Stanford’s Colby Parkinson ties school record with 4 TD catches in win

No JJ Arcega-Whiteside? No problem for Stanford.

Tight end Colby Parkinson tied a Stanford record with four touchdown catches, all in the first half, propelling the Cardinal to a 48-17 win over Oregon State on Saturday night.

The record is also shared by Ken Margerum and Coby Fleener, a tight end to whom the 6-7 Parkinson is often compared.

“Colby is fast; Coby is faster,” head coach David Shaw said. “Coby Fleener is big, but Colby Parkinson is bigger. Colby is only a sophomore; he’s 245 pounds right now. Coby didn’t get up there until he was a fourth-year player. They have some similarities.”

Shaw added: “At some point we anticipate Colby being the best tight end in America, like Kaden Smith is right now.”

Parkinson had six catches for 166 yards, while Arcega-Whiteside sat out the game with an ankle injury from last week’s game at Washington.

Stanford (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) became bowl eligible after its ninth straight win in the series with the Beavers (2-8, 1-6). It piled up a season-high 596 yards of total offense.

Against the worst run defense in the conference, the Cardinal rushed for 244 yards.

The win was especially welcome for Stanford after four losses in its previous five games. The Cardinal play Cal next Saturday at Berkeley in the 121st Big Game.

Of several injured players, Arcega-Whiteside probably has the best chance to return for the Cal game, Shaw said.

“JJ was feeling really good starting yesterday,” Shaw said. “He should start running around early next week, maybe get some practice in Tuesday.”

Bryce Love had 11 carries for 90 yards, including a 28-yard run on Stanford’s first series.

“Once again, he’s all that’s right about college football,” Shaw said. “It’s probably the best he’s felt in about a month.”

Oregon State’s promising freshman tailback, Jermar Jefferson, had 109 yards on 19 runs. Wide receiver Trevon Bradford had five catches for 120 yards. Quarterback Jake Luton was 14-for-26 for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Thanks mainly to the Costello-Parkinson heroics, Stanford led 34-17 at the half. The tight end caught touchdown passes of 28, 9, 75 and 5 in the half.

“We were just getting the matchups we wanted out there,” Parkinson said. “They kept doing a lot of man coverage, something that K.J. and I work on all week, all offseason really.”

On the 75-yard play, Stanford spread out four tight ends, leaving Parkinson on a linebacker.

“This game was for the seniors,” he said. “It was awesome that we were able to play a full game. That’s something we really haven’t done this season.”

A 41-yard run by Cameron Scarlett, the longest of his career, boosted the lead to 41-17 in the third quarter. Scarlett burst through a big hole and wasn’t touched until he was practically in the end zone.

The Beavers moved to the Stanford 10, mainly on a 48-yard run by Artavis Pierce. But Jordan Choukair’s 28-yard field goal try hooked just outside the left upright.

It took just 1 minute and 48 seconds into the game for the Cardinal to get on the board. Love bolted 28 yards for the touchdown on their first series.

The Beavers tied it 7-7 on a “drive” that was even quicker. On first down Luton found Bradford wide open at the Stanford 35, and he completed a 63-yard touchdown play.

“That one stung,” safety Frank Buncom said. “It was definitely my fault.”

Costello threw a 28-yard TD pass to Parkinson to give Stanford a 13-7 lead. Collin Riccitelli, filling in for injured kicker Jet Toner, missed the extra-point kick. It was his second miss in two weeks. He made the rest of his kicks Saturday.

Parkinson used his height to grab a 9-yard touchdown pass from Costello early in the second quarter. He easily separated from 6-1 cornerback Jeffrey Manning Jr. to make the catch.

Briefly: Stanford’s Jordan Fox and Thomas Booker had sacks. Booker, a freshman, has sacks in three consecutive games. … Reserve cornerback Obi Eboh led the Stanford defense with six tackles.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald