Four Takeaways From Arizona State's Win Over Stanford

The dust has settled, and the Arizona State Sun Devils have once again emerged victorious this season.

The 5-1 start came on the heels of a 28-10 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in Week 6, as the Sun Devils proved to be too much for a visiting Stanford squad fresh off their upset of Oregon last weekend.

Although the Sun Devils weren't able to put Stanford away until the very end, Arizona State either led or was tied (only at a touchdown a piece in the first quarter) throughout the entire game.

"I thought we did some good things in the game as far as running the football; that was our emphasis," head coach Herm Edwards said following the win. "We tried to run the ball a little more and make some first downs because when you play Stanford, they’re a very methodical football team; they take a lot of time off the clock, they possess the ball for long periods of time.

"Their defense doesn’t generally give up a lot of plays in the passing game so going into this we didn’t want to turn the ball over and didn’t want to get into foul trouble, which showed up in the end. For the most part, I thought we played a pretty good football game, we got on the board then they got on the board and from there I thought the second half was telling. Our defense only allowed three points, so when you can do that your chances of winning go way up.

"I thought there were a couple things we have to clean up. I’ll get that straight I promise you that, but it was a good win for us.”

While Edwards and his staff will break the film down before planning for Utah, let's take a look at four takeaways from Arizona State's win over Stanford:

Four Takeaways From Arizona State's Win Over Stanford

Discipline is getting better: Prior to Stanford's last drive, the Sun Devils had a mere two penalties, almost holy-like numbers compared to the 16-penalty performance against BYU.

Although Arizona State allowed 45 free yards on Stanford's final drive thanks to three 15-yard penalties, the Sun Devils somehow managed to depart from the game with a clean feeling as opposed to their counterparts, as the Cardinal felt like the more undisciplined team Friday.

The Sun Devils have ultimately cut down on their penalties at the right time, as ASU enters a tough Pac-12 stretch and will need to ward away any sense of self-inflicted errors. No football team will play each game without penalty flags thrown in their direction, yet it's encouraging to see ASU clean their act up at the right time.

Still searching for the pedal: If there's one complaint from Friday's win, it's ASU's inability to once again fully put away teams when presented the opportunity.

The Sun Devils held multiple chances to score touchdowns and drive the nail through Stanford's coffin, yet the team either resorted to conservative play-calling or simply kept stalling on drives through the middle of the game.

Arizona State won by three possessions, so there's not a whole lot of complaining available. Yet, if you had to nitpick one facet of this team, it's the fact that ASU simply takes their foot off the gas and allows teams to still feel as if they have a shot deep into games. That's a game the Sun Devils probably shouldn't be willing to play for much longer as the conference schedule unfolds.

Sack city: Five sacks from ASU's defense vs. Stanford once again proved the Sun Devils finally knew how to reach the quarterback. They lead the Pac-12 at a blistering pace of 21 sacks through six games.

Getting after the quarterback is made easy when you know the ball will be thrown plenty. Stanford, knowing a running game would be redundant, threw the ball 45 times on Friday night, allowing plenty of pass-rushing opportunities for the Pac-12's best unit in terms of finding the opposing quarterback.

It's refreshing to see ASU get to the quarterback at such a good rate, especially after years of what many believed to be a non-existent pass rush. Even missing two key players in Travez Moore and Jermayne Lole, this front seven is legit.

Turning the corner: Following the loss to BYU, there were a lot of questions surrounding Arizona State and whether or not they were actual contenders for the Pac-12 title. However, as each game passes since the loss in Provo, this team feels as if they're hitting their stride at the right time.

Chalk it up to early season rust, or merely ignorant displays of lackluster discipline on the road, or whatever it may be, ASU has certainly turned a corner on their season, bouncing back and responding extremely well following the loss to BYU.

Penalties. Turnovers. Discipline. Those three factors managed to weigh heavily on ASU's mind through their opening stretch of games. However, ASU has since then turned over a new leaf, playing their best football and improving on a weekly basis.

There's genuine excitement in Tempe, and for good reason. The Sun Devils are playing well, and look to make the most out of what many believe could be a magical season. The UCLA game showed Arizona State could win against good teams, and the Stanford game proved they weren't a flash in the pan.

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