Stanford Gives San Jose the Slip

Luke Powell wasn’t affected by the elements.

Powell caught a touchdown pass, set up another with a 54-yard reception and returned a punt 58 yards as No. 12 Stanford ended three years of frustration with a 41-14 victory over San Jose State on Saturday on a muddy field.

Brian Allen scored twice for the Cardinal (9-2), which hadn’t beaten the Spartans (3-9) since 1997.

“Luke Powell made me look good,” said Stanford quarterback Randy Fasani, who threw for one score and ran for another.

“I really felt bad for their defensive backs. He’s a shifty route runner and once he makes his cuts, the DBs were slipping. It made it easy to throw him the ball.”

Edell Shepherd caught seven passes for 107 yards for San Jose State, including one for a touchdown, and has 83 for the season, a school record. Guy Liggins caught 77 in 1987. Clint Carlson threw two touchdown passes as the Spartans dropped their third straight.

Powell finished with six catches for 158 yards.

“The footing was bad, but I had some good breaks,” Powell said. “The DBs lost their footing a little bit and I was able to take advantage. Randy dropped it in a perfect place.”

Fasani, in his second start since returning from a knee injury, completed 12 of 22 passes for 256 yards as the Cardinal extended its winning streak to four games.

Stanford, which has already accepted a bid to play in the Seattle Bowl on Dec. 27, won nine games during the regular season for just the second time in 50 years and the first since the Bill Walsh-coached team of 1992 went 9-3.

“They made it difficult for us to get anything going in our running game,” said San Jose State Coach Fitz Hill. “They also didn’t allow us to make any big plays.”

The Cardinal opened the scoring late in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, the 5-foot-8 Powell caught a 54-yard pass from Fasani despite double coverage. That put the ball on San Jose State’s 17. Six plays later, Allen scored the first of his touchdowns, from three yards.

Stanford defensive end Louis Hobson intercepted Marcus Arroyo’s pass at the Spartan 19. After a sack, Fasani found Powell open in the end zone for a 27-yard scoring play on the second play of the second quarter.

“Luke has a natural ability to make plays,” Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham said. “How he comes away with the ball in double coverage, you just marvel at it.”

Fasani ran 34 yards for another touchdown late in the quarter.

“I faked to the halfback and turned the corner very slow so I wouldn’t slip,” Fasani said. “It felt like I was running in slow motion, but for some reason their defensive backs were looking across the field.”

With the exception of the opening drive, which resulted in a missed field goal, the Spartans’ offense was largely ineffective.