Sept. 4, 2004

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By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Trent Edwards threw two touchdown passes to two-sport athlete Evan Moore, and Kenneth Tolon rushed for two scores in Stanford's 43-3 victory over San Jose State on Saturday night.

Edwards passed for 187 yards and ran for a TD in the Cardinal's fourth straight win over the Spartans. In the season opener for both teams, Stanford finished with its largest margin of victory in the Silicon Valley's rivalry game since winning 44-0 in 1972.

After taking a 15-0 lead into halftime, the Cardinal scored on their first three possessions of the third quarter. San Jose State avoided a shutout with Jeff Carr's 40-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth.

Moore, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, caught TD passes of 30 and 22 yards in the first half. He was a reserve on Stanford's basketball team last season, and he'll compete for significant playing time this fall after the football season finishes.

Moore's second TD catch was a beauty that reminded observers of Teyo Johnson, the former Stanford receiver and basketball forward who's now a tight end with the Oakland Raiders. On fourth-and-2, Moore leaped to make a one-handed grab behind his head, then tumbled into the end zone.

Though the Cardinal are expected to finish near the bottom of the Pac-10 for the third straight season under coach Buddy Teevens, they've returned to dominance in this rivalry following three consecutive victories by San Jose State from 1998-00. Stanford has outscored the Spartans 178-53 since then.

San Jose State has one of college football's least experienced rosters, and its depth was further eroded when the school kept six players out of uniform because of questions about their academic eligibility.

Starting safeties Brian Nunez and Katrell Collier missed the game, and so did four reserves. The confusion surrounds the NCAA's rules about the number of course hours required toward players' majors, and the players were held out as a precaution.

"They may very well be eligible, but we had to be sure," athletic director Chuck Bell said. "I'm hurt for the kids, the coaches (and) the fans."

Bill Walsh, the former Stanford coach and San Jose State graduate, provided color commentary on the local television broadcast. Walsh no longer has an active role with the San Francisco 49ers, focusing his attention on his job as a special assistant to Stanford athletic director Ted Leland.