#3 Stanford @ San Diego State
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
September 14, 2013
San Diego Sand Trap
Stanford perseveres against feisty Aztecs in SoCalSan Diego State's transition from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 has been bumpy, as they slid from a 12-1 season in 2011 to 5-7 last year in their first year in the big leagues. On Saturday against Stanford, the Aztecs pushed the Cardinal to the wall, seeking that one victory that would get them over the hump and establish credibility in the conference.
But it was not to be, as Stanford choked off SDSU star running back Ronnie Hillman and finally broke through themselves on offense in the second half, erasing a 10-0 deficit and outlasting the Aztecs, 17-10.
The first half was a disaster, as Jordan Williamson missed two field goals and Brett Nottingham threw two crucial interceptions, one for a defensive touchdown and another in the endzone to derail a scoring opportunity. Thankfully the defense was up to the task, dominating the line of scrimmage and offering the Aztecs' offense no breathing room. That gave the Cardinal's offense time to get its act together.
"Things certainly got interesting in the first half," Brian Kudron said afterward. "We were very out of sync offensively, no cohesion to our playcalling or execution. Last year that probably would've buried us. But I'm very pleased with where our defense is at right now. Although we certainly have to tighten things up on the offensive side of the ball, it's reassuring to know that our defense is zeroed in right now and will give us some leeway if we need time to fix things on the other side."
Stanford won't have the luxury of waiting around next week, as they face the treacherous task of traveling to the Smurf Turf to face Boise State, where the Broncos haven't lost in the regular season in a dozen years.
| Stanford Cardinal at San Diego State Aztecs |
| Sep 14, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| #3 Stanford Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| San Diego State Aztecs (2-1, 1-1) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
|  |  |
| Total Offense | 412 | 168 |
| Rushing Yards | 219 | 70 |
| Passing Yards | 193 | 98 |
| First Downs | 21 | 13 |
| Punt Return Yards | 43 | 14 |
| Kick Return Yards | 108 | 0 |
| Total Yards | 563 | 182 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 7-16 | 2-11 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 3-3 | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 1/0 | 0/1 |
| Penalties | 10-116 | 10-114 |
| Posession Time | 32:21 | 15:39 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | STAN | SDSU |
| 0:02 | (SDSU) Keels, 62 yard INT return (Austin kick) | 0 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | STAN | SDSU |
| 9:19 | (SDSU) Austin, 25 yard FG | 0 | 10 |
| 0:00 | (STAN) Williamson, 48 yard FG | 3 | 10 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | STAN | SDSU |
| 6:59 | (STAN) Wilkerson, 13 yard run (Williamson kick) | 10 | 10 |
| 4:29 | (STAN) Nottingham, 34 yard pass to Montgomery (Williamson kick) | 17 | 10 |
| Stanford Cardinal | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | B. Nottingham | 16/26 | 193 | 1 | 3 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | A. Wilkerson | 27 | 145 | 5.3 | 1 | | R. Wright | 8 | 61 | 7.6 | 0 | | G. Meinken | 4 | 17 | 5.2 | 0 | | K. Young | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | | B. Nottingham | 3 | -14 | -4.6 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | T. Bradford | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 0 | | A. Wilkerson | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | | T. Montgomery | 3 | 89 | 29.6 | 1 | | Z. Ertz | 3 | 41 | 13.6 | 0 | | G. Meinken | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | | J. Roberts | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | J. Lancaster | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | D. Carrington | 7 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | | W. Lyons | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. Lueders | 7 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | | J. Hemschoot | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. Gardner | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | | J. Vaughters | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | J. Williamson | 1/3 | 2/2 | 5 | 48 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | J. Rouse | 4 | 137 | 34.2 | 2 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | T. Montgomery | 2 | 87 | 43.5 | 0 | | W. Lyons | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | T. Bradford | 4 | 43 | 10.7 | 0 |
| | San Diego State Aztecs | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | J. Bernards | 11/20 | 98 | 0 | 1 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | R. Hillman | 16 | 25 | 1.5 | 0 | | J. Bernards | 15 | 29 | 1.9 | 0 | | O. Nicholas | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | D. Denso | 4 | 35 | 8.7 | 0 | | G. Escobar | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 0 | | O. Nicholas | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | | L. Clark | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | | C. Young | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | | R. Hillman | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | V. Harris | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | N. Tenhaef | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Galeai | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Thomas | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | R. Siluano | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | M. Andrews | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | D. Onuahu | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | M. Keels | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | G. Hagen | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | J. Austin | 1/1 | 1/1 | 4 | 25 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | T. Russell | 8 | 358 | 44.7 | 1 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | R. Hillman | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 |
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