Kegel Is a Pain to Stanford

Matt Kegel’s teammates admit they had some doubt when he took over as quarterback this season in place of Jason Gesser.

After Kegel’s gutsy performance Saturday, those thoughts are all but gone.

Kegel passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns as his non-throwing shoulder throbbed in pain at the end, and Sammy Moore’s 64-yard punt return set up another score as No. 6 Washington State defeated Stanford, 24-14.

Chris Jordan caught five passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars, who improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

Washington State was not sharp on offense in its first game after an open date but won its fifth in a row since a 29-26 overtime loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 6. The Cougars struggled to move the ball against a Stanford team that gave up 413 yards and 41 points in the first half alone against No. 5 USC a week earlier.

This was supposed to be the Cougars’ easy game before consecutive meetings with Oregon State and USC. But their defense kept them in it, knocking Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards out of the game and pounding backup Chris Lewis until Moore’s brilliant return set up Kegel’s third touchdown pass to Cody Boyd with 9:45 left.

“It was about time Sammy did that,” Cougar Coach Bill Doba said. “He’d been dancing around back there for a while.”

Kegel left the game holding his left shoulder with 13:14 left after blitzing linebacker Jared Newberry flattened him from the blind side, but returned two series later. Kegel completed 26 of 47 passes despite constant pressure.

“There was so much doubt at the beginning of the season,” Cougar offensive lineman Billy Knotts said. “He’s turned out to be a great quarterback for us.”

Kegel thought he had broken something when he heard the shoulder pop. Trainers iced his shoulder to reduce the swelling and sent him back onto the field.

“Both my shoulders are messed up,” he said. “I didn’t know what happened.”

The Cardinal (2-3, 0-3) played its first home game since the Sept. 6 season opener against San Jose State, and 48,526 came out for the school’s homecoming as Stanford played a ranked team for the third consecutive week.

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Arizona State 33, North Carolina 31 -- Andrew Walter threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Fulton with no time left to give the Sun Devils (4-3) the victory over the Tar Heels (1-6) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Walter completed 34 of 58 passes for 408 yards.

Derek Hagan caught 11 passes for 185 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown reception and a 42-yarder that set up Fulton’s winner. It was Hagan’s third consecutive game with more than 100 yards.

Fulton also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and ended up with 68 yards in seven receptions.

Loren Wade ran for 130 yards in 16 carries for Arizona State, and Hakim Hill had 14 carries for 72 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown run.