Junior tailback D.J. Foster carries the ball against Stanford, Saturday, Oct. 18 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils beat the Cardinal 26-10. (Photo by Ben Moffat)In a chess match of two of the Pac-12's brightest minds, Todd Graham finally got the better of David Shaw.
Coming into the game a three and a half point underdog despite playing at home, the Sun Devils (5-1, 4-1 Pac-12) rode the momentum of redshirt junior quarterback Mike Bercovici's miraculous comeback at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum two weeks ago, and even allowed regular starter — redshirt senior Taylor Kelly — to heal, and the major question coming into tonight's game was, who would play?
Quiet all week, Bercovici was finally announced the starter in pregame warmups. He started out hot, but not without the occasional hiccups: throws nearly picked off, a scramble out of the pocket that turned to a loss or minimal gain.
But it became very apparent, very soon, which version of Bercovici showed up to play at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday night. And the ghosts of his turnover-marred outing against UCLA had all but vanished.
The career backup completed 24-34 of his attempts, and threw for 242 yards, enabling the ground game to get established in what was overall a well-rounded offensive performance.
ASU's first scoring drive went for 81 yards on 13 plays, and was capped by a one-yard touchdown run from junior running back D.J. Foster, who while quiet in the running game, was the X-factor, a burst of energy on screens and quick outs that the Cardinal defense simply had no answer for.
Quietly, Coach Todd Graham called one of the best games of his tenure at ASU. Despite controversial timeout calls and frequent blitzes, Graham's calls enabled ASU defense to execute his gameplan, stuffing senior quarterback Kevin Hogan's Cardinal and limited them to a single field goal in the first half.
Both teams appeared to be, quite literally, taking pages from one another's playbook. ASU utilized multiple tight end packages on offense, benefitting from the blocking of redshirt sophomore Kody Kohl and redshirt senior De'Marieya Nelson's versatility, racking up 39 yards on just three catches.
Conversely, Stanford ran a twins set on its opening play from scrimmage, and even utilized trips and multiple wideout formations, a total departure from the classic wishbone and I-formation that has been its fundamental system under Shaw.
Imitation is considered the sincerest form of flattery, and as envious as ASU has been of the success enjoyed by the Stanford program, they played much like the Cardinal team that stormed into Tempe last Dec. 7.
This Stanford group was sloppy, drawing five flags that cost them 35 yards, and committing two costly turnovers that led to ASU points.
Hogan went 14-26, and finished with 160 yards passing.
With 11:23 left in the fourth quarter, senior fullback Patrick Skov took the handoff at the goal line and punched it in, putting up the first and only Stanford touchdown of the night.
A fumble on the kickoff return forced by freshman defensive back DeAndre Scott and recovered by redshirt junior Ezekiel Bishop, enabling sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez to nail his fourth field goal of the night after missing the USC trip for personal reasons, recovering after missing his first try wide left from 48 yards out.
Hogan and Co. got the ball one more time, but were finally shutout on fourth down when a desperate heave to senior Ty Montgomery fell incomplete in the corner of the end zone, and Bercovici was able to assume victory formation for one final snap.
Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter at @StefanJModrich
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepressport on Twitter.
