The Sports Xchange
Nov 1, 2015
PULLMAN, Wash. - Senior quarterback Kevin Hogan ran for two touchdowns in the second half to help No. 8 Stanford rally for a 30-28 win over Washington State on Saturday night at Martin Stadium.
Washington State's Erik Powell missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. Powell tied the school record for field goals in one game by making his previous five field-goal tries.
Stanford freshman cornerback Quenton Meeks, making his first start, recorded his first two interceptions. His second pick set up a game-winning, 19-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina with 1:54 to go.
Stanford (7-1, 6-0 Pac-12) strengthened its hold on first place in the North Division. Washington State (5-3, 3-2) is tied for second with Oregon.
The Cardinal have won seven in a row since a season-opening loss to Northwestern. Washington State had a three-game winning streak snapped while losing to Stanford for the eighth straight time.
Powell scored Washington State's first 15 points before Hogan ran for 39 yards to set up the first touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run by Remound Wright midway through the third quarter.
Hogan ran for a career-high 112 yards and Christian McCaffrey added 107 yards on the ground.
Hogan went 10 for 19 passing for 86 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Cougars quarterback Luke Falk finished 35 for 61 for 354 yards, two TD's and two interceptions.
The Cougars led 12-3 at the half. Powell already had reached a career high with four field goals in as many tries after Stanford opened the scoring with a field goal by Ukropina in the first quarter.
Both teams struggled to move the ball in the rain and wind. Washington State, second in the nation coming into the day with 415 passing yards per game, had minus-1 passing yards and minus-4 total yards in the first quarter. The Cougars wound up topping Stanford 177-85 in total yards in the first half, thanks partly to the Cardinal's two turnovers.
Stanford had been averaging 43 points per game since opening the season with a 16-6 loss to Northwestern. Washington State averaged 47 points the previous three games.
NOTES: Stanford has produced more NFL draftees (19) than any other Pac-12 team over the past four years. More impressively, the Cardinal have graduated the highest percentage of football players (99 percent) among Pac-12 schools during the same four years. ... The Cougars have been trying to attract ESPN's popular "College GameDay" television program to tiny, isolated Pullman for years. ESPN officials debated long and hard before choosing Philadelphia (where No. 9 Notre Dame faced unbeaten, No. 21 Temple) over Pullman for Saturday's show. A Temple supporter added to the pain of WSU fans by holding aloft a sign on "GameDay" that read, "WAZZU YOU MAD BRO?" Wazzu, of course, is a nickname for Washington State. ... Paul Wulff, fired as Washington State's head coach before the Cougars hired Mike Leach after the 2011 season, has joined the Iowa State staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Wulff was fired by South Florida last year after one season as offensive coordinator.