STANFORD, Calif. – Kevin Hogan threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start, and No. 16 Stanford overcame four turnovers to rally past No. 13 Oregon State 27-23 on Saturday and stay in control of its Pac-12 title hopes.
Cody Vaz fumbled late in the fourth quarter to give the Cardinal (8-2, 6-1) the ball at the Beavers 29. The only Oregon State (7-2, 5-2) turnover turned out to be the difference.
Hogan hit tight end Zach Ertz for a 13-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score and Stanford stopped the Beavers twice more. The Cardinal will head to second-ranked Oregon next week with a chance to take over sole control of the North Division and move closer to a spot in the conference championship game.
Oregon State won the turnover margin 4-1 but only converted three points out of them — and the one mistake cost the Beavers badly.
Vaz fumbled while shifting the ball during a scramble and Josh Mauro recovered. After Ertz caught the go-ahead touchdown, Oregon State got the ball back and Alex Debniak sacked Vaz on third down.
The quarterback left with an injury, and Sean Mannion — the former starter — threw incomplete on fourth-and-16 from the Oregon State 37 with 1:52 left.
Hogan, who took over the starting role from inconsistent Josh Nunes, completed 22 of 29 passes with two interceptions. He also ran for 49 yards on 11 carries.
Van finished 23-of-38 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown and Storm Woods ran for 94 yards in a deflating loss for Oregon State, which rallied from a 14-0 deficit to score 23 straight points and controlled the pace for most of the game.
The Beavers, who haven't played in the Rose Bowl since 1965, had their BCS and Pac-12 title hopes severely damaged.
Stanford started strong and closed fast.
After Ertz fumbled on Stanford's opening possession, the defense stopped Oregon State three-and-out. Then Hogan led a 13-play, 93-yard scoring drive — its longest of the season — capped by Stepfan Taylor's 1-yard touchdown run.
Hogan kept the momentum going, rolling to his right and hitting fullback Ryan Hewitt on a play-action pass. Hewitt sliced back inside and bulldozed through a defender for a 12-yard TD that gave Stanford a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Beavers came back in a hurry.
They used three different running backs on an 81-yard drive that came almost exclusively on the ground. Terron Ward finished it off when he ran for a 7-yard score to the Beavers on the board, and Trevor Romaine kicked a 19-yard field goal to slice Stanford's lead to 14-10 in the second quarter.
In the final minutes of the first half, Tyrequek Zimmerman stripped Taylor at the Oregon State 21. That ended a streak of 262 rushes for Taylor — who finished with 114 yards rushing and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season just prior — without a fumble.
Oregon State converted two long third down on the opening possession of the third quarter. None better than when Vaz found Wheaton on a short screen pass over the middle on third-and-16 for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Beavers a 17-14 lead.
Rudolf Fujita tipped Hogan's pass after Hogan throws INT on a tipped pass that Feti Taumoepeau intercepted. Stanford's defense held Oregon State to a 42-yard field goal by Romaine, who made another from 44 yards later in the third quarter for a 23-14 lead.
Taylor took a short pass from Hogan while the quarterback was being tackled. Taylor made a defender miss down the sideline, cut back inside and stiff-armed another to the ground for a 40-yard TD that trimmed Oregon State's lead to 23-21 as the third quarter expired.
Rashaad Reynolds outjumped Jamal-Rashad Patterson to intercept Hogan's pass midway through the fourth. Two plays later, Vaz fumbled, and Stanford squeaked out the victory.
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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP
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