Stanford -- With two wins in three games, Stanford appears to be succeeding despite a continuing spate of significant injuries. But even victory can't stop the bad news.
Senior Jason Evans, who played tailback at Arizona in place of injured Anthony Kimble, sustained a season-ending knee injury late in the game and his Stanford career is over.
Evans was hurt on the Cardinal's last scoring drive after a 4-yard gain. He was hit from the side while being tackled by another defender. Evans has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the second such injury in two weeks for the Cardinal. Tight end Jim Dray tore his ACL the previous week.
Evans finished the game with a career-best 78 yards on 21 carries and his second career touchdown in the first half.
"What really showed up on the tape was (Evans') yardage after contact, the way he was seeing in the holes, the way he was able to be productive and get the most out of the runs that he had," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He turned in a really solid performance."
Harbaugh said that as of Tuesday, redshirt freshman Tyrone McGraw will be the Cardinal's starting tailback. McGraw rushed for a personal-best 50 yards on 16 carries against the Wildcats as the No. 2 back.
The loss of Evans thins the Cardinal's running-back corps even further. Kimble, with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play Saturday at Oregon State, and freshman Jeremy Stewart, who carried once at Arizona for a 1-yard touchdown that was the game-winner, is questionable, also with a shoulder injury.
Sophomore Toby Gerhart, who has missed the last five games with a knee injury (and six total for the season), is working hard to be ready to play. Gerhart is sporting a large brace on his left knee. He said he hopes to be involved in contact at practice by the end of the week. Harbaugh said he didn't know whether Gerhart would be available for Saturday's game.
"Last week, I felt pretty good, got in a lot of running and cutting. We are just trying pick up from there and top out at max speed," Gerhart said. "It's a tough situation right now. You feel like the team needs you. We're lacking at running back right now and that makes you want to get back out there faster, try things a little bit hard, push a little more.
"But at the same time, you don't want to have a setback or re-injure it or push it too hard, where you can't come back for a while, instead of taking an extra week or couple of days."
More injury news: Center Tim Mattran injured his right foot during the Arizona game, but returned to play and Harbaugh said that's a good sign.
"We'll see," Harbaugh said. "I would anticipate that he'd be all right."
Harbaugh also confirmed that offensive lineman Allen Smith is out for the season after sustaining a knee injury in the game against Oregon on Sept. 22. Smith is not expected to return until summer training.
Linebacker Pat Maynor is expected to return after sitting out last week's game with a concussion.
Senior Jason Evans, who played tailback at Arizona in place of injured Anthony Kimble, sustained a season-ending knee injury late in the game and his Stanford career is over.
Evans was hurt on the Cardinal's last scoring drive after a 4-yard gain. He was hit from the side while being tackled by another defender. Evans has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the second such injury in two weeks for the Cardinal. Tight end Jim Dray tore his ACL the previous week.
Evans finished the game with a career-best 78 yards on 21 carries and his second career touchdown in the first half.
"What really showed up on the tape was (Evans') yardage after contact, the way he was seeing in the holes, the way he was able to be productive and get the most out of the runs that he had," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He turned in a really solid performance."
Harbaugh said that as of Tuesday, redshirt freshman Tyrone McGraw will be the Cardinal's starting tailback. McGraw rushed for a personal-best 50 yards on 16 carries against the Wildcats as the No. 2 back.
The loss of Evans thins the Cardinal's running-back corps even further. Kimble, with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play Saturday at Oregon State, and freshman Jeremy Stewart, who carried once at Arizona for a 1-yard touchdown that was the game-winner, is questionable, also with a shoulder injury.
Sophomore Toby Gerhart, who has missed the last five games with a knee injury (and six total for the season), is working hard to be ready to play. Gerhart is sporting a large brace on his left knee. He said he hopes to be involved in contact at practice by the end of the week. Harbaugh said he didn't know whether Gerhart would be available for Saturday's game.
"Last week, I felt pretty good, got in a lot of running and cutting. We are just trying pick up from there and top out at max speed," Gerhart said. "It's a tough situation right now. You feel like the team needs you. We're lacking at running back right now and that makes you want to get back out there faster, try things a little bit hard, push a little more.
"But at the same time, you don't want to have a setback or re-injure it or push it too hard, where you can't come back for a while, instead of taking an extra week or couple of days."
More injury news: Center Tim Mattran injured his right foot during the Arizona game, but returned to play and Harbaugh said that's a good sign.
"We'll see," Harbaugh said. "I would anticipate that he'd be all right."
Harbaugh also confirmed that offensive lineman Allen Smith is out for the season after sustaining a knee injury in the game against Oregon on Sept. 22. Smith is not expected to return until summer training.
Linebacker Pat Maynor is expected to return after sitting out last week's game with a concussion.
