The Arizona State defense and its coaching staff talked all week about the keys to shutting down Stanford.

Consistent pressure to disrupt quarterback Tanner McKee. Tight man coverage to lock up the skies. Using the bye week to patch up its run defense, which up to that point had allowed 166.8 yards per game.

Throwing a blanket over Stanford’s offense did not figure to be an easy task, and it wasn’t. McKee dissected the Sun Devils with his pre-snap reads and grasp of mid-play developments, singling out one-on-one matchups that favored his big-bodied targets. His receivers seemed as tall as the Redwood trees rooted in the middle of the Stanford decal on their white helmets.

McKee dropped back to throw at his receiving arsenal 57 times over the course of the game, hoping his passes would snag in those branches. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 320 yards but couldn’t chain them together to complete drives. Stanford scored zero touchdowns on two trips to the red zones and kicked five field goals. ASU collected eight pass breakups and an interception, a diving effort by a swift Jordan Clark to flip Stanford out of scoring territory in the second quarter.

In the end, the defense did its job. Each member competed, played their hearts out, and helped put together their most successful outing yet. ASU did not “hang in there” on its patrol of the Farm. They were dominant. But the scoreboard, a 15-14 loss, disguised the lionhearted performance.

As tears smudged his eye black throughout his postgame press conference, a crestfallen Clark thought the defense still fell short.

“We didn’t give up any touchdowns, but we gave up 15 points, and we lost,” Clark said. “It’s good to finish drives, but you got to start drives, you know what I’m saying? There are some early stops that we could have gotten that I think would have given the offense better field position, and it just keeps 43 (Stanford kicker ) out of range. He was dialing it all day.

“We got to make plays earlier, man. It’s not bend-don’t-break. It’s never bend, never break, none of that s–t. We got to be great the whole drive; we can’t just be great at the end.”

ASU made the Cardinal one-dimensional by taking away the run game. That was an area the Sun Devils did not do well in against Washington during their 45-38 upset win, allowing the Huskies to punch the ball into the end zone four times. Stanford rushers combined for just 78 yards on 25 attempts, generating yards at a measly 3.1 average clip.

The tackle department provides evidence for the lowly output. Kyle Soelle and Merlin Robertson got ahead of downfield blocks and filled their run gaps responsibly. The two senior linebackers finished with 27 total tackles. Safety Chris Edmonds also played well in the box, wrapping up nine Cardinal playmakers throughout the game.

Stanford was forced to sling the rock, perhaps more than they wanted to, and ASU had the personnel to match up. Last season, the Sun Devils were at a severe size disadvantage against Stanford’s aerial targets. 6-foot-5 John Humphreys, 6-foot-4 Brycen Tremayne, and 6-foot-3 Elijah Higgins could play basketball for the Cardinal in the winter if they wanted to. Even tight end, Benjamin Yurosek, towered over his opponents at 6-foot-4.

No more. ASU defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson deployed his defensive backs in cat coverage, a stark deviation from his preference to play with a cushion and keep the ball in front. Ro Torrence (6-3) and Ed Woods (6-0) went toe-to-toe with Stanford’s giants on their outside matchups. They won more battles on big-play opportunities than they lost.

Torrence was especially impressive, using his expansive wingspan to barricade catch points and eliminate throw windows entirely. He notched three pass breakups, two of which occurred when he was targeted on third down.

“That’s my job, to go out there and make plays on the island,” Torrence said. “That’s what I’m going to do to help the team win. We just have to continue and press forward.

“The goal every week is to not give up a touchdown. . . It’s a bad feeling not giving up a touchdown and still losing games. But it’s football; there are ups and downs.”

Stanford converted nine of 19 chances on third down, limiting the time and number of drives ASU’s offense had to work with. Those moments where the defense is one play away from rest are where it has struggled most. The theme has solidified itself by now, and the players know a solution must be found.

“It’s very frustrating knowing you can get off the field and you don’t get off the field,” Torrence said. “We just prolong their drive, give them more opportunities to score the ball. I feel like this is an area where we have to be better. We’ve got to get off the field, get our offense more possessions, and steal some time.”

The slow run-pass option (RPO) technique is, characteristic of Stanford’s offense, was effective in those situations. It tests eye discipline and coverage integrity, with McKee holding the ball in the belly of his running back longer than most teams would execute the play. If one of the players in coverage bit on the run, McKee would zip a pass through the opening.

Stanford’s top four targets had over 60 receiving yards apiece, with Yurosek leading the charge by hauling in 10 of 12 targets.

“It’s always hard because it asks your whole defense to run to the football,” ASU interim head coach Shaun Aguano said. “Now you’re telling the secondary you can’t run to the football because you need to keep your eyes on all the RPOs.

“They do a pretty good job. They caught us a couple of times on hot routes and on screens because we brought pressure from the perimeter. But overall, I thought we did a good job against their run, and they had to pass a little bit more. They’ve got big receivers, and they’re pretty good too.”

The pass rush, however, finally came alive for ASU. Nesta Jade Silvera and Anthonie Cooper both earned sacks against Stanford’s offensive line, with Cooper and B.J. Green assisting on a joint takedown of McKee. Silvera also batted down one pass at the line while the man next to him in the trenches, nose tackle T.J. Pesefea, got his hand on two others.

Henderson even blitzed Woods from his outside cornerback spot on third down during the final minutes of the fourth quarter, proving he can be aggressive with the game on the line. Unfortunately, the offense could not come through in the clutch.

“Our defense did a good job keeping them out of the end zone,” Aguano said. “Fifteen points should win football games. So am I disappointed? Yes, I am very, very disappointed. But I got a team to make sure that I take care of, and we’ll get back at it.”

ASU drops to 1-3 in Pac-12 play and 2-5 overall. The Sun Devils will travel to Colorado (1-6, 1-3 Pac-12) next week. Agauno is focused on how to capitalize on the improvement and refocus on the conference’s last-place team.

“I told them right before I came here that I’ll never give up on them, and they have two ways to go: we can get better than we were this week, next week, or we can cash it in. They all told me they were all in, so I’ll make sure I’m there for them.”