Stanford Football: Arcega-Whiteside saves Cardinal from upset threat

PALO ALTO, CA - AUGUST 31: Jj Arcega-Whiteside #19 of the Stanford Cardinal catches the ball for a touchdown while covered by Ron Smith #17 of the San Diego State Aztecs at Stanford Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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A year after the lights literally went out, Stanford football struggled before pulling away from San Diego State at the Farm on Friday night.

The Stanford Cardinal have learned their lesson about schedule the San Diego State Aztecs early in the season. After being upset by the Mountain West squad last season the Cardinal were one fortunate fumble away from going into halftime trailing the Aztecs. SDSU would fall away in the second half, but they made Stanford sweat.

Ultimately, talent won out. Quarterback KJ Costello threw for a career-best 311 yards with four touchdowns passes. Since taking over for Keller Chryst last season, Costello has continued to improve. He’s now thrown for 13 touchdowns and three interceptions in his last four games dating back to a four-touchdown performance in a win over Notre Dame last season.

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Stanford is 1-0. With a tough schedule ahead of them and potential conference championship aspirations, the Cardinal need to worry about taking care of business one game at a time.

Here’s what we learned about Stanford from their home win over San Deigo State on Friday:

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