By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, December 7, 2013

TEMPE, Ariz. – As the Stanford marching band played, the Cardinal football players crowded onto a triple-tier podium on the Sun Devil Stadium field, and, amidst sparklers and much louder fireworks, received their official invitation to the 100th Rose Bowl.

Just minutes earlier, the Cardinal earned their New Year’s Day ticket to Pasadena, Calif., with a resounding 38-14 victory over host Arizona State in the Pac-12 football championship game, rolling up 517 yards in total offense in the process.

“This is unbelievable,” Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney, who ran for 133 yards and three of the Cardinal’s touchdowns, said. “I talked to them (fellow teammates) and they told me how it felt to be out here and actually experience it. … You can’t describe it.

“It’s unreal,” he continued. “Just to have the opportunity to be out here, you can’t even explain it. I love being out here with Stanford guys. This is why I came back (after sitting out a year). Being on this stage is why you come back.”

While the Cardinal is on its way to the Rose Bowl, Arizona State will likely wind up in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 30 against an opponent from the Big 12.

After congratulating Stanford, ASU Coach Todd Graham said of the Cardinal, “They’re a tremendous team. They dominated the game and beat us in every way you can tonight. … They’re a championship team.

“I’m just a really bad loser,” Graham continued. “I don’t like losing. I don’t think you learn a lot from losing except that you don’t want to do it anymore. But we haven’t done it a lot. I think we have a lot to be proud of as Sun Devils … we still have another game left. We’ve still got a bowl game to go win.”

Stanford’s machine-like offense scored early and often Saturday, setting the tone for a lop-sided win, similar to when the two teams met earlier this season in a 42-28 Cardinal win on Sept. 21.

“They made changes, but the way this team operates and the way we function, it’s about us,” Linebacker Shayne Skov, who led the Cardinal with nine tackles, said. “Offenses will change, but what matters is what we do defensively and offensively. We have to set the tone. We never want to adjust or have to adapt. We want to be the ones setting the tempo and forcing people to adjust to our style of football.”

Stanford (11-2) wasted little time finding the end zone. A 69-yard touchdown run around left end by Tyler Gaffney put the Cardinal up 7-0 just two plays into their opening drive. Gaffney nearly stepped out of bounds, but after a review, the play was not reversed.

“Close only counts in horseshoes,” Gaffney said. I was concerned about it. I know how close I was to the sideline, but someone – it was on our sideline – would have said something. But no one said anything.”

“What killed us was that very first drive,” Graham said. “We have a critical coaching error and we give up 70-yard touchdown on misalignment.

“We obviously missed a lot of opportunities. We could have made a game out of it and I honestly thought we could.”

The Sun Devils (10-3) marched right back and tied the game at 7-7 when D.J. Foster broke loose for a 51-yard scoring scamper with 11:54 left in the first quarter. Arizona State would get no closer.

On the ensuring possession, it was Stanford’s turn again as Gaffney’s 1-yard TD plunge at 7:30 of the first period put the Cardinal up 14-7, capping an eight-play, 60-yard-drive.

The Cardinal offense continued to click behind quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown with no picks. Hogan’s 42 -yard pass to Devon Cajuste, set up a 22-yard Cardinal touchdown run by Ty Montgomery in the opening minute of the second quarter, pushing Stanford’s lead to 21-7.

As Stanford built its 14-point lead, the Sun Devils offense continued to sputter.
18-yard running rugby style punt by Ben Ryhne gave Stanford the ball at the ASU 37 at 13:03 of the second quarter

A fortuitous fumble by Anthony Wilkerson, after a 29-yard run, moved the ball to the ASU 9. On fourth-and-1, Gaffney dove in off-tackle with 9:49 remaining in the half, putting the Cardinal up 28-7.

“We stayed aggressive the whole time,” Cardinal Coach David Shaw said. “The bottom line is – if the team tries to stop the run, we have to make big plays in the passing game.”

With 7:25 left in the second quarter, the Arizona State defense sacked Hogan for a seven-yard loss and forced the Cardinal to punt for the first time. Stanford had a similar possession minutes later, and had to punt again.

The Sun Devil offense responded with a first-down, 65-yard scoring pass up the right sideline from Taylor Kelly to Foster at 3:52 of the quarter, closing the ASU deficit to 28-14.

Tyler Williamson’s 31-yard field goal with 6:12 to go in the third quarter extended the Cardinal’s lead to 31-14. But, for at least a few moments, the Sun Devils refused to die.

ASU converted a fourth-and-10 on pass from Kelly to Kevin Ozier to the Stanford 23. A defensive holding call moves the ball to the Stanford 9 after a 1-yard scramble by Kelly. A pass from Kelly to Kevin Ozier moved the Devils to the Stanford 1, but on fourth-and-goal, DeMarieya Nelson was stuffed for no gain.

In its efforts to move away from their own goal line, Stanford utilized the wide open spaces when, on third down, a pass from Hogan to Devon Caguste covers 78 yards to the ASU 17. After a personal foul call against Stanford, Hogan connected with Montgomery for the Cardinal’s final tally, a 24-yard TD strike with 12:11 to play in the fourth quarter.

Caqjuste caught two passes for 120 yards.

Kelly was Arizona State’s leading rusher, mostly on scrambles, gaining 73 yards on 21 carries. He also completed 17 of 25 passes for 173 yards and one TD, but was sacked five times. Foster gained 62 yards on eight carries, filling in for the injured Marion Grice.

The announced attendance of 69,535 set a Pac-12 championship game record. But when Stanford scored its final touchdown, that score all but took the wind out of the sails for Sun Devils fans, who soon began heading for the exits.

After building a substantial lead against Arizona State in their first meeting only to see the Sun Devils enjoy a big fourth quarter, Stanford was determined not to let that happen again.

“The first game (against ASU) was an example of that,” Gaffney said. “We stomped on them and they came back. We couldn’t let that happen. We couldn’t let the foot off the gas pedal there, and we emphasized that.

“From there on out, we emphasized finishing games. We had some ups and downs of doing that, but this was the championship. We can’t let anything slip from here.”

(TAGS: Stanford,Cardinal,football,Pac-12,Arizona State)