Stanford 207 465 672 L 42-32 Fresno State 115 198 313 W 35-21 Ohio State 241 266 507 L 42-20 Boise State 156 204 360 W 38-7 Average 179.8 283.3 463.0

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