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TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- It took 17th-ranked Arizona four games to prove that preseason hype means nothing. Arizona started the season ranked third in the country, but after getting drilled by Stanford, 50-22, on its home field, the 17th-ranked Wildcats are headed out of the polls. Kerry Carter ran for three first-half touchdowns as Stanford exploded offensively for the second straight week, spoiling the Pac-10 Conference opener for Arizona. After the Wildcats (2-2, 0-1 Pac-10) took a 7-0 lead on Ortege Jenkins' 21-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan 4:44 into the contest, Stanford erupted to score the next 30 points before intermission. Carter had scoring runs of five, eight and three yards while quarterback Todd Husak also plunged over from one yard in the opening half for the Cardinal (2-1, 2-0), who topped the 50-point mark for the second straight week. Stanford was coming off a 54-17 pasting of Washington State last weekend and has made a remarkable turnaround after getting pummelled by Texas, 69-17. Husak completed 21-of-35 passes for 364 yards and also connected with Dave Davis on a 10-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter. Troy Walters was Husak's favorite receiever, catching eight balls for 168 yards. "Those guys (receivers) made my job so easy," Husak said. "We just started getting our rhythm early. It's not so much a shock that we won, as it is rewarding. We've worked so hard and everything is paying off." The porous Wildcats defense has allowed over 35 points through their first four games. Tonight was the most points the Wildcats have surrendered on their home field. "We were a poorly coached team out there," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said. "Nobody can hold up their head thinking they played well. It's one thing to get beat by Penn State when you're thousands of miles away from home, but it was just terrible getting beat like that at home." Jenkins finished 15-of-23 for 200 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Tomey also said he will work his team hard in practice, starting Sunday. "I won't sleep tonight and nobody in this room should sleep tonight because something we all worked hard for is slipping away," he said. "I told the guys to be here at 7:00 a.m (Sunday) and we will practice in full gear. The coaches will meet at six and people could sleep after practice." Stanford's march of consecutive points in the first quarter started with a mistake by the Wildcats' special teams. Mike Biselli had a 21-yard field goal blocked, but Arizona was whistled for having 12 men on the field. Biselli hit on the retry to cut Arizona's lead to 7-3. Carter, who was making his first career start, scored on a five-yard run with 17 seconds left in the quarter to put the Cardinal ahead for good. Carter carried 20 times for 80 yards. "It wasn't really that intimidating," said Carter of his first start. "We game-planned it pretty well. They do a lot of stunting and when you catch them in those stunts, you could catch them off guard for big plays." As a team, Stanford rushed for 214 yards on 39 attempts. "Our offense can be better but tonight's effort is pleasing, especially to perform like this in back-to-back games," said Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham. "We felt as if we had to try to run the ball to be successful tonight." Husak scored on his one-yard run 4:03 into the second and, after the Wildcats were forced into a turnover on their ensuing possession, Carter scampered eight yards for a TD and a 24-7 advantage. The Wildcats drove to the Stanford 1 but were stopped on fourth down. Stanford then drove 99 yards in 11 plays, capped by Carter's run from three yards. Biselli missed the extra point to leave the score at 30-7 at intermission. Strong safety Tim Smith had three interceptions in the first half for the Cardinal. However, the Wildcats fought their way back in the third quarter. It took Arizona just 45 seconds into the third to score when Jenkins found Dennis Northcutt from seven yards. Trung Canidate set up the score with a 73-yard run. Canidate carried 14 times for 127 yards. The duo of Jenkins and Northcutt hooked up again, this time from 15 yards with 61 seconds left in the period. Jenkins ran in the conversion to cut Stanford's lead to 30-22 entering the fourth. Northcutt had a huge game, finishing with eight catches for 139 yards. But Stanford would not be denied and regained control early in the fourth with a nine-play, 65-yard drive, capped by Husak's 10-yard TD pass to Dave Davis with 12:49 to play. Backup fullback Casey Moore clinched it with a 49-yard run for a score with 10:20 to go. Coy Wire scored on a 44-yard run to close the scoring. Keith Smith, who shares time at quarterback with Smith, was just 4-of-9 for 80 yards and two interceptions.
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