The Stanford Cardinal (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12) defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12) 34-24 at Stanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon behind a record-breaking performance from junior running back Bryce Love. The win marks the fourth straight home victory for the Cardinal and their first win over the Sun Devils since 2013.
Love opened the game by extending his phenomenal now seven-game streak of games with a rush of at least 50 yards, with a 61-yard sprint to the end zone on just his second carry of the game.
He was far from done.
Love would go on to break the Stanford single-game rushing record of 284 yards previously held by Christian McCaffrey, find the end zone three times and become the first rusher of the 2017 season to run for over 1000 yards. Love’s final statline read 25 carries for 301 yards, which amounts to just over 12 yards per carry.
Love’s monster game was complimented by sophomore quarterback K.J. Costello, who finished his first start 15-24 with 173 yards and a touchdown to junior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the second quarter. Arcega-Whiteside caught four passes for 63 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter after getting injured on a 40-yard reception.
Despite another impressive offensive performance from the Cardinal, who gained 501 total yards as a team, the Sun Devils were able to keep an upset victory within reach for the duration of the game, as their offense was able to move the ball effectively against the Cardinal, gaining 409 yards in total.
Senior quarterback Manny Wilkins threw for 181 yards and three Sun Devils ran for at least 60 yards, with senior running back Demario Richard leading the way with 80 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Despite allowing a high yardage total for yet another week, the Stanford defense was able to force two turnovers, tarnishing Wilkins’ clean interception record going into the game with two picks from junior safety Justin Reid. Reid now has four interceptions this season.
The Sun Devils have a bye next week, and will now look toward an Oct. 14 date with the No. 6 Washington Huskies while the Cardinal will prepare for a trip to Salt Lake City to face the 20th-ranked Utah Utes next Saturday. That game kicks off at 7:15 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports One.
Contact Sam Curry at currys ‘at’ stanford.edu.