CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 12, 1998

STANFORD, Calif. -- It doesn't seem to matter which quarterback Arizona plays.

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Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins again shared duties Saturday, and each threw a touchdown pass and combined for 288 passing yards as No. 21 Arizona defeated Stanford 31-14 in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

"They talk about making a decision after the fourth week, but I don't know how they can," said Jenkins, who threw for 158 yards. "We have two great quarterbacks trying to lead this team and we each have things we can do."

Kelvin Eafon ran for two touchdowns and Trung Canidate, in his first appearance of the year for the Wildcats, rushed for 110 yards.

Smith started and, while the Wildcats (2-0) moved the ball, they fell behind 7-0 on his watch.

"IT'S A GOOD THING TO HAVE two guys," Smith said. ``If one guy is not doing it, you know the other is going to do it."

Jenkins

Arizona tight end Paul Shields (32) bobbles the ball as Stanford's Maxwell Stevenson defends during the Wildcats' 31-14 victory. (AP)

entered the game early in the second quarter and directed Arizona to a 24-point outburst.

"You have to go with the flow," Jenkins said. ``I like coming in the second quarter. When you don't start, you have to relax and see what happens."

Stanford took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Todd Husak hooked up with Dave Davis for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The scoring drive was helped along when Husak found Troy Walters open for a 67-yard completion.

Walters, who owns Stanford single-season records for receptions (86) and receiving yards (1,206) last season, left the game shortly thereafter with a badly sprained right ankle and did not return. That also ended a streak of catching touchdown passes in four straight games, dating to 1997.

"ANY TIME YOU'VE GOT YOUR best player on the bench, it hurts," Husak said.

Arizona's first three scoring opportunities ended in an interception and two missed field goals. Stanford's Jamien McCullum picked off Smith's pass at the Cardinal 16 and Mark McDonald was wide left on field goals of 22 and 38 yards.

"We needed to have more to show for those opportunities," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said. "We didn't, but we hung in there and battled."

Arizona tied the score at 5:25 in the second quarter as Eafon raced 10 yards for the touchdown that culminated a nine-play, 56-yard drive. Jenkins' 20-yard run on a third-and-19 play gave the Wildcats a first down in Stanford territory on the scoring drive.

"Jenkins broke a couple on us," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said. "There are two very common threads to our losses: lack of tackling and penalties."

Arizona made it 14-7 with 1:03 left in the first half. The Wildcats marched 74 yards in six plays, including a 44-yard pass from Jenkins to receiver Dennis Northcutt, for the go-ahead touchdown. The scoring play was a 22-yard pass from Jenkins to Jeremy McDaniel.

"TODAY THE OFFENSE STARTED slowly and OJ comes in and sparks the offense," Smith said.

Northcutt, who had five catches for 160 yards, also caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Smith, who reentered the game in the fourth quarter.

McDonald added a 26-yard field goal at 9:27 of the third quarter.

The Cardinal made it 24-14 when Husak, who passed for 274 yards, found Davis for a 42-yard touchdown. Davis ended the game with eight receptions for 127 yards.

Canidate returned after rehabilitating a stress fracture in his right foot, an injury suffered in last year's 31-28 victory over San Diego State and aggravated in the next week's 28-22 victory over Stanford.

"I was glad just to get out there," Canidate said. ``I was rusty, but I expected to be more crisp."