Sun Devils roll past Cardinal

Arizona State was supposed to dominate Stanford in passing.

When the No. 15-ranked Sun Devils also led in rushing Saturday night, the Cardinal had no chance at Sun Devil Stadium.

ASU (2-0, 1-0 Pac-10) rolled 41-17 in front of 59,441 to increase its three-year scoring margin over Stanford to 120-23. Up next is UNLV (1-1), a 42-21 loser to Utah.

"I thought we were pretty balanced offensively," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. "We ran the ball with quite a bit of success and efficiently. On defense, we took their running game away. Overall we played well. You've got to have that (first Pac-10) win."

ASU led 345-120 in passing yards and 127-113 in rushing while limiting Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart to 67 yards. Gerhart had a career-best 147 yards last week in a win over Oregon State.

Even with the return of tailbacks Keegan Herring and Shaun DeWitty, the passing game dominated as quarterback Rudy Carpenter climbed to 14th in Pac-10 career passing yards. ASU legend Jake Plummer is next in line as he climbs the charts.

Carpenter threw for 345 yards Saturday night, and his 733 in the first two games is the most in school history. Sam Keller threw for 669 against Temple and Louisiana State in 2005.

"He's so accurate," Erickson said of Carpenter. "He understands what's going on in this offense a lot better. There's not very many bad throws. It's amazing how many times he gets hit and gets right back up and makes plays."

Carpenter was sacked twice for 9 yards, four fewer times than last season against Stanford, but was hit while throwing on several occasions.

ASU took much of the life out of Stanford (1-1, 0-1) with touchdowns late in the first half and early in the second.

The Cardinal closed within 13-10 on a 28-yard Aaron Zagory field goal just 52 seconds before halftime.

Travis Golia kicked off out of bounds. That allowed ASU, which had burned all three of its first-half timeouts five seconds into the second quarter, to start at its 40-yard line. Instead of settling for a third Thomas Weber field goal, the Sun Devils went for more.

After a roughing-the-passer penalty, Carpenter rolled right and found Kerry Taylor. Taylor outran cornerback Wopamo Osaisai, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week, for a 45-yard touchdown and a 20-10 lead.

Stanford started on offense in the third quarter, but ASU came up with its first takeaway of the season and first of three for the game on a leaping interception by linebacker Gerald Munns.

The Sun Devils, starting from the Stanford 34, scored in four plays to go up 27-10. Carpenter threw for 22 yards to tight end Jovon Williams, who made a leaping catch in traffic, and Dimitri Nance bounced off the pile to score from a yard out.

Three pass-interference penalties, two on consecutive plays against cornerback Omar Bolden, helped Stanford cut the lead to 27-17 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

ASU put its third consecutive win over Stanford away with a 75-yard drive that consumed 7:19 and ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Carpenter to redshirt freshman tight end Dan Knapp.

Other ASU turnovers came on Munns tipping a pass to safety Troy Nolan and an interception by cornerback Terell Carr. Munns, playing with a broken little finger, had a team-high seven tackles.

Herring slightly reinjured his hamstring while rushing for 59 yards on 12 carries.

Stanford alternated quarterbacks, using Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas in addition to starter Tavita Pritchard. Forcier originally committed to ASU out of high school in October 2004, then signed with Michigan before transferring to Stanford.

ASU #24 Keegan Herring gains yardage against Stanford in the 4th quarter at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Saturday. ASU won the game 41-17.