Arizona State pulls off convincing 26-10 home win over Stanford
No. 17 Arizona State gave No. 23 Stanford a taste of its own medicine.
The Cardinal is usually known for its stout defense and grinding out wins in the second half. On Saturday night it was the Sun Devils defense that stymied a struggling Stanford offense while doing plenty offensively to pull out a 26-10 home win.
Mike Bercovici, still filling in at quarterback for an injured Taylor Kelly, played another extremely efficient game, throwing for 245 yards and a score. D.J. Foster and Jalen Strong led ASU with seven catches for 92 yards and eight catches for 75 yards, respectively. Foster, a junior running back, also ran for 59 yards and a score on the ground.
Additonally, Zane Gonzalez kicked four crucial second-half field goals to help the Sun Devils pull out a win.
For the Cardinal offense, it was too little too late. Stanford did not even reach the red zone, or the end zone (a 1-yard Patrick Skov TD run) for that matter, until the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Kevin Hogan threw for 212 yards, many of which came in the final quarter. In all, the Cardinal managed to put up just 287 total yards against a defense that had given up an average of 452.6 yards and 31.2 points per game so far this season.
It was a defensive struggle early. Neither team managed to register a single point until ASU broke through with touchdowns on back-to-back drives late in the second quarter. From then on, the Sun Devils ate up time of possession with long second half drives – four of which ended in Gonzalez field goals.
The win improved Arizona State’s record to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Not only did it provide a bit of revenge for last year’s Pac-12 Championship game loss to Stanford, but it also moved the Sun Devils into great position in a crowded Pac 12 south division. The Sun Devils are technically behind USC in the south division standings right now, but ASU’s Hail Mary win over the Trojans from earlier this month means ASU owns the tiebreaker between the two squads. A road matchup with Washington is next on ASU’s schedule.
Now 4-3 (2-2 Pac 12), Stanford remarkably still controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 north with only Oregon ahead of it in the divisional standings. The Cardinal will visit the Ducks on Nov. 1, but a home game with Oregon State comes first next Saturday.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
For more Stanford news, visit CardinalSportsReport.com.
– – – – – – –
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
