Recap: Stanford falls to ASU in Tempe

On Friday night, Stanford football lost to #22/25 Arizona State 28-10 in Tempe. Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels led the way for the Sun Devils going 14-23 for 175 yards plus 76 rushing yards that included a 51 yard touchdown scamper. Arizona State running back Rachaad White had a good night as well, rushing for 96 yards and 1 touchdown. As for Stanford, wide receiver Elijah Higgins had 7 receptions for 110 yards and 1 touchdown while tight end Benjamin Yurosek had 6 receptions for 118 yards. Arizona State improves to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12.

“Pretty straight forward today,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said in his post-game remarks. “This was a big game. Both teams had emotional wins last week. Both teams were on a short week. Arizona State was up to the challenge and we were not today. We did not play well enough. Are we talented enough? Yes. Did we have some guys get injured? Yes, but it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game.

“The outcome of the game for me was execution. Offensively started pretty fast. Defensively we did not start fast. Our defense really came on strong towards the end there in the second half, got a lot of stops, got off the field multiple times, offense moved the ball, but didn’t score points.

“And it was all-around. Quarterback, offensive line, running backs, a couple receivers had a really nice day. Ben Yurosek really started to show what his capabilities are. We’ve got some really really good football players that did not play up to our capabilities today. It’s all credit to Arizona State. This is a big game with a lot of conference implications and they rose to the challenge and we did not.”

Stanford started the game with the ball and got off to a decent start as McKee and Yurosek connected on a 16 yard pass followed by an 18 yard run by running back Nathaniel Peat. However, that would basically be the end of the drive as two incompletions on the next set of downs resulted in a Stanford punt to the Arizona State 13 yard line.

Arizona State would capitalize as they quickly scored to go up 7-0 on their drive with 7:12 to go in the 1st quarter. On a 1st and 10 from their own 49 yard line, Daniels ripped off his 51 yard touchdown run as maybe only Thomas Booker on the Stanford defense laid a hand on him.

Stanford’s next drive would go much better as McKee and Yurosek connected for 23 yards to get the ball to the Stanford 48. Back-to-back 21 yard completions from McKee to Elijah Higgins and fullback Jay Symonds got Stanford the ball on the 6 yard line on a 1st and goal. On the next play following a Stanford timeout, McKee connected with Higgins on a 6 yard touchdown to the corner to tie the game up 7-7 with 4:09 to go in the 1st quarter.

“ASU is running a lot of man-to-man and Tanner has trusted us, been working long especially after practice,” Yurosek said. “And those throws especially. We have a great chemistry and trust in between each other.”

In a rather bizarre sequence of events, as he was kicking the extra point, Stanford freshman Emmet Kenney went down and clenched his back/hip. He made the kick but had to be helped into the tent unable to put any pressure on his legs. He would be done for the evening.

Arizona State got right back to work on their next drive as White would rush for 29 yards on a 1st and 10 from the Stanford 34 yard line before rushing for another five yards to score a touchdown. As a result, Arizona State was now up 14-7 with 1:05 to go in the 1st quarter. Arizona State would take that lead into the 2nd quarter.

Stanford’s next drive once again looked promising as a 22 yard reception from Yurosek got Stanford the ball with great field position on their own 47 yard line before a three yard run from Austin Jones got them the ball on the 50 yard line. On a 3rd and 2 from the Arizona State 45 yard line, McKee connected with wide receiver John Humphreys for an 11 yard completion followed by a four yard run from Peat. This got the Cardinal to the ASU 30 yard line and within field goal range.

After back-to-back incomplete passes, Stanford went out to attempt a 48 yard field goal with punter Ryan Sanborn now manning the field goal duties. Sanborn would make the kick, but it would be nullified by a hold on Lukas Ungar. As a result, Stanford would end up punting on the drive, taking three points off the board. Adding a little salt to the wound is the fact that Sanborn’s punt would be a touchback following an illegal formation penalty that backed them up an additional five yards. After looking like they might be gaining a little bit of ground, Stanford instead gave Arizona State the ball on the 20 yard line and a chance to go up by double digits with 12:38 to go in the half.

Arizona State took advantage as Jayden Daniels connected with tight end Curtis Hodges for a 32 yard completion to get Arizona State a 1st and 10 on the Stanford 22. On the next play, Daniels threw the ball to wide receiver Elijhah Badger for a 22 yard touchdown to give Arizona State a 21-7 lead with 10:24 to go in the half.

Stanford’s next drive was highlighted by a 20 yard completion to Elijah Higgins and a 13 yard completion to Austin Jones, but it ultimately led to a punt by Sanborn to the Arizona State 13 yard line with 6:04 to go until halftime. The drive could have been worse for Stanford as in the middle of the drive, Jones fumbled the ball and had it recovered by McKee.

On the next Arizona State drive, Stanford’s defense would force a turnover as defensive tackle Dalyn Wade-Perry popped the ball loose out of the hands of running back DeaMonte Trayanum while linebacker Ricky Miezan got the recovery. With 4:11 to go until halftime with the ball on the Arizona State 40 yard line, Stanford was hoping to narrow the gap once more.

Stanford’s drive was futile as it quickly led to a Sanborn punt that resulted in a touchback. With 2:48 to go in the half and the ball on their own 20 yard line, Arizona State was looking to extend their lead once again. However, a sack by Stanford defensive end Tucker Fisk put a stop to those plans, forcing Arizona State to punt the ball to the Stanford 35 yard line.

Stanford had the ball with 39 seconds to go, looking to perhaps get some points on the board, but the drive ended in Tanner McKee throwing his first interception of the season as defensive back Keon Markham picked him off. From there, Arizona State took a knee and a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Arizona State’s opening drive of the 3rd quarter resulted in a punt as outside linebacker Gabe Reid got a key tackle for a 3 yard loss for Stanford. It was one of Reid’s 2.5 tackles for loss and career-high 10 tackles. Stanford got the ball on their own 41 yard line with 11:58 to go in the 3rd quarter, looking to take advantage.

A 13 yard completion from McKee to Higgins and another completion to Higgins for 25 yards got Stanford the ball on the Arizona State 16 yard line. Stanford was looking like they might score another touchdown and trim the Sun Devils’ lead to single digits. Instead, Stanford was only able to gain three more yards and on a 4th & 7, Sanborn kicked a field goal to make it a 21-10 game with 7:32 to go in the quarter.

Arizona State went right back to work as a 31 yard completion to Hodges and an 18 yard run from White got them within 20 yards of the end zone. On 4th and 1 from the Stanford 11 yard line, Fisk came up big for the Cardinal stacking up White for no gain and a turnover on downs.

With 3:56 to go in the 3rd quarter on their own 11 yard line, Stanford had the ball and a bit of a pulse. If they could get a touchdown or even a field goal on this drive, they would be within single digits of the Sun Devils.

“Just saw great effort,” Shaw said of what changed for the defense. “It’s all great effort. We didn’t call different defenses in the second half. But our defensive linemen, our linebackers in particular, that second half, we gave the offense plenty of opportunities. We got off the field on third down, just didn’t turn those things into points."

“I think for us, like a big key as you noted is starting fast,” Thomas Booker added. “And I think we’ve not done that in a couple of games and sometimes we’ve been fortunate enough to have our offense kind of brings us back in. So when we do play consistently, we’re getting stops and we’re scoring, and tonight was kind of the same thing. We spotted them 21 and then shut them out the rest of the second half. Which is commendable for us, but at the end of the day against a good team, when you spot them 21, that’s sometimes enough to turn the game in their favor.

“So I think for us it’s really just being locked into the beginning of the game. They gave us a couple different looks with those reverses and trick plays and gadgets that we just weren’t locked into. So it ended up giving them some points. So yeah, I think for us, we’re a really good team at adjusting so when we do get those adjustments in, we really can play some great defensive football. But it’s about doing it from the jump so instead of spotting them 21, it’s 14-7 or zero.”

However, things wouldn’t go the way Stanford wanted them to on the drive. On a 3rd and 2, McKee would throw an interception to defensive back Jack Jones on the Stanford 26 yard line. Jones would then lateral the ball to defensive back Deandre Pierce, who took it to the house for a 27 yard touchdown return. Arizona State was now up 28-10 with 2:38 to go in the quarter.

“We tried to run a slant,” Shaw recalled of that pivotal play. “Jack Jones is a good football player. Incredible catch by him. They jumped in front of John Humphreys, it looked like the ball was about to come out, and instead of it coming out, he flipped it up to the defensive back who ran it in. It’s a highlight play. It’s an exceptional play. It’s a play that will turn a game like this one.”

Arizona State started the 4th quarter with the ball after Stanford was unable to complete a 4th down conversion and actually got the ball within range of a 35 yard field goal kick that would be missed, giving Stanford the ball back with 9:44 to go.

Down by 18 points, Stanford had a bit of life, but it didn’t look promising. McKee did connect with Yurosek for a 27 yard completion, but two sacks on McKee killed the drive as McKee would get sacked on a 4th and 8 with 7:57 to go.

“I’ll take some of it on my shoulders,” Shaw said of why the offense was inept once reaching midfield. “When plays don’t work, then they’re bad play calls. So put that on me. So when you have bad play calls and you lack execution, that’s what happens.”

Stanford would quickly get the ball back with 6:54 to go after a rather incompetent Sun Devils drive. But even after that gift, Stanford failed to capitalize as McKee would throw his third interception of the night to defensive back Jordan Clark with 5:05 to go on the Arizona State 26 yard line.

In the end, that would be all she wrote as Arizona State walked out with a comfortable 28-10 victory. Stanford had moments where they could have maybe gotten back in the game, but they didn’t take advantage. Too many penalties, sloppy offensive line play, and poor defense to start. Arizona State played like the better team and to their credit did what they were expected to do, which was win. And they did so in rather dominating fashion.

For Arizona State, this is a nice win as they improve to 3-0 and avoid losing a game to a Stanford team that was coming off an impressive win over #3 Oregon a week ago. They are positioned well to win the Pac-12 South and reach the Pac-12 championship game if they keep doing what they’re doing.

As for Stanford, they really are experiencing the full pendulum of college football this year. Every week it’s something new with them. They’ve shown they can hang with and beat elite teams, but at other times they get off to too slow of a start and put themselves in a hole that they can't get out of. Playing their third straight game against a ranked team, especially with one less day to prepare than usual, was certainly not easy though they won’t publicly use that as an excuse.

“So, we’re gonna take a couple days, get off our feet, and get back at it on Monday,” Shaw said to conclude his opening remarks. “Ready for our next challenge.”

“3-3, obviously not where we want to be,” Yurosek added. “We want to be in a lot better position. But right now we just gotta regroup and finish off the season strong. We have a Pac-12 championship to win and that’s our only goal right now.”

Stanford’s next challenge will be a road game on Saturday, October 16 at Washington State. That game will kick off at 4:30 PM PT on ESPNU and KNBR radio.

Note: Stanford was also without wide receiver Bryce Farrell today for reasons that were not disclosed. He was listed on the depth chart earlier in the week. David Shaw said “we’ll see” when asked about Emmet Kenney and how long he’ll be out for adding “that’s going to be touch and go for us.”