By Lucas Robbins,
Digitial Communications Intern
The No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils defeated reigning two-time Pac-12 Conference champion No. 23 Stanford Cardinal 26-10 in a rematch of last season’s Pac-12 Championship game Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
A crowd of 59,012 Maroon-clad fans were in attendance to support the Sun Devils (5-1, 3-1) in the third annual Maroon Monsoon game as ASU defeated a ranked opponent in consecutive weeks for the first time since 1997. The Devils recorded their first win over Stanford since 2008 and improved to 18-5 in its past 23 games, the second-best record in the Pac-12 in that span.
Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Bercovici completed 23-of-33 pass attempts for 245 yards and one touchdown in his third consecutive start for the Sun Devils. His season passing totals improve to 10 touchdowns and 1,243 yards in place of injured starter Taylor Kelly.
Junior tailback D.J. Foster rushed for 59 yards and one touchdown and also added seven receptions for 92 yards, which continued his streak of catching a pass in all 33 games of his career. Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong also caught eight passes for 75 yards and one touchdown.
The Sun Devil defense forced a three-and-out on Stanford’s first possession to set the tone for the rest of the game. Redshirt junior devilbacker Antonio Longino led the Sun Devil defense with seven solo tackles, including one for loss, and forced one fumble. With the win, ASU third-year head coach Todd Graham is 16-1 when holding opponents scoreless in the first quarter.
The contest was a defensive struggle from the start as no points were scored in the first quarter. Both teams had a combined three sacks and two forced fumbles, and ASU recorded five first downs to Stanford’s two.
The Sun Devil offense got rolling in the second quarter as they scored the first points of the game on their opening possession of the second quarter. Bercovici connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Ellis Jefferson for a 20-yard gain, and three plays later ASU converted a third-and-long when Strong caught a 15-yard pass from Bercovici for a first down. The drive was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Foster.
Stanford attempted to respond on the next drive when senior quarterback Kevin Hogan threw a 30-yard pass to sophomore tight end Greg Taboada. However, the Cardinal threat was subdued when redshirt sophomore cornerback Lloyd Carrington sacked Hogan for a 10-yard loss on third down. Hogan finished 19-for-39 with 212 passing yards.
ASU earned its next touchdown late in the second-half after Stanford senior wide receiver Ty Montgomery muffed a 45-yard punt from ASU sophomore punter Matt Haack and the fumble was recovered by ASU senior safety Damarious Randall on Stanford’s 12-yard-line. The special teams play set up a three-yard touchdown catch by Strong and put the Sun Devils ahead 14-0 at halftime. The last time Stanford was shut out in the first half was against Washington State in 2007.
Stanford earned its first score of the game when redshirt senior kicker Jordan Williamson made a 40-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. However, the Sun Devils responded with a 25-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez with more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Gonzalez made four of his five field goal attempts on the night to improve his total to nine this season.
Stanford managed to get in the endzone once when senior fullback Patrick Skov ran in a one-yard touchdown with more than 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Another huge special teams play for the Sun Devils came late in the fourth quarter when redshirt junior defensive back Ezekiel Bishop recovered a fumble forced by freshman defensive back DeAndre Scott on Stanford freshman returner Christian McCaffrey during a kickoff.
The Sun Devils’ victory was sealed when the threatening Cardinal were held to four-and-out with the ball on the 15-yard-line. ASU’s defense forced four consecutive incomplete passes with the final endzone shot defended by junior cornerback Kweishi Brown, who broke up five of Stanford’s 20 pass attempts in the game.
The Sun Devils were only penalized twice for nine yards, did not turn the ball over, and held Stanford to just 76 rushing yards, which marked only the 2nd time in its last 31 games they have been held under 100 rushing yards.
Head coach Todd Graham improved to 5-6 against AP ranked opponents and already has earned more victories than ASU’s previous two head coaches: Dennis Erickson (3) and Dirk Koetter (2). The Sun Devils were 5-32 in the previous 11 seasons against AP ranked opponents.
ASU went 0-3 the last time they played three consecutive ranked opponents in 2001 against then No. 13 Washington, No. 8 Oregon and No. 11 Washington State. The Devils emerged 2-1 this season after following up a loss versus No. 11 UCLA with wins against both No. 16 USC and No. 23 Stanford.
The next game for the Sun Devils will be on the road for the fourth time this season against the Washington Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Seattle, Wash., and will televised on ESPN at 7:45 p.m.