STANFORD, Calif. _ The first sign that San Diego State's running game remains in good hands came midway through the first quarter against Stanford.
That's when junior Juwan Washington took a handoff from quarterback Christian Chapman and burst up the middle for a 22-yard gain.
On the SDSU sideline, Rashaad Penny smiled like a proud bigger brother.
The torch had been rushed.
SDSU's former running back was able to watch its current one as he recovers from surgery for a broken finger before rejoining his Seattle Seahawks teammates.
Washington immediately followed the 22-yard gain with consecutive carries of 10, 40, 4 and 4 yards. He landed in the end zone on his last effort, providing SDSU with the game's first score late in the first quarter.
SDSU more than held its own through the game's first two periods before 13th-ranked Stanford exploited the Aztecs' secondary for four scores through the air in a 31-10 win before an announced crowd of 40,093 at Stanford Stadium.
Washington carried 17 times in the first half for 114 yards _ 84 of them on the scoring drive _ completely overshadowing Stanford Heisman Trophy hopeful Bryce Love. Washington finished with 24 carries for a career-high 158 yards.
When the teams met last season at SDCCU Stadium, Love rushed 13 times for 184 yards with touchdown runs of 53 and 51 yards.
SDSU bottled him up Friday night, limiting Love to seven yards on 10 carries in the first half. Love's longest run _ seven yards. The senior didn't have a rush over more than that until he had a 14-yard run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Love finished with 18 carries for 29 yards. He added three receptions for 18 yards.
There still appeared to be a Heisman candidate on the field, however.
Stanford senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside had touchdown catches of 38, 19 and 80 yards from quarterback K.J. Costello as the Cardinal exploited the SDSU secondary.
The 6-foot-3 Arcega-Whiteside had six catches for 226 yards and the three TDs. That didn't include catching a two-point conversion after his third score. Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson's 19-yard touchdown catch accounted for the other score.
SDSU head coach Rocky Long knew all about Arcega-Whiteside coming into the game. And Long knew he had a decision to make.
"I think our biggest challenge is trying to decide on how many people you want to put near the line of scrimmage and how willing you are to be one-on-one with some really big, good wide receivers on the outside," Long said earlier in the week. "If you want to put nine or 10 guys near the line of scrimmage to try to stop the run, then they've got a huge advantage out there one-on-one against the 5-foot-10 corner.
"Now you have to decide on (whether) you are willing to try to slow the run down in order to take a one-on-one chance on the outside."
SDSU did slow down the run _ and paid for it on the outside.
The recipe last season for SDSU's 20-17 upset of Stanford included holding the ball for 41 of the game's 60 minutes, limiting the Cardinal to 43 offensive plays (while running 78 of their own) and getting three turnovers that likely cost the Cardinal at least two scores.
Time of possession was more even in this contest, owing mostly to Stanford's opening drive.
The Cardinal moved down the field over 10 plays before coming away empty when they missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt.
SDSU made Stanford go three-and-out on three of its next four series. It would have been all four, but SDSU linebacker Ronley Lakalaka was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for saying something the official didn't like right after the Aztecs had made a third-down stop.
The penalty didn't hurt SDSU, which still forced a punt on the series.
SDSU had a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter before an unusual play in which Stanford was credited with a safety of Chapman.
On a third-and-6 from his own 5-yard line, Chapman scrambled right in the end zone but couldn't find a receiver. He tried flipping the ball just before being tackled by Stanford's Bobby Okereke, but was ruled down.
SDSU's biggest defensive play of the first half actually turned into the biggest offensive series for the Cardinal.
On third-and-5 from the SDSU 39-yard line, Costello had a ball tipped high at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by SDSU defensive lineman Noble Hall.
Hall fumbled on the return, however, and the Cardinal recovered.
Rather than a change of possession had Hall held on to the ball, or even a fourth-down play had the ball simply been knocked down, Stanford had a first down at midfield.
Three plays later, Costello found Arcega-Whiteside for his first touchdown catch and a 9-7 lead that Stanford took into the half.
Pass interference was called against SDSU defensive backs on back-to-back plays early in the third quarter as they tried to deal with Arcega-Whiteside. He seemed to toy with the defenders at times and, in fact, appeared to knock one defender's hand away in order to make his 80-yard TD catch.
