The 15th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils continue their season-opening four-game homestand this weekend, as they entertain the Stanford Cardinal in Pac-10 play in Tempe.
As expected, the Sun Devils were victorious in their season-opener last weekend, notching a 30-13 victory over Football Championship Subdivision member Northern Arizona. The win improved ASU to 67-27-2 all-time in lid lifters and 47-15-1 when opening its season at home. The Sun Devils now turn their focus to the Pac-10, where they earned a share of the title a season ago.
Speaking of Pac-10 play, Stanford jumped right into the conference portion of its schedule and opened the season with a thrilling 36-28 victory over Oregon State last weekend. It was the first season opening win since 2005 for the Cardinal, which is now in search of its first 2-0 start in the Pac-10 since the 2001 campaign.
The Stanford and ASU series dates back to 1978, with the Sun Devils holding a 15-9 edge. The Sun Devils have won each of the last two meetings, defeating the Cardinal by a combined score of 79-6 in those encounters.
The Cardinal gained just 301 total yards versus Oregon State this past weekend, but it didn't commit a single turnover and that is a big reason why it came out on top. Stanford, surprisingly, did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 210 yards. It was quite an effort from a team that averaged a mere 111.2 ypg on the ground last season. In his first game back from a knee injury, Toby Gerhart ran for a career-high 147 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Gerhart missed all but one game last season with the injury and his return paid immediate dividends and earned the praise of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
"He (Gerhart) is a shifty back. He gets through the hole so quick. It doesn't take him a long time to get up to full speed. He's got those instincts you come out of the crib with. I've seen him in two games and they both been darn good."
With the focus being on the ground attack, quarterback Tavita Pritchard was only really needed to manage the game. Pritchard, who won a three-man race for the starting job, hit on 10-of-17 pass attempts for 91 yards and a score. More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over and Harbaugh was certainly pleased with his effort.
"Tavita came up with big passes when we needed them. He ran our offense very well."
Defensively, Stanford has some difficulties slowing down Oregon State, but it made several big plays that compensated for the 490 yards allowed. The defense even saved the best for last, forcing a turnover at the goal line with just 47 seconds left and Oregon State trailing by only eight points. The Cardinal generated three turnovers in all, to go along with a safety and a pair of sacks. Bo McNally had one of those picks and he returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. Wopamo Osaisai paced the defense with 11 tackles, while Kris Evans added nine stops and an interception.
The Sun Devils were able to move the ball with ease against a lesser opponent last weekend, as they rolled up 481 yards of total offense in a 30-13 triumph of NAU. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter did all for ASU, rushing for a team-high 40 yards and throwing for 388 yards and a score on 22-of-28 tosses. It was another big game for the veteran, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 25 scores in 2007. Carpenter could be a Heisman Trophy candidate and coach Erickson was certainly impressed with his season-opening performance.
"I don't know what his stats were, but it was unbelievable. He made some great throws. I don't think he made a bad throw."
Michael Jones was Carpenter's top target with six catches for 162 yards, but Kerry Taylor also had a nice game with four receptions for 93 yards and a score. With starting tailback Keegan Herring sidelined because of a hamstring injury, ASU gained just 94 yards on the ground and that is an area it will certainly need to improve upon. Herring, who totaled 815 rushing yards and five scores last season, is listed as questionable for this weekend's game.
The Sun Devils weren't dominant on defense in their opener, but they still did a solid job in limiting NAU to 308 total yards. The defense held NAU to 139 yards on the ground and 169 through the air, while also forcing 10 punts. The unit however, didn't make many big plays, forcing no turnovers and recording just two sacks. Mike Nixon led the defense with eight tackles, while Dexter Davis accounted for both sacks. Following the game, Nixon gave a breakdown of the defense.
"We thought we played a really good first half. We got out there and did what we wanted. Some of the younger guys got to play in the second half and we just didn't step up defensively like we needed to and we kind of let them back in the game."
