Sept. 11, 2004

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By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Trent Edwards passed for a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns, and T.J. Rushing returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score in Stanford's 37-10 victory over Brigham Young on Saturday night.

Alex Smith, Justin McCullum and Evan Moore caught scoring passes from Edwards, who was 20-of-41 to dominate his aerial duel with Jason Beck, BYU's third-string quarterback.

The Cardinal fell behind 10-0 before flattening the mistake-prone Cougars (1-1), who committed seven turnovers and 14 penalties for 125 yards.

Stanford took the lead for good on Smith's 2-yard TD catch early in the second quarter. McCullum caught a 21-yard scoring pass in the third, and the 6-foot-7 Moore outjumped his defender to snare a 25-yard TD throw early in the fourth.

Michael Sgroi kicked three field goals for Stanford, which also started 2-0 last season with wins over San Jose State and BYU - but went 2-7 the rest of the way.

Last fall's 18-14 win over the Cougars was a run-oriented game decided in the final minutes, but the Cardinal's impressive passing attack was too much for BYU.

With John Beck and Matt Berry sidelined by injuries, Jason Beck was 23-of-46 for 232 yards and three interceptions. But the Cougars, who upset Notre Dame last week, were doomed by penalties, turnovers and uninspired defensive play.

The Cougars lost three fumbles - two in the first half - and Jason Beck threw all three of his interceptions in the second half. Fourth-stringer Jackson Brown also got picked off in the final minute.

BYU took its early lead on Fahu Tahi's 3-yard TD run and Matt Payne's 40-yard field goal - but Rushing, a cornerback and a sprinter on Stanford's track team, roared nearly untouched through the Cougars' coverage on the ensuing kickoff.

It was the third-longest kickoff return for a touchdown in school history, and Stanford's first TD return since 1996.

Later in the second quarter, the Cardinal's first scoring drive featured a 76-yard completion to Mark Bradford, who made an impressive broken-field run from one sideline to the other. Bradford and Moore also play for the Stanford basketball team.

Berry started for the Cougars in place of John Beck, who hurt his shoulder in their season-opening win over Notre Dame. But Berry cut his hand during the Cougars' second drive and went to the locker room.

Jason Beck - no relation to John Beck - had intermittent success in BYU's pass-heavy game plan, but John Beck and Brown relieved him in the fourth quarter.

The large BYU fan contingent at Stanford Stadium booed the Stanford band at halftime when the rambunctious group poked fun at polygamy with five dancers wearing wedding veils.