Sept. 25, 1999
STANFORD, Calif. - The school that has produced so many greatquarterbacks, from Jim Plunkett to John Elway, may have discovered another onesitting on its bench.
Joe Borchard came off the sideline to throw five touchdown passes, includinga Pac-10 record 98-yarder to Troy Walters, as Stanford held off No. 18 UCLA42-32 Saturday.
Walters, who also caught scoring passes of 30 and 18 yards, had ninereceptions for 278 yards, a Stanford record for receiving yardage in a game andthe third-highest total in Pac-10 history.
"He's probably the leading receiver in the history of our conference,"said UCLA coach Bob Toledo, who coached with Walters' father at Texas A&M inthe early 1990s. "He's a little guy, but it's like a dance - you wouldn't askhim to go on the floor, but he's got the best moves."
Borchard, who was 15-of-19 for 324 yards after relieving injured Todd Husakin the second quarter, also threw scoring passes of 13 and 8 yards to DeRonniePitts and scrambled 56 yards to help interrupt a late UCLA rally.
"My job as a backup is to be ready. I saw Todd on the ground and I knew itwas time to get warmed up. I thought I'd go in and run the ball," saidBorchard, a right fielder for the Stanford baseball team. "I'm still a backup,my job is still just to be ready when called upon, but I'm glad to get theopportunity to win."
Kerry Carter added a 5-yard scoring run for the Cardinal (3-1).
Lovell Houston returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown for UCLA (2-2),the first kick returned for a score by the Bruins in 19 years. DeShaun Fosterhad scoring runs of 7 and 1 yards, and quarterback Drew Bennett had a 4-yardscoring run. Chris Griffith added a 32-yard field goal.
The Cardinal is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1971, whenthe league was the Pac-8 and Stanford's nickname was the Indians, a namechanged in 1972.
UCLA, playing its conference opener, had its streak of 15 straight Pac-10victories snapped. The Bruins had not lost a league game since their 1997opener at Washington State.
Last week, UCLA overcame the loss of its starting quarterback to defeatFresno State. Cory Paus was knocked out of that game with bruised ribs early inthe second quarter, and Bennett came in to lead the Bruins to victory.
The scenario was eerily similar Saturday, but this time it was UCLA that wasburned by a reserve quarterback. Husak was knocked out with bruised ribs earlyin the second quarter, and did not return.
"I couldn't be more happy than if it was me making the plays, but it wastough to watch on the sidelines," Husak said. "Two guys sandwiched me, theypounded me pretty good. I might have been able to hand it off, but I couldn'tthrow."
The victory completed a weird opening month for Stanford, which began with a69-17 loss at Texas but rebounded with conference victories over WashingtonState (54-17), No. 19 Arizona (50-22) and UCLA.
Bennett was 19-of-31 for 207 yards and Foster rushed 19 times for 100 yards.Wide receiver Danny Farmer returned for UCLA after missing the game againstFresno State with a sprained left ankle, but did not make a catch.
"The offense got going after a while, but you can't start that slow againsta team like that," Bennett said.
Carter opened the scoring midway through the first quarter, completing a95-yard drive. UCLA got a field goal, but Stanford responded with a two-playdrive consisting of a 50-yard juggling catch by Walters and his 30-yard scoringreception.
Borchard added an 8-yard scoring pass to Pitts with 50 seconds left in thesecond quarter to give Stanford a 21-3 halftime lead.
A UCLA punt had pinned Stanford on its 2 early in the third period whenBorchard stepped into his end zone and threw a bomb to the streaking Walters togive the Cardinal a 28-3 lead.
Houston, a redshirt freshman touching the ball for the first time in hiscollege career, went untouched up the middle of the field with the ensuingkickoff. Jojo Townsell was the previous Bruins player to score on a kickoffreturn, going 100 yards against California in 1980.
UCLA pulled within 28-17 on Foster's 7-yard run, before Walters caught histhird touchdown pass to make it 35-17 at the end of the third quarter.
The Bruins scored twice, on runs by Foster and Bennett, to pull to 35-32.Stanford was facing third-and-5 from its 15 with six minutes left when Borchardgot the Cardinal out of trouble with his long scramble. He hit Pitts with a13-yard scoring pass several plays later.
By ROB GLOSTER
AP Sports Writer