SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 19, 2014
No. 18 Arizona State 26, No. 20 Stanford 10: Mike Bercovici threw for 245 yards and a score and the Sun Devils used a dominant defensive effort to snap a four-game losing streak against the visiting Cardinal.
Bercovici started his third consecutive game in place of injured senior Taylor Kelly and was 23-of-33 with no interceptions for Arizona State (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12), which ended Stanfordกฏs streak of 13 straight regular season games holding opponents to 20 points or fewer. D.J. Foster scored on a 1-yard TD run midway through the first quarter and finished with 59 rushing yards along with seven catches for 92 yards.
Kevin Hogan was 19-of-39 for 212 yards for Stanford (4-3, 2-2), which was held to 14 first downs and 288 yards of total offense. The Cardinal, which entered the game ranked last in Pac-12 scoring, trailed 14-0 at halftime after recording a total of 69 yards on 22 plays.
Arizona Stateกฏs Jaelen Strong had eight receptions for 75 yards, including a 3-yard TD catch just before intermission. Zane Gonzalezกฏs 47-yard field goal put the Sun Devils ahead 20-3 early in the fourth quarter before the Cardinal responded with a quick 63-yard drive capped by Patrick Skovกฏs 1-yard TD plunge.
Stanford entered the contest as the nationกฏs top scoring defense, but the Sun Devils converted 9-of-19 third-down attempts and moved ahead 23-10 on Gonzalezกฏs 25-yard field goal with 4:07 left. Stanfordกฏs faint comeback hopes ended when the Sun Devils recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Gonzalez came on to kick his fourth field goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arizona State improved to 20-0 when leading at halftime in three seasons under coach Todd Graham. กญ Stanford was held scoreless in the first half for the first time in 87 games, dating back to Nov. 10, 2007 against Washington State. กญ Ty Montgomery had six receptions for 82 yards for Stanford, which committed two turnovers and finished with 76 rushing yards.