Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Jerry Feitelberg

STANFORD — The Stanford Cardinal avenged the stunning upset loss to the San Diego State Aztecs last year. The Cardinal offense had trouble getting going in the first half. The Aztec defense shut down the Cardinal’s running game as they held Bryce Love in check. K.J. Costello did not get the passing game going until late in the first half. The Cardinal led 9-7 at the half, and the Aztecs knew they had a chance to pull off another upset. That did not happen as the Cardinal offense came to life in the second half and the best the Aztec offense could do against the Cardinal defense was a field goal. The Cardinal won the game 31-10 at Stanford Stadium on Friday night.

On the opening drive, the Cardinal took the ball down to the Aztec 20-yard line. The key play on the drive was a 21-yard pass play from Costello to JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The drive stalled at the 20 and Jet Toner was asked to kick a 38-yard field goal. The usually reliable Toner’s attempt went wide and the Cardinal came up empty.

The Cardinal defense appeared to have the Aztecs pinned in their end of the field. However, Aztec QB Christian Chapman Completed an 8-yard pass to Parker Houston for a first down. Running back Juwan Washington ripped off runs of 22, 10, and 40 yards to get SDSU down to the Cardinal’s 4-yard line. Washington ran the ball into the end zone for the first score of the game. The extra point was good, and the Aztecs were ahead 7-0 with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The Aztecs went on an 8-play, 92-yard drive that took 4:14 off the clock.

In the second period, the Cardinal defense stiffened and forced the Aztecs to punt. The 50-yard punt was fielded by Connor Wedington. He returned the punt 12 years but appeared to fumble the ball on Stanford’s 35-yard line. The call was challenged, and it was reversed when the review showed the ground caused the fumble. Stanford retained possession. There were 11 minutes left in the first half. The Aztecs defense forced Stanford to punt. Jake Bailey’s 63-yard punt went out of bounds at the Aztec one-yard line. It was third down and six from the Aztec 5-yard line. The Cardinal defense pressured Chapman to run into the end zone. ILB Bobby Okereke tackled Chapman for a safety. The Cardinal trailed 7-2 and will get possession of the ball. The Aztec defense stymied the Cardinal once again, and they had to punt the ball away with 6:02 left in the second quarter. The Cardinal finally scored a touchdown with just 27 seconds left in the half. The Cardinal went on a 3-play, 54-yard drive. The key play was a 38-yard pass from Costello to Arcega-Whiteside for the score. The extra point was good, and the Cardinal has the 9-7 advantage. The stats showed the Cardinal were not able to get the running game going. They rushed for a total of just 15 yards Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love had 10 carries for seven yards. Costello completed 12 passes in 19 attempts good for 141 yards. SDSU’s Juwan Washington carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and one touchdown.

The Cardinal kicked off to the Aztecs to start the third quarter. The Stanford defense stopped the Aztec offense and forced them to kick. The Cardinal received the ball on the Aztec 49-yard-line. Costello engineered a 49-yard drive in 4 plays that culminated with a 19-yard strike to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone for the touchdown. Toner converted the extra point. Stanford leads 16-7 with 11:02 left to play in the third period. Stanford’s kickoff went out of the end zone for a touchback. The Aztecs then went on a 62-yard drive from their own 25-yard line. The drive stalled on Stanford’s 11-yard line. The Aztecs made a 30-yard field goal to tail the Cardinal 16-10 with 6:49 left in the quarter. Stanford was at its own 20-yard line and having trouble moving the ball. The Aztec defense was putting pressure on Costello, but he eluded the pass rush and found Arcega-Whiteside streaking down the far sideline. The Aztec defender fell down, and Arcega-Whiteside has his third touchdown of the night. The Cardinal converted the two-point conversion (Costello to Arcega-Whiteside again) to increase the lead to 24-10.

The Cardinal scored with 10:54 left in the game to take a 31-10 lead. Stanford went on a 68-yard drive in 7 plays culminating with a 19-yard strike from Costello to tight end Colby Parkison for the score. The extra point was good.

Stats: K.J.Costello had a terrific evening. He completed 21 passes in 31 attempts good for 332 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

But the running game for Stanford was nonexistent. Bryce Love could not get anything going. He had 18 touches, and all he could muster was a measly 29 yards.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside was Costello’s favorite receiver Friday night. Arcega-Whiteside had six receptions for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

Aztecs quarterback Christian Chapman was 10-for-15 passing for 113 yards.

Cardinal running back Juwan Washington had 24 carries for 158 yards and one touchdown.

40,913 fans watched the Cardinal win their first game of the 2018 season.

Up Next: The Cardinal will host the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium next Saturday. The game will start at 8:30 pm PDT and will be televised on FOX.