Somehow, Stanford achieved it Saturday night, shocking fifth-ranked Texas, 27-24.

It wasn't supposed to be that way, but Cardinal quarterback Randy Fasani sustained a knee injury on his team's second possession after being sacked by defensive end Maurice Gordon, and is out indefinitely.

Stanford starting quarterback Randy Fasani left the game in the first quarter.(AP)

Fasani, a senior with one year of eligibility remaining, had helped account for 998 total yards and 51 points in the first two games. No matter. Head coach Tyrone Willingham had no choice but to insert redshirt freshman Chris Lewis and accelerate his learning curve.

Hardly a fair fight, considering Texas head coach Mack Brown had two experienced quarterbacks in junior Major Applewhite and sophomore Chris Simms. Last September in Austin the duo combined for four scoring passes in a 69-17 rout against Stanford.

Plus, there were seemingly as many Longhorn fans as Cardinal supporters at 85,500-seat Stanford Stadium. An estimated 20,000 Texas fans made the trip, while Stanford was minus its student body, classes not starting until the end of the month.

Naturally, the Longhorns held a huge tailgate party outside the stadium. When a group of late stragglers asked a security guard where to find the Texas contingent, she smiled, shook her head and said, "They're everywhere.''

Before the game, Brown went out of his way to introduce himself to Stanford alum Tiger Woods, proud owner of a new $100 million Nike contract, who watched the game from the Cardinal sideline.

"I'm glad you're here,'' Brown told him. "And I'm glad we're not playing golf.''

Replied Woods, "I'm retired.''

Shortly afterward, the Texas cheerleaders spotted Woods and asked him to pose for photographs. Naturally, he obliged, probably figuring there wouldn't be much to cheer about on his side of the field.

As it turned out, he was wrong.

Granted, Stanford kids are exceptionally bright, but throwing a raw but strong-armed rookie like Lewis to the Longhorns was a stretch. Just because the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder from Long Beach, Calif., was rated one of the top-rated prep quarterbacks in the country in 1998 doesn't mean he was ready to handle a highly regarded Texas defense in prime-time.

Lewis' stomach might have been churning, but his athletic ability chased away the butterflies. On his second pass attempt, Lewis found flanker Luke Powell for a 37-yard touchdown to give the 13-point underdogs a 6-0 lead.

Even the craziest of Cardinal diehards didn't expect the lead to hold up, and it didn't. The next time Lewis took the field, he started from his own 2-yard line. On the first play, he fumbled the snap and fell on the ball. On the second play, he handed off to fullback Casey Moore and the Texas defense fell on him -- in the end zone, for a safety.

Was this the beginning of the end for Stanford, which hadn't defeated a Top 10 team since 1993, when it surprised seventh-ranked Colorado? Seemed like it when Simms replaced the ineffective Applewhite early in the second quarter and quickly connected with wide receiver Roy Williams for a ridiculously-easy 38-yard TD pass.

Don't forget, this was the same Cardinal defense that surrendered 254 yards rushing last week to San Jose State running back Deonce Whitaker in an uninspiring 40-27 loss. If the lightly regarded Spartans could run up and down the field against Stanford, surely it couldn't contain the Longhorns.

Just to keep things interesting, Lewis threw another scoring pass late in the half to wide receiver DeRonnie Pitts, a well-conceived inside screen on third and 10 from the Texas 17. If nothing else, Stanford could console itself with a 13-9 halftime lead.

No telling what Brown told his troops during the break, but it was probably more than Just Do It. Perhaps he told them to stop staring at Woods.

His players seemed even more shell-shocked one minute into the third quarter when reserve fullback Emory Brock, the son of baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock, blocked Longhorn punter Kris Stockton's kick and carried it into the end zone for a touchdown. Suddenly, the Cardinal led 20-9, and an unthinkable upset seemed plausible.

Then again, as heroically as the Stanford defense had performed, Lewis squandered great field position in the third quarter, partly the result of conservative play calling, and failed to produce a point. The worst starting point was his own 37, and twice he took over inside Texas territory.

"It was frustrating,'' said Lewis, whose numbers weren't pretty -- 12 of 33 for 214 yards -- but whose timing was impeccable. "Especially because our defense played their heart out. I was more mad at myself.''

Applewhite finally burned the Cardinal secondary with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter on a 71-yard TD pass to wide receiver B.J. Johnson, the latter getting behind two defenders. A two-point conversion pulled Texas within three points, and more importantly put added pressure on Lewis. The heat intensified when Applewhite gave the Longhorns the lead on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Victor Ike.

This time, Lewis rose to the occasion. Starting on his own 41 with 1:55 to play, he found money-man Pitts for 30 yards; collected an extra 14 yards on a roughing the passer penalty; then wisely got the ball to Pitts again, the latter covering the final 15 yards and diving over a defender into the end zone.

"It was pretty scary,'' Pitts said of the lunge. "I saw Michael Vick do it today, so I thought I'd give it a try.''

Pitts had nothing but praise for the poise and leadership of Lewis.

"Our coaches always stress to our backups you're only one play away from the game,'' he said. "Chris understands that. We were more concerned that he didn't get hurt.''

Said Lewis: "My job is to get it in the hands of our big-time players. That's what I did.''

Securing the biggest win of Willingham's six-year tenure at Stanford.

How do you stink out the joint against San Jose State, then stun Texas? With a young backup quarterback, no less? It's the Cardinal way.

"We obviously didn't play up to our potential,'' Lewis said. "We weren't hyped up. It just sends a message out that we're not that bad.''