Pac-12 football: Washington State routs Stanford
Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 520 yards and five touchdowns in a victory over Stanford, and coach Mike Leach was full of praise for the senior on Saturday.
“Right now he is probably playing quarterback better than anyone in the country,” said Leach, who has coached many top quarterbacks. “He made play after play in that game that other quarterbacks can’t do.”
Washington State scored the final 24 points of the game in beating Stanford 49-22, to move within one win of becoming bowl eligible. It was their first victory in almost a month.
“It was our most complete game of the season,” Leach said.
Gordon completed 44 of 60 passes and was intercepted once. He now has 39 touchdown passes on the season, which leads the nation and is a team record.
“He’s real accurate,” Leach said of Gordon. “He throws for a great deal of yards. When pressured he can do something with the ball. He typically doesn’t take many sacks.”
“That’s quite the compliment coming from coach Leach,” Gordon said.
“But I haven’t reached my ceiling yet,” he said. “I can improve.”
Easop Winston Jr. caught 11 passes for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Washington State (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12), which has a four-game winning streak against the Cardinal. Max Borghi rushed for 111 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s season-ending hip injury could hurt his NFL draft stock significantly, which could cost him millions.
Brandon Arconado caught nine passes for 148 yards for the Cougars.
“He’s gotten better and better,” Leach said.
Davis Mills, starting in place of injured K.J. Costello, threw for a team record 494 yards for Stanford (4-6, 3-5). Mills completed 32 of 49 passes for three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Connor Weddington caught seven passes for 109 yards and Michael Wilson had five catches for 114 yards.
Oregon State 35, Arizona State 34
Jake Luton passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Beavers to the win in Corvallis, Ore.
Oregon State’s defense came up with two second-half turnovers, and a key stop on a 2-point conversion attempt to help preserve the win.
The Beavers (5-5, 4-3 Pac-12), who won just two games last season, are one victory away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. Arizona State (5-5, 2-5) lost its fourth consecutive game after a promising start.
The outcome was in doubt until the final seconds.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to be carted off the field after injuring his hip during a game against Mississippi State.
On fourth-and-8 from the Beavers 12-yard line with less than two minutes left, ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels delivered a strike over the middle to Brandon Aiyak for a touchdown.
The Sun Devils elected to go for the 2-point conversion but running back Eno Benjamin had nowhere to go on a pitch left and his desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted by cornerback Nahshon Wright.
OSU recovered the onside kick. On fourth-and-2 with 42 seconds left, Luton’s pass intended for Trevon Bradford was incomplete, but cornerback Jack Jones was called for pass interference to give the Beavers a first down.
Daniels completed 24 of 36 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. Aiyuk had 10 catches for 173 yards and score.
The Sun Devils had 408 total yards of offense compared to 393 for the Beavers, who defeated ASU for the first time since 2014.
Luton shined on senior day, completing 26 of 35 passes with no turnovers.
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