Oct. 18, 1997

No. 23 Cardinal Drop Pac-10 Matchup

STANFORD, Calif. - Fullback Jeff Paulk scored two of Arizona State's four rushing touchdowns and the Sun Devils surprised 23rd-ranked Stanford, 31-14, in a Pac-10 Conference matchup.

Running Back Anthony Bookman (File photo)
(Game Stats)

Arizona State (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) continued its dominance over Stanford, improving to 10-4 against the Cardinal by defeating them for the fifth time in their last six meetings. Arizona State also has taken 10 of the last 12 games between the teams.

"This game was important," said Sun Devil coach Bruce Snyder. "It was in a lot of ways, so huge, so unbelievable. To come in here and win was great. We were focused and determined and the win keeps us in the race for a major bowl game, and even the Rose Bowl."

Paulk snapped a 7-7 deadlock with a two-yard TD run in the second quarter. He found the end zone again from the 2-yard line just 33 seconds into the fourth quarter, extending Arizona State's advantage to 24-7.

Michael Martin, the Sun Devils' second-leading rusher, opened the scoring in the first quarter with a seven-yard TD scamper. He finished with 124 yards for Arizona State, which managed 259 yards on the ground. In the last two games, the Sun Devils have amassed 495 rushing yards.

Marlon Farlow, the third-string tailback who gained 98 yards against Southern California last week, ran for 129 yards, the bulk of it on a 60-yard TD run that capped Arizona State's scoring midway through the fourth quarter.

Stanford (4-3, 2-2), which lost five of eight fumbles last week in a loss to Arizona, was plagued by turnovers once again, losing three fumbles in addition to Chad Hutchinson's two interceptions. Hutchinson completed 20-of-35 passes for 214 yards while being sacked four times.

"They're (turnovers) part of football," said Cardinal running back Anthony Bookman. "You hope it won't happen but it does. We just need to concentrate on fundamentals and come back and work hard."

Ryan Kealy hit on 14-of-36 passes for 195 yards with an interception for the Sun Devils, who thrived despite being penalized 11 times for 106 yards.

"We could have done some things better," conceded Kealy. "But we did put up some big points and that's got to say something."

Bookman and Mike Mitchell, a previously effective rushing duo for the Cardinal, were held to a combined 104 yards. Both broke through for touchdowns, however. Bookman on a 70-yard run in the first quarter and Mitchell on a two-yard rush after the outcome was decided.

"We just came out strong," Sun Devils' linebacker Pat Tillman said. "We knew we had to come out physical and we eventually wore them down. This game was great. I love coming out here, it's where I was born and raised."

Stanford lost for just the third time in its last 12 conference matchups. The Cardinal have dropped their last two games to Arizona State by a combined score of 72-23.

"We've been through rough times before," Mitchell stated. "We have four more games left. We have 16 or 19 seniors. We're going to go out there and give it all we've got and try to win the last four."

The Cardinal won their final five games of last season.

Stanford University Football