2:00 – Senior cornerback T.J. Rushing and redshirt junior Marcus McCutcheon
stack one behind the other for the opening kickoff return, before splitting to
their sides at the last second. Perhaps Stanford designed the stack so
that Arizona State cannot purposefully kick away from stud returner Rushing.
The stack is all for naught though, as Arizona State kicks short to Nick Frank,
and Stanford starts at their own 32.
2:01 – After a redshirt freshman running back Anthony Kimble rush gets
stuffed for a loss of two, an off-sides penalty on Arizona State defensive
tackle DeWayne Hollyfield turns a 2nd & 12 into a 2nd & 7. Hollyfield hits
himself in the helmet in anger after the jump – I love seeing players that fired
up.
2:02 – Redshirt junior quarterback Trent Edwards has time on the first throw
of the game, and fires a bit high, but complete for a 12-yard first down to
junior wide receiver Mark Bradford.
2:03 – Kimble runs for four yards on first down and another four on second
down – a slightly quicker back might have squirmed for an extra few yards on the
second down run to move the chains. That extra burst would have been
mighty useful, as a false start on redshirt freshman guard Alex Fletcher pushed
the Card into 3rd & 7, and a Jeremy Payton blindside sack of Trent Edwards ends
the drive.
2:07 – Beautiful blocking lanes open for Sun Devil running back Rudy Burgess
on a nine-yard first down off-tackle run. Uh oh – Arizona State Dirk Koetter specifically mentioned he liked his zone rushing scheme's chances
against Stanford's base 3-4 defense.
2:09 – Keller fires low on second down; fifth-year senior nose tackle
Babatunde Oshinowo stuffs Burgess up the middle on 3rd & 1; and on fourth down,
Udeme Udofia blocks Arizona State's punt and Jon Alston recovers at the ASU 15.
Arizona State used the same three-deep protection that Oregon used when Jon Alston blocked and recovered a punt for a touchdown in the fourth-quarter of the
Duck debacle.
2:10 – Kimble puts Stanford on the board first on a bit of a fluky play:
Edwards' pass is again high, and AK-26 (just remember that nickname started
here) does a great job to get a hand on the ball and prevent a would-be
interception. Kimble actually manages to tip the ball to himself, and
because the ASU defenders were playing for an interception and not for the
tackle, Kimble finds a hole and squirms through for a touchdown. The play
appeared to be going nowhere, but the extra second or two the ball floated in
the air after Kimble's tip also caused Arizona State's defenders to overpursue
the play.
2:17 – Redshirt sophomore cornerback Nick Sanchez is burned by Devil receiver
Terry Richardson on a sideline fly route. Richardson stretches
horizontally and gets both hands on the ball, but cannot reel it in. The
play is only the Sun Devil's second pass of the game. Clearly, Koetter's
game plan is not to attack a questionable secondary, but instead try to run over
the Cardinal.
2:17 – Fifth-year senior linebacker Jon Alston appears to take a poor angle
and give Sun Devil #1 receiver Derek Hagan too much space underneath.
Hagan rumbles for 16 yards and another Sun Devil first down at Stanford's 34.
2:20 – Two unreal cuts by running back Preston Jones allows the back to fit
through holes not much bigger than he. A Sanchez tackle at the two-yard
line prevents a would-be Sun Devil touchdown on an incredible run. Nothing
against the Cardinal backs, but I do not think anyone on Stanford's roster could
have made one hole, let alone both.
2:21 – It takes the Sun Devils three tries, but Sam Keller's quarterback
sneak from the one-yard line eventually does the trick, and the Sun Devils tie
the contest at 7-7. With 58 rushing yards to this point, Arizona State
indeed views the run as plans A, B and C on that drive. The Devils frequently
brought stud sophomore tight end Zach Miller in motion pre-snap – running from
his tight end position to behind the quarterback. Miller would then
reverse, and often make it back to about the guard by the snap – when he would
then block a Stanford linebacker rushing a gap. If we can see it in the
press box, the Cardinal coaching staff can certainly see it on the sideline, so
an interesting plot turn will be to see how the Card respond to the Sun Devils'
zone rushing scheme.
2:28 – On 2nd & 10 at midfield on the ensuing drive, Edwards reads through
his progression, finds no one open, and then comes back to Bradford and fires at
the junior, but high. The throw could have been picked off, but Bradford
makes a leaping over-the-head catch for a first down.
2:28 – Bradford had a bead on corner R.J. Oliver on the fade, but the throw
is a bit too short, allowing Oliver to break it up.
2:30 – The coaches saw something they liked, as they call upon #4 down the
far (right) sideline, again matched up against Oliver. Despite defensive
pass interference and double-coverage, Bradford somehow goes up and comes down
with the ball.
2:31 – Too often, fans criticize refs for poor spots, but on Stanford's 1st &
Goal rush from the seven-yard line, Kimble was tackled at the six. The
official accurately marked off Kimble's forward progress, and Stanford's second
down now comes from the four.
2:32 – On 2nd & Goal, Edwards again turns to Bradford for a fade. The
L.A. native gets both hands on the ball, but at the last second, cornerback
Walter White gets one hand on the ball to tip it away. Despite the
incompletion, the call was brilliant by Walt Harris. If something works,
too few coaches are aggressive enough to keep calling it, but when coaches do,
it often works again. For example, Oregon found success repeatedly
throwing deep sideline routes against the Stanford secondary early in the
September contest, even on consecutive plays. Here Bradford appears to
have an edge on Oliver – and Harris is not afraid to exploit it.
2:32 – Not to take anything away from one of the best college quarterbacks I
have seen in person (and that includes guys named Greise, Henson, Brady and
Leinart), as the Card may well be winless without him, but one flaw Trent Edwards does display is a tendency to fire high when pressured, as he just did
3rd & Goal. Just this contest, Edwards has already thrown too tall three
times by my count. A huge breakdown for the Devils, though, as Stanford
picks up an automatic first down on a roughing the passer call (plus a defensive
holding call as a fallback). That the refs take time to conference on the
play also gives Edwards time to recover from the blow to his head.
2:34 – Great job by Kimble to dive and reach his arms out for a touchdown on
the ensuing 1st & Goal. ASU is a penalty-prone team, and that habit cost
the Sun Devils four points there. Stanford now leads 14-7.
2:35 – Sun Devils middle linebacker Dale Robinson was injured on the Kimble
run – Robinson is a key defensive player in the Devil scheme, and his absence
will be a major story line. He walks off the field of his own ability.
2:42 – As the second quarter starts, a screen to Bradford looks to be going
nowhere, but Bradford stiff arms and advances nine yards. Bradford is
really coming into his own this game, and the Cardinal desperately need him
today. Since when did a Stanford skill position player have an advantage
over his defenders?
2:43 – Who would have thought after the Davis loss that Stanford would stand
here today needing only three wins for a bowl game, and leading in the second
quarter against a consensus preseason Top 25 team. The score is no fluke
either, as the Cardinal are outgaining the Devils significantly at this point.
2:47 – After the teams trade punts, ASU starts at the 29 with 12:34 to go in
the first half. The refs appeared to miss a block in back of Kris Bonifas
on Richardson's punt return.
2:48 – A Miller reception turns into a first down when the Stanford secondary
can't get off their blocks.
2:48 – Babatunde Oshinowo is living up to the hype, notching a six-yard sack
on 2nd & 8. He appears to be in the Sun Devils' center's head, and, sure
enough, on 3rd down his pressure forces Keller to throw incomplete in Hagan's
direction. Oshinowo simply did not allow Hagan enough time to run his hook
route - how can Arizona State adjust to account for his presence?
2:49 – After the Sun Devils punt rolls to 14, this time is as good as any for
a couple of game-flow notes. Arizona State still has not taken many shots
downfield, which I do not understand considering Hagan's and Miller's talent
advantage over the defenders who guard them. Stanford, meanwhile, has
turned one-dimensional, netting only one rushing yard to complement 103 through
the air.
2:52 – Edwards has time and goes through his progression, only to find
everyone covered. Neither development is all that unexpected against a Sun
Devils defense that has started to sell out against the run, only loading six in
the box one play and dropping all the linebackers into coverage the next.
Edwards eventually fires incomplete to a double-covered Bradford (hey, it did
work before). Why would Edwards not scramble at all on the play?
2:52 – Second down, and Trent Edwards read my brainwaves. He has a hole
but Hollyfield closes it up for a loss of three. Jeff Edwards is in at
right tackle on this series.
2:54 – On third down, Edwards backs up to his own goal line before firing to
Gerren Crochet for a Cardinal first down at the 35. Edwards' arm strength
and Crochet's speed both proved essential in moving the sticks.
2:55 – A dangerous-looking pass, Edwards stares the defense right, fires
right, and somehow completes a dart to Crochet between three Devil defenders.
2:56 – Edwards scrambles for nine to pick up a first down at ASU's 41.
(Overheard in the press box: "So there's Stanford's running game.") ASU is
putting only six defenders in the box, which should make passing against the
squad a lot harder. Thus, Edwards' scrambling ability, which should force
ASU to adjust defensively, can be seen as a key to keeping the offense moving
the sticks in more ways than one.
2: 58 – On 2nd & 10, all the Sun Devils linebackers drop into coverage, but
they do not reach redshirt sophomore tight end Michael Horgan quickly enough.
Horgan rumbles for nine yards down the sideline before being shoved out.
2:58 – Edwards play actions and fires deep on 3rd & 1 from the ASU 32-yard
line. The throw is a little short and has too much air under it, giving
ASU's cornerback ample time to either catch up to Mark Bradford, or turn around
and locate the pass. However, Josh Golden does neither, and can only flail
his arm as Bradford reels in his second score. Harris again displays his
intuitive grasp of the effect of down and distance on smart playcalling.
Before third down (and that is the key, as many coaches do not seem to realize
until just before fourth down) Harris recognized that the field position
dictated a fourth-down attempt should Stanford fail on third. The coach
also realized the Devils would likely be playing to stuff a short run, and a
play-action thus had a high likelihood of success. Any Booties have
thoughts on whether Stanford's old coach would have understood the same
situation just as thoroughly? Stanford leads 21-7 with 6:16 until
halftime.
3:01 – Fifth-year senior kicker (and fellow Michigan native) Michael Sgroi's
kickoff sails out the back of the end zone. Sgroi quietly has two
touchbacks already.
3:02 – This is a key drive for Arizona State. A score before the half
would go a long ways in reversing the momentum, and would allow the Devils to
enter the locker room within a score. I would look for them to run on this
critical drive – can Stanford stuff it?
3:03 - Keller's first-down pass is complete to Miller for five yards.
On second down, however, the Devils try to run Herring outside like he had
before with success. Demonstrating great adjustment both schematic and
personal levels, Stanford stuffs it. Then, an Arizona State false start
pushes the visitors into 3rd & 9 – this squad is shooting themselves in the foot
with penalties. On third down, T.J. Rushing just manages to trip up
Burgess three yards short of the marker, so that false start effectively ended
the drive.
3:05 – Jon Alston almost gets to Arizona State's punt again, and though we
will never know for sure, I would wager his pressure made Devil punter Chris MacDonald rush a kick that sailed only 34 yards. The Devils split seven on
the line of scrimmage, and then have three additional blockers about five yards
behind the line as the punter's “personal protectors.” I never understood
this scheme, as the returning team's linemen enjoy a running start at the
protectors, and only need to drive the protectors back a couple of yards to
wreak serious havoc. I guess the benefit from the scheme is that it allows
for better downfield coverage on the return, but the downfield coverage really
is superfluous when teams do not get off the punt to begin with. Indeed, just
today, Stanford has already managed one block and one almost-block in this
manner.
3:06 – Senior tailback J.R. Lemon enters, rushing for gains of three and
four. I like the call, as a score before the half would be huge, and AK-26
and redshirt sophomore running back Jason Evans have not been able to do much
thus far. In fact, Lemon's seven yards top the five Stanford had netted on
the ground previous to this series. Edwards is harassed on third down, and
though he escapes a couple rushers off the defensive line, he is eventually
sacked by Zach Catanese.
3:08 – Miller drops a first-down pass over the middle. Especially down
by two touchdowns with just 2:23 remaining in the half, the Devils' decision not
to test the Cardinal corners one-on-one has to be in part due to Keller's injury
and/or the practice time he missed due to the injury.
3:09 – Instead, Arizona State runs to the outside on second down, a play
Stanford has stuffed since the opening drive. Here, senior defensive end
Julian Jenkins yields only three yards on the play.
3:10 – Fifth-year senior cornerback Calvin Armstrong makes a nice tackle of
the powerful Hagan on third down, tripping up the receiver just short off the
marker, and forcing a Devils punt, which has to have the Stanford faithful
salivating.
3:12 – Sure enough, Stanford again gets to the kick. This time,
fifth-year senior outside linebacker Michael Craven partially deflects the ball,
which then travels only 16 yards to the Devil 36.
3:13 – Bradford elevates for his second touchdown of the half, tying his
career record for single-game touchdowns. Great 31-yard pass this time
from Edwards, as the ball hit Bradford perfectly in stride. The Devils did
catch a bad break as their corner appeared to stumble a bit on the play, but on
the whole Arizona State is simply not adjusting, while Stanford is making that
coaching staff look awfully silly. The cornerbacks are not turning on pass
plays (who would have thought ASU's corners would be the ones getting tested and
beat), yet Koetter continues to leave them on islands in man coverage.
Meanwhile, Stanford's secondary remains relatively untested, though one figures
that will change in the 2nd half with the Devils trailing by three touchdowns.
Arizona State has not adjusted after being stuffed on outside runs and cannot
seem to find a way to stop Babatunde Oshinowo; oh yeah, those punts are a
calamity.
3:17 – Overheard in the press box: “Maybe Ted Leland submitted his
resignation a little too early.” The fourth estate is on its game today.
3:19 – Oshinowo explodes for yet another sack, and Arizona State now must
punt out of 4th & 33.
3:22 – The rugby punt, as MacDonald rolls away from the Stanford pressure and
attempts to kick on the run. Folks, that is harder than it looks, and
MacDonald finds that out the hard way, shanking the punt out of bounds after
running past the line of scrimmage, resulting in a five-yard loss of down
penalty and wiping away the punt entirely. Somebody will be hiring a new
special teams coordinator this week. Stanford now has 10 seconds from the
18-yard line, which is only enough time for one end zone shot before a field
goal attempt, in my opinion. I would run the fade to Bradford – make
Arizona State stop it without interfering.
3:26 – Finally, the Devils display some decent coaching, calling a timeout
after Stanford brings out their offense, presumably to adjust to what Stanford
showed. Out of the timeout, Stanford shows a different formation that
features Bradford as the slot receiver in motion pre-snap. He catches an
Edwards bullet underneath and squirms down to three, but cannot quite get in the
end zone.
3:28 – Sgroi hammers through the short field goal and Stanford declines a
roughing the kicker call – which would have given them one shot from the 1.5
yard line. Stanford runs off to the locker room to a standing ovation.
Though silent, the Devils' mere body language resonates just as loudly. At
halftime: Stanford 31, ASU 7.
3:31 – A few passing halftime statistical thoughts (pun intended): Stanford's
247 passing yards appears well-positioned to crack Top 10 all-time, while
Edwards' three TD passes and Bradford's two touchdown catches each tie career
highs.
3:51 – As the second half kicks off, one major question is how much do the
Devils abandon the run and throw deep to their receivers. They need to
adjust in the heart of the line to give their quarterback more time to do so.
For Stanford, does the play calling continue to be aggressive, marked by
downfield passes? Defensively, the Card's top priority must be on denying
big plays. With a 24-point lead, the defense does not need to stop the
Devils outright as much as simply make them drain clock on their way to the end
zone.
3:54 – The Devils find three consecutive pass completions in the early second
half. A second-down run wide goes nowhere, though, as Stanford has done a
great job to shut down Arizona State's bread and butter.
3:55 – The visitors face an interesting call on 4th & 5 from the Stanford 34.
I think they have to go for it... The Sun Devils agree, but redshirt
junior linebacker Mike Silva picks up Stanford's fifth sack of game – all this
without Michael Okwo having yet entered game, to the best of my knowledge.
Arizona State started the drive hot, and had potential for a major momentum
shift, but Stanford rebounded and held.
3:58 – An incidental facemask on an Evans run results in a 1st & 2, and Evans
picks up the first down on a subsequent run. I cannot argue with the first
down here, but I hope the Cardinal do not shell up offensively. It will be
interesting to watch how low Stanford drains the play clock in this second half.
4:01 – What was the worry about Stanford shelling up offensively?
Crochet pops for 22 yards on a reverse, sprung by great downfield blocking by
three Cardinal, including Trent Edwards. Crochet was gone for the score,
but tripped over redshirt junior center Tim Mattran. Stanford now faces a
1st & goal from the Sun Devils eight-yard line with under 25 minutes to play.
4:04 – A touchdown comes off a Nick Frank toss sweep right on 2nd & Goal from
the three. Stanford better stop scoring or else people might notice,
especially with undefeated UCLA on tap. Redshirt freshman quarterback Rudy Carpenter, in for an ineffective Keller, will have to try to rally the Devils.
4:06 – The last time Stanford won at least three straight was a four-game
streak against Arizona State, California, Notre Dame and San Jose State in 2001.
The last time Stanford won three straight conference games in the same season
was in September of 1999 against Washington State, Arizona and UCLA.
Behind the play of a similarly feisty quarterback, that team made it all the way
to the Rose Bowl.
4:09 – And the fat lady sings in the form of a Mike Silva interception
returned for a touchdown. Carpenter was the quarterback on the pass, and
the freshman seemingly threw right to Silva. Inexperience cost Arizona
State dearly there. Stanford's 45-7 lead with 7:53 to play in the third is
a bit misleading, as the Cardinal still haven't hit 300 yards offensively.
4:14 – Junior strong safety Brandon Harrison produces a highlight reel tackle
of Zach Miller, flat out popping him. Michael Okwo has also entered the
game.
4:16 – Brandon Harrison stays on the ground after a Devils play. In
comes redshirt junior Trevor Hooper, as Harrison runs off the field of his own
power.
4:18 – Okwo almost snags an interception on a tipped ball thrown behind Zach
Miller. Okwo runs off gingerly after the play.
4:19 – ASU appears to have given up hope of winning. The squad is
running the ball a lot, and not seeming to hurry. Players' hands are on
their hips, and their faces remain downturned.
4:20 – The drive ends in an 18-yard touchdown screen right pass to Burgess,
and the score now stands Stanford 45, Arizona State 14. However, even if
Arizona State were to score a touchdown on every remaining drive at a similar
rate, they would not win. The 12-play 4:33 drive simply took too long.
Stanford's "O" just needs to keep the clock moving and close out their third
straight contest without a turnover.
4:23 – After leaving in the first quarter with injury, Dale Robinson is back
in the game and tackles Nick Frank after a four-yard gain.
4:24 – Time to try to make the rushing stats look respectable – Jason Evans
picks up seven and another first down, and then Frank busts up the middle for
another two. Most of the runs today have gone A gap (center-guard), with a
few B gap (guard tackle) and very few off-tackle. Further, save for the
reverse to Crochet for 22 yards, Stanford has only 29 ground yards on the day.
Future opponents will sell out against the run, making it difficult for Stanford
to pass with success.
4:28 – Redshirt junior Jay Ottovegio busts a 56-yard punt! Richardson
has to catch the ball over his shoulder, and the backwards momentum allows him
to net only five on the return.
4:31 – Worth mentioning for Booties not in attendance is the new red trim
running the perimeter of the field, save for in between the 25s. Looks
nice.
4:32 – After Sanchez whiffs tackling Zach Miller on first down, allowing the
screen to go for 14, Rushing makes a nice play to swat the ball away after ASU
receiver Matt Miller bobbles the initial reception.
4:35 – On one of the first downfield passes I can recall of longer than 15
yards, Richardson has two yards on Rushing and the ball arrives on the money.
The score is probably too little too late now (though fans who endured Teevens
era are surely crapping their collective pants). Where was that downfield
attack the whole game for ASU? One theory is that Carpenter been taking
most of first-team snaps the last two weeks because of Keller's thumb injury to
his throwing (right) hand, so Keller was either not strong or prepared enough
for downfield duty.
4:48 – After a Stanford punt, a Julian Jenkins sack gives Arizona State 2nd &
15 from their seven-yard line and, more importantly, keeps the clock running.
On second down, Jenkins and Hooper tackle Keegan Herring in bounds, and the
clock ticks under 8:30 prior to the 3rd down snap.
4:49 – Frustration showing for the Sun Devils. After Moey Mutz is
shoved out of bounds by Sanchez following a 12-yard reception, Mutz shoved
Sanchez after the play for an obvious 15-yarder. The Devils face 1st & 25
from their 15 before a false start backs them up to the 10. Overheard in
the press box, re: the false start: “It must just be too loud for them in here.”
4:51 – Maybe the 31,711 fans in attendance are not the loudest, but Oshinowo
keeps bringing the noise himself, here taking down Herring at the 5. The
defense has to be thinking safety or force a punt from that end zone.
4:53 – Doesn't matter for this week, but the defense will have plenty to work
on in future weeks after allowing a shovel pass to Burgess to go for precisely
17 yards on a 3rd & 17.
4:54 – That front seven is living up to the hype as the strength of the team,
as fifth-year senior outside linebacker Timi Wusu posts another tackle.
4:54 – The big hitter award again goes to Brandon Harrison, who picks up
Hagan and literally tosses him four yards back as means of a tackle. After
popping the bulky tight end Miller to the ground, Harrison's strength is
obvious.
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