Stanford blows past Arizona, 55-17

STANFORD, Calif. _ Stanford continued its path of destruction through the Pac-12 with a 55-17 victory over Arizona on Saturday night.tmpplchld The Cardinal won its fourth game in a row overall and third straight in the conference. After overpowering USC and Oregon State the previous two weeks, it handled the injury-depleted Wildcats with little difficulty, jumping to a 27-3 halftime lead.tmpplchld Arizona played without quarterback Anu Solomon (concussion) and struggled to move the ball without the threat of a downfield passing game. Stanford overplayed the run as linebacker Blake Martinez, who grew up in Tucson but was not offered a scholarship by Arizona, collected 13 tackles through three quarterstmpplchld Stanford tailback Christian McCaffrey had another sterling performance, with 260 all-purpose yards; quarterback Kevin Hogan was nearly perfect (17-of-19) before giving way to backup Keller Chryst; and reserve tailback Barry Sanders had another long touchdown run (65 yards).tmpplchld The Cardinal has topped the 40-point mark in three consecutive games, the first time it has accomplished that feat since 2011 _ Andrew Luck’s final season.tmpplchld The Wildcats were missing much more than Solomon, who had thrown 11 touchdowns (and no interceptions) before the concussion. They were also without All-America linebacker Scooby Wright and his running mate, Derrick Turituri _ the heart of their run defense.tmpplchld And Stanford pounced on its advantage. With the offensive line carving lanes and McCaffrey charging into the secondary, the Cardinal rushed for 89 yards in the first quarter alone and scored all three times it possessed the ball.tmpplchld The first and second drives ended in field goals. But the third, fueled by a 32-yard pass from quarterback Hogan to receiver Devon Cajuste, reached the end zone. McCaffrey blasted around left end for his first rushing touchdown of the season.tmpplchld The Cardinal’s edge was just as significant on the other side of the ball. Without Solomon, Arizona turned to backup Jerrard Randall, a first-class athlete with unrefined passing skills. His one-hop incompletion on the first series set the tone: Stanford was able to commit to stopping Arizona’s running game with little fear of getting beat through the air.tmpplchld Arizona finished the first quarter with 31 total yards, and the situation improved only by a tick in the second. Randall guided the Wildcats past midfield, into the red zone and all the way to Stanford’s 11. But the drive stalled and a field goal ensued.tmpplchld It was something, but not nearly enough.tmpplchld Stanford then unleashed a 10 play drive that seemed to crush whatever spirit Arizona had left. The key play featured a surprising appearance by backup quarterback Chryst, who pitched to McCaffrey, then became the lead blocker. The 233-pound Chryst cleared out a defender as McCaffrey raced around right end for 25 yards. Seconds later, Remound Wright rumbled in to give Stanford a 20-3 lead.tmpplchld Desperate and reeling, Arizona switched quarterbacks. But freshman Brandon Dawkins had no more success than Randall. In fact, he had less: three plays, minus-2 yards, and a punt.tmpplchld Stanford regain possession with 2:34 on the clock and needed barely half that to score a for-good-measure touchdown. Hogan was 4 of 4 on the drive, including a 42-yard connection with Michael Rector. The touchdown came courtesy of a short pass to Wright.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)tmpplchld Visit the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld