Tim Carey just can't get a break.

Last season at Stanford, Carey was beat out of the starting quarterback job on the last day of practice by Mark Butterfield. He patiently sat in the shadow of the senior Butterfield all season, knowing that his turn would be this year.

Saturday, the Cardinal opens the season in Palo Alto, Calif., against Utah. It is a place where Carey is familiar. He'll take the field as he always has, and on the first offensive play he will stand next to the coach, another spot he is all too familiar with.

Head coach Tyrone Willingham decided Tuesday to go with his rookie, sophomore Chad Hutchinson.

Hutchinson has not played in a football game since high school. He has been busy working with his fastball. The No. 2 starter on the Stanford baseball team last year, Hutchinson went 7-2 and was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.

He only started working with the team this fall, missing all of the spring drills.

"We felt that in evaluating this fall, he played better than Tim Carey," Willingham said.

Standing 6-foot-5, the 215-pound Hutchinson possesses a cannon of an arm - a 94 mph arm, that is. With a large mobile body, Hutchinson has the ability to make things happen, something Willingham couldn't overlook.

"It was the overall performance in running our team and providing the leadership we need to have a winning team," Willingham said.

Hutchinson said he was "kind of surprised" when Willingham named him the starter over Carey, his roommate.

"I'm not sure right now (how he could help the team), because I don't have any experience," Hutchinson said. "So I don't know yet what I'll bring to this offense."

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UCLA head coach Bob Toledo got a glimpse of what he could've had Sunday, when Karim Abdul-Jabbar ran for more than a 100 yards and a touchdown for the Miami Dolphins.

Entering the draft after his junior season, Abdul-Jabber never looked back.

Toledo will have to rely on junior Skip Hicks to fill in as his replacement this fall.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Hicks has overcome knee surgery and will start in Saturday's game at Tennessee against the No. 2 Volunteers.

"Skip has the potential to be a sensational runner and we are going to do everything within our power to enable him to perform at his highest level," Toledo said.

Tennessee opened its season last Saturday with a 62-3 defeat of Nevada-Las Vegas and is favored by more than two touchdowns for Saturday's game.

"We couldn't be playing a tougher opponent. They deserve a No. 1 or No. 2 ranking," Toledo said. "An advantage they have is they've played a game. You can't simulate that. I don't know how we're going to respond. That's what I'm excited about."

The Bruins are expected to start just five seniors, all on defense, 10 juniors, six sophomores and one redshirt freshman.

"If you're going to play, go play the best and see what happens," Toledo said. "I love big games."

Toledo, who was the UCLA offensive coordinator from 1994-95, was signed on as head coach in January after Northwestern head coach Gary Barnett turned the job down. Former head coach Terry Donahue resigned to take a position for CBS as a football commentator.

As it turns out, Donahue's first regular-season game in the booth is the UCLA-Tennessee game.

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Oregon is the first team in the Pacific 10 Conference that is thankful for overtime.

A last-minute field goal in regulation allowed a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tony Graziani to tight end Josh Wilcox to clinch a 30-27 win over Fresno State in the fifth period. Each team has an equal amount of attempts from the opposition's 25-yard line to try to score. On Fresno State's only possession, it kicked a field goal.

A tie and the Ducks could forget making an appearance in the polls, but with the win they still can be considered contenders. The win will stick with them; the poor game against Fresno State will be forgotten.

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti started three redshirt freshmen on defense: inside linebacker Peter Sirmon and safeties Michael Fletcher and Brandon McLemore. Fresno State gained 429 yards against a team that gave up 294.6 per game last season. Bellotti's top concern is getting his defense back on track. The Ducks will face Nevada and Colorado State at home its next two games.

Oregon opens its Pac-10 schedule Sept. 21 against Washington State.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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