Ty Montgomery returned his first career punt for a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards and another score, and No. 11 Stanford tuned up for a date with No. 15 Southern California next week by routing UC Davis 45-0 on Saturday.
The All-American kick returner, who was cleared by team doctors to play earlier this week after offseason surgery on his right shoulder, looked ready to be the Cardinal's do-it-all playmaker again. He ran his first punt back 60 yards for a TD and lined up all over the field, including once as a wildcat quarterback.
Stanford led 38-0 at the half and rested most of its starters the final two quarters.
Kevin Hogan threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns to help the two-time defending Pac-12 champions get off to a mostly smooth start. He completed 12 of 16 passes and had one interception.
Stanford's retooled defense held the Aggies to 115 total yards, forced three turnovers and sacked London Lacy four times to overwhelm the lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision team. UC Davis didn't crossed midfield until the final play of the game.
The Cardinal's first shutout since beating Colorado 48-0 on Nov. 3, 2012 showed just how far they've come since losing 20-17 at home to UC Davis in 2005.
But Stanford still has plenty to clean up before the Trojans visit The Farm.
The Cardinal's overhauled offensive line — which features four new starters — had its share of struggles, including a false start, holding and clipping penalties in the first half. Hogan also was sacked once.
Barry Sanders ran for 43 yards on seven carries, and starter Kelsey Young had 37 yards on seven carries as they take on the task of replacing 1,700-yard rusher Tyler Gaffney this season. Stanford finished with 149 yards rushing.
UC Davis lacked the talent to contain the Cardinal or sustain drives. Lacy completed 12 of 22 passes for 54 yards and two interceptions, and the Aggies' top two running backs sat out with injuries.
Even still, Montgomery gave them the most trouble.
After Stanford stopped UC Davis on the game's opening possession, Montgomery fielded a punt near the middle of the field. He sliced right, cut back up field and shook off a tackle from punter Coby Wadman to complete the 60-yard score.
Montgomery also caught a short inside screen from Hogan and raced 44 yards for another touchdown late in the first half. And he had one rush for 8 yards out of the wildcat formation.
Hogan added TD passes of 40 yards to Michael Rector and 52 yards to freshman Christian McCaffrey — the son of former NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey — and scrambled for a 1-yard score. McCaffrey also returned three punts for 60 yards and had three tackles on special teams in his debut.
Jordan Williamson made 1 of 2 field goals after became Stanford's career scoring leader. He broke Eric Abrams' record of 289 points from 1992 to 1995.
Devon Cajuste, the Cardinal's No. 2 wide receiver, was suspended for the game for a violation of team rules. He is expected to play against USC.
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