STANFORD, Calif. — Drew Terrell returned a punt 75 yards for a score and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass, Ed Reynolds took one of his two interceptions for another touchdown and No. 25 Stanford rebounded from a disappointing debut to roll past Duke 50-13 on Saturday night.
Josh Nunes completed 16 of 30 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, showing more flair in his second start since No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck left for the NFL. The redshirt junior overcame his first interception to move the Cardinal (2-0) offense with a strong and steady hand that never surfaced in a 20-17 win over San Jose State last week.
Jordan Richards also picked off a pass by Duke’s Sean Renfree to highlight a dominant defensive effort by Stanford in a final tuneup before hosting second-ranked Southern California next week.
The Cardinal held the Blue Devils (1-1) to 27 yards rushing, forced three total turnovers and leaned on its defensive and special teams on a night mohawk-wearing middle linebacker Shayne Skov returned. Skov, who served a one-game suspension last week for a DUI arrest on campus, had four tackles and one pass breakup in his first start since tearing ligaments in his left knee in the third game at Arizona last season.
Such a blowout seemed unlikely leading into this matchup of historically strong academic universities.
Stanford slipped four spots in the AP poll following that too-close-for-comfort win last week. Duke also routed Florida International 46-26, beating a Football Bowl Subdivision team in its opener for the first time since 2002.
Both programs reverted to form in a hurry.
After the defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession, Terrell split two defenders and juked the punter before running untouched down the sideline to give Stanford a 7-0 lead. The Cardinal had not returned a punt for a score since Richard Sherman’s 48-yarder against San Jose State on Sept. 19, 2009.
Officials whistled Tony Foster for pass interference against tight end Levine Toilolo on third-and-7. That set up Stepfan Taylor’s 13-yard touchdown run on the next play to extend Stanford’s lead to 20-0 early in the second quarter.
Taylor finished with 69 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Stanford stuffed Duke repeatedly and constantly gave Nunes and the offense shorter fields. In the best chance the Blue Devils had to reach the end zone in the first half, the Cardinal pressured wildcat quarterback Brandon Connette into an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2 from Stanford’s 14-yard line.
About the only downside to the defensive dominance was that the Cardinal couldn’t convert more scores.
Nunes threw incomplete to tight end Zach Ertz on third down and Stanford settled for a 35-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson. Another incomplete pass to Ertz led to a 32-yard field goal, and Toilolo landed out of bounds in the back of the end zone before Williamson kicked a 22-yarder.
Ross Cockrell also stepped in front of a pass by Nunes and juggled the ball into his chest as he fell on his back for an interception. Nunes, who had only thrown two passes for Stanford before this season, had never tossed an interception.
Any chance Duke had for a second-half surge ended fast.
A surprise onside kick failed and the Cardinal cruised down field. Nunes lofted a 19-yard pass in the corner of the end zone that Terrell wrestled away from Foster for another touchdown.
Henry Anderson tipped Renfree’s pass on the next possession, and Richards corralled the ball for an interception at Duke’s 7. That led to a 3-yard touchdown toss to Toilolo that put Stanford ahead 37-3 and sent an already sparse crowd — announced at 44,016 — heading home to rest for USC’s visit.
Reynolds added to the highlights when he stepped in front of Renke’s pass and ran 71 yards for a score. Reynolds, who intercepted David Fales’ final pass last week to seal Stanford’s win, also picked off backup Anthony Boone in the fourth quarter.
The last Stanford player with two interceptions in a game was Delano Howell in 2009 against Washington.
Renfree completed 28 of 40 passes for 200 yards and the two interceptions. Boone relieved Renfree with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter, and the rest turned into a formality Duke knows all too well.
The last time the Blue Devils beat a ranked team on the road was in 1971, coincidentally a 9-3 victory over Rose Bowl-bound Stanford on Oct. 2, 1971.
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