Nov. 11, 2000
STANFORD, Calif. - There was no breathtaking finish for Stanford orArizona State this week. The Cardinal knocked the breath out of the Sun Devilslong before the final gun.
Kerry Carter rushed for 103 yards and a score and also threw a touchdownpass as Stanford snapped a three-game losing streak by routing theinjury-ravaged Sun Devils 29-7 on Saturday.
DeRonnie Pitts caught five passes to become the Pac-10's second-leadingcareer receiver as Stanford (4-6, 3-4 Pac-10), the defending conference champswho were eliminated from bowl contention last week, won for just the secondtime in eight weeks.
"The close ones wear on you a bit," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said."It was nice to have a bigger win, because you get a chance to involve thewhole team."
The Cardinal won two games and lost another in the final seconds at StanfordStadium this year, while Arizona State looked exhausted after playing anNCAA-record three straight overtime games.
"The toll of the last three weeks particularly has caught up with us,"Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder said.
Stanford enters next week's season-ending Big Game against California offits most complete, convincing victory of the year. It was especially satisfyingfor the Cardinal because they won with none of the last-second dramatics thathave defined their season.
Carter and quarterback Chris Lewis, who relieved starter Randy Fasani andled Stanford to a victory for the third time this year, headlined a balancedattack for the Cardinal, who also scored on a 51-yard punt return by LukePowell.
Lewis was 13-of-24 for 124 yards in relief of Fasani, who re-aggravated atoe injury in the first half. But Carter made the game's most memorable passwhen he tossed a 26-yard halfback option to a wide-open Ryan Wells in the thirdquarter.
"I've thrown a lot better balls than that in practice," said Carter, whotook ribbing from his teammates for a wobbly spiral. "I was just happy to getit there."
The Sun Devils (5-5, 2-5) lost their third straight with a dismal offensiveperformance in which they managed just 174 total yards. They must beat Arizonaon Nov. 24 to become bowl-eligible.
"Our team looked heavy-legged," said Snyder, whose job might be on theline in his team's next game. "The spirit of a team that's fresh just wasn'tthere."
After nine straight weeks of football and five overtime periods in the lastthree weeks, Arizona State simply appeared to be out of competitive energy andhealthy bodies. The Sun Devils ended the game with fourth-string quarterbackMatt Cooper handing off to third-string tailback Davaren Hightower in a failedcomeback attempt.
"Nobody ever stepped up and did something big," said tight end Todd Heap,who had five receptions for 38 yards and caught a pass in his 25th consecutivegame. "We just came out flat and never got it going. ... When you get thatdown feeling, somebody's got to turn the switch. Something has to happen."
The Sun Devils, who have already lost starting quarterback Ryan Kealy andstarting tailback Delvon Flowers this season, lost Kealy's backup, Jeff Krohn,to a mild concussion midway through the first half. Krohn's backup, GriffinGoodman, threw a critical interception and was 7-of-19 before being benched.
ASU tailback Tom Pace fought off ankle and shoulder injuries to play, but hemanaged just 25 yards on 10 carries. Hightower also struggled, and ArizonaState's only points came on Krohn's 37-yard TD pass to Richard Williams in thefirst quarter.
Arizona State also had two terrible snaps by long snappers B.J. Miller andJay Breckenridge, but they only cost the Sun Devils two points.
Miller snapped the ball several feet over punter Nick Murphy's head into theend zone for a safety in the first quarter, while Breckenridge's errant snap toMiller in the third quarter gave the Cardinal prime field position - but MikeBiselli's 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Stanford went up 16-7 late in the first half on Powell's first career puntreturn for a touchdown. Powell went straight up the sideline for the Cardinal'sfirst score on a punt return in three years.
Carter's 18-yard run to the Arizona State 1 set up his 1-yard TD plunge toput Stanford up 23-7 midway through the third quarter.
Stanford safety Aaron Focht intercepted Goodman's pass on the Sun Devils'next drive, and Carter hit Wells for an easy score on the Cardinal's next play.
Pitts, who has 224 career catches, passed Arizona's Dennis Northcutt andStanford's Darrin Nelson. He trails only former teammate Troy Walters (248) inconference history.
The Sun Devils' three-game winning streak at Stanford Stadium was snapped.Luckily, Arizona State gets a bye week before its showdown with the Wildcats.
"A lot of our guys are banged up," Heap said. "(The bye) will help someof the guys heal and get ready, and we'll have everybody back to full strengthfor the next game."
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer