Joshua Karty’s 31-yard field goal with 5:56 remaining served as the game-winner as Stanford beat Washington State 10-7 on Saturday night in Pullman, Wash.
The Cougars (4-5, 1-5 Pac-12) have lost five consecutive games.
Stanford (3-6, 2-5) has achieved all of its wins this season on the road.
The only sustained scoring drive in the game was engineered by Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward, whose 9-yard scoring strike to Josh Kelly culminated an 80-yard drive with 6:18 left in the second quarter.
Washington State took the 7-0 lead into halftime.
Stanford turned an interception by Scotty Edwards in the third quarter into its first and only touchdown.
The Cardinal drove 53 yards after Edwards’ pick for the score, a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Justin Lamson.
Lamson is a backup to Ashton Daniels, who returned to the game later in the third quarter and threw an interception.
Daniels passed for 115 yards on 15-of-31 passing.
Lamson, who rushed for 54 yards and completed his only passing attempt for 27 yards, and Daniels shuffled quarterback responsibilities the rest of the game.
Stanford took its 10-7 lead when it ended a 12-play, 61-yard march with the 31-yard field goal by Karty. The Cougars then went three-and-out.
On the Cardinal’s next possession, Lamson converted a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Stanford 47 with 2:32 left.
Lamson ran up the middle for the game-clinching first down. Washington State was out of timeouts and was unable to stop the clock afterward.
The low-scoring game belied how each team struggled defensively entering Saturday.
Washington State was ranked 120th nationally in total defense, allowing 446 yards per game, while Stanford was 126th (465.1 yards per game).
Washington State had allowed an average of 36.3 points during its four-game losing streak, its longest skid since 2014. Opponents had rushed for at least 158 yards against the Cougars in six straight games, but the Cardinal mustered only 75 yards on the ground.
Ward completed 24 of 40 passes for 241 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
–Field Level Media