Oregon State
Stanford
Football Squad Downs Cardinal, 38-6
October 14, 2000 | Football
Oct. 14, 2000
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Once thought too short to play quarterback for a major program, Jonathan Smith is heating up just as Oregon State makes an unexpected run for the roses.
The former walk-on passed for 324 yards, including a school-record 97-yard touchdown strike to Chad Johnson, as the No. 23 Beavers beat Stanford 38-6 on Saturday.
Smith also had a 76-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh as the Beavers (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10) earned their most lopsided victory over Stanford in their 68 meetings, topping a 27-0 win in 1962.
"I was a little juiced today," said Smith, who completed 14 of 26 passes. "It was a great win for us, it makes you feel good about where you're going."
Stanford (2-4, 1-2) lost its third straight game and likely is out of the running to repeat as Pac-10 champion. The Beavers, meanwhile, still have a chance for their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1965.
"We're still in the hunt, until someone tells us we're out of it," said second-year coach Dennis Erickson. "And no one's told us we're out of the hunt yet."
Johnson's 97-yard touchdown catch broke the Oregon State record of 92 yards, set in 1983 on a pass from Ladd McKittrick to Reggie Bynum against Washington State.
"Just catch it and go, that's what I did," Johnson said. "All we did was play catch."
The 5-foot-11 Smith, given a roster spot by former coach Mike Riley, won the starting job for good two years ago at Washington, when he threw for a school-record 469 yards. He was erratic in the first four games this season, but had 314 yards in last week's 33-30 loss at Washington. He hasn't thrown an interception since the season opener.
Oregon State running back Ken Simonton, who came in as the nation's fourth-leading rusher at 162.6 yards per game, carried only 14 times for 81 yards. He did have a 10-yard touchdown run that gave the Beavers a 31-6 lead with 4:55 left in the third quarter.
Simonton's backup, Patrick McCall, got much of the workload, finishing with 53 yards on 10 carries. His 3-yard touchdown early in the second quarter gave the Beavers a 7-3 lead. He also had a 57-yard score called back on a holding penalty.
Stanford's Chris Lewis, making his third straight start in place of injured Randy Fasani, was 18-of-33 for 185 yards and two interceptions.
"What we've done is missed opportunities," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said. "You can't do that against an explosive football team."
Fasani had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee the day after he was hurt against Texas on Sept. 29. He's expected to be back soon, possibly for next week's home game against Southern Cal.
Stanford trailed 17-6 in the third quarter when punter Mike Biselli pinned the Beavers to their own 3. On the next play, Smith hit Johnson in stride, and Johnson used his 4.3 speed to pull away from cornerback Ruben Carter for the easy touchdown.
It was the only reception of the day for Johnson, who caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Smith against Washington. Houshmandzadeh added five catches for a career-high 120 yards.
"I think we're the best receivers in the Pac-10," Houshmandzadeh said. "We knew we had to rebound off last week's loss. If we execute every week, nobody can beat us."
Stanford held the ball more than 12 minutes longer than the Beavers, but its running backs were stuffed most of the time.
Without starting center Zack Quaccia, who did not make the trip after injuring left knee in last week's loss at Notre Dame, the Cardinal averaged barely 3 yards per rush. That put more pressure on Lewis, who often threw into double- or triple-coverage.
Smith had his own problems in the first half, throwing behind and over his receivers. But with the score tied at 3, he got lucky when Stanford strong safety Aaron Focht lunged after a sideline pass and missed, allowing Houshmandzadeh to run untouched for the 76-yard score with 9:51 left in the second quarter.
Stanford's Ryan Wells returned the kickoff 80 yards to the Oregon State 9, but the Cardinal gained just one yard on three tries and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Biselli to 14-6 with 8:44 left in the period.
By LANDON HALL
AP Sports Writer
