Difficult? Yes. Surprising? No, at least not anymore.

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Joseph Bergen

Stanford’s only scoring drive of the game started with a run by Anthony Kimble on 1st-and-10 from the Stanford 20-yard line. In a play designed to go to the right, Kimble (26) took the handoff and started downfield. The Sun Devil cornerback, Keno Walter-White (8) blitzed into the backfield, but took a poor angle and allowed Kimble to cut back to the left. Blocks from Erik Lorig (80) and Allen Smith (67) sealed the inside of the defense, while Austin Yancy (38) obstructed the free safety, Josh Barrett (19). The result was a huge lane down the left sideline. Kimble sped down the line until he was taken out of bounds at the Arizona State 22-yard line. The 58-yard run was Stanford’s longest offensive gain of the season. —By Christopher Anderson

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Shams Shaikh

Sophomore linebacker Clinton Snyder (20), senior safety Brandon Harrison (23) and the rest of the Cardinal suffered their 10th consecutive loss, falling to Arizona State 38-3 on Saturday.

While the old adage may say that there are infinite ways to lose a football game, Stanford lost its 10th-straight contest much like it has the last nine. The offense stalled on the ground and sputtered through the air, the rush and pass defenses never made it off the plane, and turnovers and sacks ensured the Cardinal lost in a blowout.

This week, Arizona State had the honors, demolishing Stanford 38-3 to snap a three-game losing streak in front of a Homecoming crowd of 53,000.

“It’s like a broken record; we were not physical enough and not consistent enough to run the ball for four quarters,” Stanford coach Walt Harris said. “I think we played good at times on defense, but we wouldn’t get off the field or we would do something that would give them another shot.”

A 27-yard Rudy Carpenter touchdown strike to Ryan Torain and a 19-yard Jesse Ainsworth field goal built a 10-0 Sun Devil lead late in the first quarter. But it was Torain’s two-yard dash midway through the second quarter that gave the Devils a 17-0 lead that effectively iced the game. Tailback Keegan Herring found the end zone twice in the third quarter to push Arizona State’s lead to 31-0, and halfback Dmitri Nance capped the afternoon’s scoring from 13 yards out in the fourth.

Junior kicker Aaron Zagory’s 35-yard field goal late in the third quarter provided Stanford’s only points.

With the loss, the Cardinal (0-8, 0-5 Pac-10) is just four games away from their first winless season since 1960. Their 10-game skid, dating back to last season, is the third-worst of Division I-A’s 119 football programs.

“It was a tough day at the office,” Harris said.

Junior quarterback T.C. Ostrander struggled in his first start, where he replaced senior Trent Edwards, who will miss the remainder of the season with a broken foot. Misfires, constant pressure and drops from his young receivers forced Ostrander into just a 48-yard afternoon on 7-of-28 passing.

Meanwhile, Arizona State gained 206 rushing yards on a healthy 4.4 yards per carry average. Sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter looked more like a Heisman winner than the scapegoat he had become in recent weeks, completing 17 of 19 attempts for 175 yards and two touchdowns.

Unsurprisingly, the Devils crushed the Cardinal in all statistical measures. ASU gained 236 more yards and 12 more first downs than Stanford, outpossessed Stanford by over six minutes in the first half alone, converted 6-of-11 third downs to Stanford’s 3-of-14, scored on five of six red zone trips and forced two turnovers and three sacks.

Stanford’s 145 offensive yards was the ninth-lowest total in 80-plus years of Cardinal football history, while the 66 passing yards were the third-worst in the record books.

“We held the Stanford offense to 145 yards and about 50 of those yards came on one play, when we missed a tackle,” said Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter, referring to a 58-yard third-quarter rush from junior tailback Anthony Kimble. “This is the first game in awhile we’ve been able to get pressure without blitzing. We got pressure in a four-man rush, which allows us to keep more guys in coverage.”

Harris also pointed to the five-man offensive line’s inability to block four defenders as key in the loss.

“Their offensive line was physical and their defensive line was too much for our guys,” he said.

After a much-needed bye week, the Cardinal will conclude their season by hosting Southern California (6-0, 4-0), visiting Washington (4-4, 2-3), hosting Oregon State (4-3, 2-2) and traveling to California (7-1, 5-0) for the Big Game.

Stanford's best remaining chance to earn a win may be Nov. 18 when the Beavers visit Stanford Stadium. The Cardinals last win came against Oregon State Nov. 12 in Corvallis by a 20-17 margin.