Sept. 7, 2008
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Game Action
Photo Gallery from SPM Sports (ASU vs. Stanford/Sept. 6, 2008)
TEMPE, Ariz. -
By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
Behind a balanced offensive attack, the Arizona State football team defeated Stanford 41-17 Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium to win its Pacific-10 Conference opener and improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Sun Devils had 36 run plays and 36 pass plays, and they moved the ball efficiently on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter had his second straight 300-yard passing game and he threw for three touchdowns, while running backs Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance combined for 134 yards and each ran for a touchdown.
"I thought we were pretty balanced offensively," head coach Dennis Erickson said. "I thought we ran the football with quite a bit of success. If they were going to play two deep and do some of those things to take the pass away, we were going to go ahead and run it, which I thought that we were able to do quite well."
Still, it was Carpenter's passing that stole the show for a second consecutive week. He finished 27-of-36 for 345 yards, giving him a school-record 733 passing yards in the first two games of the season.
He also continued his climb up the Pac-10 record books, as he moved to ninth in conference history with 69 career touchdown passes and 14th with 8,731 passing yards.
"He's throwing it (with) experience," Erickson said of Carpenter. "His receivers are playing very well. He's just throwing it really well."
Carpenter spread the ball around as well, finding nine different receivers in the game. Kerry Taylor led the way with 92 yards on five catches, including a 45-yard touchdown just before halftime. Michael Jones had six receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown, Chris McGaha had 64 yards on three catches and Kyle Williams finished with 44 yards on five receptions.
The running game also improved with the return of Herring, who missed the season opener with an injury. Nance started for the second straight week and led the team with 75 yards on 18 carries, but Herring added 59 yards on 12 attempts and provided a big-play threat with runs of 19 and 20 yards that both led to ASU touchdowns.
Shaun DeWitty also saw his first game action since the 2006 Hawai'i Bowl, as he had two catches for 19 yards out of the backfield.
"Keegan is obviously a back that we need to play because he's got that home run potential every time," Carpenter said. "With Dimitri, Keegan and DeWitty, they all bring a different dynamic."
The Sun Devil defense also performed well in the victory. Gerald Munns, Troy Nolan and Terell Carr all had interceptions, while Dexter Davis had two sacks for the second straight game. Munns also led the team with nine tackles, as the Devils held Stanford to 233 total yards and limited running back Toby Gerhart to just 67 yards on 16 carries.
ASU got a 23-yard field goal from Thomas Weber on its 15-play, 70-yard opening drive, but Stanford used its first possession to take a 7-3 lead on a five-yard touchdown run by Gerhart. The Sun Devils answered with another long drive that took them inside the 10 for a second time, but again they were forced to settle for a Weber 21-yard field goal.
The Devils finally got into the end zone on their third possession of the game, as Carpenter connected with Jones for an 11-yard touchdown to put ASU back in front.
Stanford moved within three with a field goal with less than a minute to play in the second quarter, but Carpenter found Taylor for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds remaining in the half to give ASU a 20-10 lead at the break.
Munns intercepted Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard on the first drive of the third quarter, and the ensuing drive ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Nance.
Gerhart ran for his second touchdown of the game later in the third quarter to bring the Cardinal back within 10, but the Sun Devils responded with their third scoring drive of 10 plays or more. The 14-play, 75-yard drive was capped off with Carpenter's two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dan Knapp.
Herring ran for a touchdown from one yard out later in the fourth to finish off the scoring and give ASU a victory in its Pac-10 opener for the fourth time in the past five years.
"It was a good win," Taylor said. "It definitely showed us where we're at as a team. Stanford's a good team this year. They are going to beat a lot of other Pac-10 schools. To beat them is a great confidence boost for our team and hopefully we can just build off of that and keep working hard."
The Sun Devils return to action Saturday, hosting UNLV at 7 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium.