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Fifth-ranked Stanford tops No. 23 Arizona State

Sep 22, 2013 - 4:42 AM Stanford, CA (Sports Network) - Kevin Hogan hooked up with Ty Montgomery on a pair of touchdown passes, as No. 5 Stanford held off 23rd-ranked Arizona State, 42-28, on Saturday in the Pac-12 opener for both squads at Stanford Stadium.

Hogan completed 11-of-17 passes for 151 yards with one interception, while rushing for 37 yards on five carries for the Cardinal (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12), who are off to their fourth straight 3-0 start, a first for the program in the modern football era.

Tyler Gaffney rushed for 95 yards and two scores on 19 carries, while Anthony Wilkerson added 68 yards and a touchdown on 18 totes in the victory.

Taylor Kelly threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions on 30-of-55 passing, with wideout Jaelen Strong hauling in a career-high 12 passes for 168 yards and a score in the setback.

Marion Grice rushed for a touchdown and caught another for the Sun Devils (2-1, 0-1), who were coming off a controversial win over then-No. 20 Wisconsin last week.

"I told our players how proud I was of how they battled, how they played, and I apologized to them for how we got our team ready to play," ASU head coach Todd Graham said. "We were obviously not ready to play today."

Stanford's Josh Mauro picked off Kelly on Arizona State's first possession and three plays later, Hogan hit Montgomery for a 17-yard score to make it 7-0 just under six minutes in.

Following an ASU punt, Hogan found Devon Cajuste for a 34-yard gain down to the ASU 5 before Gaffney punched it on 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Jordan Williamson missed the subsequent extra point, leaving Stanford with a 13-0 lead with 2:21 remaining in the first.

Zane Gonzalez missed a 45-yard field goal on ASU's ensuing touch before Wilkerson rushed four times for 41 yards on a 6-play scoring drive that the running back capped with a 12-yard TD surge to make it 20-0.

After back-to-back three-and-outs from the Sun Devils, Stanford took over at the ASU 37 and needed just two plays to score, with Hogan finding Montgomery for a 30-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 27-0 late in the second.

Arizona State dug itself into a deeper hole in the waning seconds of the half, when Matt Haack had a punt blocked and the ball bounced out of the end zone, resulting in a safety that sent Stanford into the break with a 29-0 edge.

The Sun Devils opened the second half with a 6-play, 75-yard scoring drive that Grice capped with a 2-yard surge to get Arizona State on the board.

Robert Nelson picked off Hogan early in Stanford's ensuing touch, but Kelly's pass on 4th-and-5 slipped through the hands of Grice to end the drive.

Williamson buried a 20-yard field goal on Stanford's next drive before the Cardinal came up with a blocked punt that set up Gaffney's 16-yard TD run to make it 39-7 with under a minute left in the third.

Kelly connected with Chris Coyle for a 45-yard score early in the fourth and after a Stanford three-and-out, Strong hauled in a 27-yard TD to bring ASU within 39-21 with 10:55 left.

Following another Cardinal three-and-out, Kelly converted a 4th-and-18 with a 34-yard strike to Strong down to the Stanford 11 before finding Grice in the left flat for a 6-yard TD to make it 39-28 with 6:18 left.

ASU then attempted an onside kick, but the Cardinal corralled the bouncing ball to maintain possession.

An illegal substitution penalty against the Sun Devils on 4th-and-1 extended Stanford's ensuing touch before Hogan scampered 27 yards to keep the trek moving.

After chewing up over 5 1/2 minutes off the clock, Williamson buried a 24-yard field goal to make it a 14-point game with 31 seconds left.

Alex Carter intercepted a Kelly pass in the end zone to end the game.

"I could care a less about style points; I could care a less about what it looks like," Stanford head coach David Shaw said. "We played one great half and a solid third quarter and a bad fourth quarter. That's bottom line."

Game Notes

Arizona State has lost in six of its last seven trips to Stanford ... Stanford has recorded at least one takeaway in 27 straight games, which is the longest active FBS streak ... Stanford outgained ASU 240-50 on the ground ... ASU went 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.