TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Cardinal dropped a Pac-12 Friday night showdown against No. 22 Arizona State, 28-10, at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Sun Devils (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) racked up 255 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Jayden Daniels provided the balance, throwing for 175 yards and running for 76 more, including a 51-yard touchdown.
Stanford (3-3, 2-2) had trouble stopping Arizona State's run game, falling behind early, limited to 9 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Tanner McKee threw for 356 yards and a touchdown, but had his first three interceptions of the season. Pierce scored in the third quarter after Jack Jones stepped in front of a receiver for an interception and lateralled just before hitting the ground.
Elijah Higgins tallied 110 yards on seven catches with a touchdown, while sophomore tight end Benjamin Yurosek added 118 yards of his own on six catches.
Both teams were coming off big wins.
Stanford took down Oregon 31-24 by sending the game to overtime with a touchdown on an untimed final play of regulation.
Arizona State picked up one of its biggest wins under coach Herm Edwards, knocking off then-No. 20 UCLA 42-23.
The Sun Devils kept rolling against the Cardinal with an onslaught of big plays.
Daniels scrambled through a hole up the middle, ran away from two Stanford defenders who collided and raced off for a 51-yard touchdown run on Arizona State's opening drive.
Raachad White scored on a 5-yard run, one play after leaping a defender for a 29-yard gain. The Sun Devils pulled off consecutive trick plays covering 54 yards, the second Elijhah Badger's 22-yard TD run on a reverse to lead 21-7 at halftime.
Arizona State's offense stagnated in the second half, but the defense came up with the big plays when it needed.
Stanford had some early success on offense and scored when McKee hit Elijah Higgins on a 6-yard corner fade. The Cardinal stalled after that and McKee threw his first interception of the season on a pass that caromed off two players' hands in the closing seconds of the first half.
The interception-lateral TD put Arizona State up 28-10 in the third quarter and Jordan Clark came up with Arizona State's third interception when McKee threw behind a receiver.
Stanford remains on the road next week to play at Washington State on Saturday, Oct. 16.