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No. 25 Stanford quiets Halliday, beats WSU 34-17

By WTOP Staff

ANTONIO GONZALEZ
AP Sports Writer

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — The defense came as advertised for Stanford, and so did the offense.

Cardinal coach David Shaw is at the point where he finally accepts that the good is going to come with the bad this season, and he just hopes his players can overcome the miscues when the competition gets tougher.

Kevin Hogan threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 25 Stanford slowed down Connor Halliday and the Air Raid offense in a 34-17 victory over Washington State on Friday night.

“We’re going to try to be perfect but also realize we’re not going to be perfect,” Shaw said, citing a speech star Ty Montgomery gave to the team earlier in the day. “Give a great effort and try to be perfect, but when we’re not we can’t let the sky come falling down around us. We’re just going to play through our mistakes and continue to give a great effort.”

That approach was enough to get by a one-dimensional team. Whether it will work against the Pac-12’s heavyweights on the horizon — including games at Arizona State, UCLA and Oregon — is still to be determined.

Greg Taboado grabbed his first two career TDs and fellow tight end Eric Cotton had his first scoring catch to help the Cardinal (4-2, 2-1) rebound from a nonconference loss at Notre Dame and renew their chase for a third straight conference championship.

A week after Halliday threw for an NCAA-record 734 yards in a 60-59 loss to California, the nation’s stingiest scoring defense harassed him all over the backfield.

Stanford held Halliday to 42-for-69 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns on mostly short and intermediate passes. The Cardinal also forced one interception and had four sacks.

“We didn’t have time for downfield passes,” Halliday said.

The Cougars (2-5, 1-3) have lost two in a row, and their chances of making consecutive bowl games under Mike Leach look dim.

Stanford improved to 9-0 after losses under Shaw and hasn’t dropped consecutive games since October 2009. But penalties and mistakes in the red zone cost the Cardinal from taking control — which has been a theme this season — against a Washington State defense that struggled again.

The usually stoic Shaw even broke out of character a couple of times, though it was often directed at officials, including tossing his headset while arguing on the sideline for pass interference. He also dropped his hands to his side and shrugged after fullback Patrick Skov fumbled while trying to stretch the ball over the goal line late in the first half.

Stanford still outgained Washington State 477 to 266 yards — enough to bring a smile out of Tiger Woods on the sideline — and leaned on its defense to do the rest.

The Cardinal entered the game with the country’s best scoring defense (8.6 points) and ranked second in total defense (232 yards) and passing defense (107 yards) per game. They lived up to the billing again, hurrying Halliday constantly to break up the Cougars’ pass-happy schemes.

“Pressure changes everything,” said safety Zach Hoffpauir, who led Stanford with 15 tackles.

Halliday moved Washington State well, at times, but never found his quick-strike prowess. He tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Vince Mayle in the first quarter and threw across his body for a 3-yard TD strike to River Cracraft on fourth down to slice Stanford’s lead to 24-17 early in the fourth.

Cracraft finished with 14 receptions for 100 yards.

Montgomery hauled in seven passes for 72 yards, Cotton caught a 39-yard TD pass and Taboado tallied two short scores from Hogan to give the Cardinal a 24-10 lead. Hogan completed 23 of 35 passes.

Jordan Williamson made two of three field goals, including a 34-yarder to extend the Cardinal’s lead to 27-17 with 8:13 left. Quentin Breshears kicked a 46-yard field goal for Washington State earlier.

Remound Wright ran for 98 yards and a TD in the closing minutes, and Barry Sanders had 68 yards rushing as the Cardinal totaled 193 yards on the ground. The Cougars had minus-26 yards rushing.

Cougars cornerback Charleston White was helped off the field several minutes after colliding with teammate Darius Lemora in the third quarter. Stanford wide receiver Devon Cajuste also stumbled off the field after taking a hard hit, and linebacker James Vaughters left with an undisclosed injury.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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