It was an old fashioned brand of football that earned this victory for #24 Stanford (5-2 / 3-1 PAC 12) over ASU (3-4 / 1-3 PAC 12) in ‘Devil Country’ Thursday evening, tough defense and just enough offense.
Cardinal junior quarterback K.J. Costello (22 for 29 passing / 231 yards / 1 TD / 93.9 QBR / 4 carries / 18 rushing yards / 4.5 YPC) showed tremendous heart in this one, battling through a significant injury to his throwing hand suffered early in the contest when a Devils defender accidentally cleated him in a melee. I found the fact that Costello hung in the game admirable, and afterwards it looked as if his teammates felt the same way by how they rallied around him in humble but well deserved celebration.