High-scoring Aggies contained

UC Davis had averaged 49 points in its first two games, so the Stanford defense was proud of holding the Aggies to one touchdown, which came on the game’s final play.

“We had a couple of plays we wish we could have back, but we held a team averaging a lot of yards to a little,” Stanford cornerback Alameen Murphy said.

Murphy had an interception with a 32-yard return in the fourth quarter. He also led the Cardinal with seven tackles.

He said he and his teammates were impressed with Aggies wide receiver Keelan Doss, who had 13 catches for 106 yards.

Blocked kick: Casey Toohill of the Cardinal blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt by Max O’Rourke in the third quarter.

It was the second kick block of Toohill’s career. He blocked an extra point at Washington in 2016. Big day for Smith: Tight end Kaden Smith’s six receptions were the most by a Stanford tight end since Zach Ertz had 11 at Oregon in 2012.

“I feel like we can play a lot better,” Smith said of the offense. “I think we came out slow. We’ve got to fix that.”

Slim crowd: Despite beautiful weather, a slim crowd turned out for the game, which kicked off at 11 a.m.. The paid crowd was announced as 31,772. Maybe half that number actually showed up.

Cardinal starters: Running back Cameron Scarlett started in place of Bryce Love, who was given the day off to nurse his wounds. Veteran center Jesse Burkett returned to the lineup after missing the first two games with an undisclosed injury.

Walker Little started at left tackle after his condition was in doubt until game time. Devery Hamilton started at left guard.

Briefly: After breaking up 11 passes against USC last week, the most in the David Shaw era, the Cardinal broke up 10 Saturday. … Until the Aggies scored on a TD pass on the game’s final play, from backup QB Hunter Rodrigues to C.J. Spencer, the Cardinal had gone 167 minutes and 38 seconds without giving up a TD. That goes back to the first quarter of the season opener against San Diego State . ... Freshman Michael Wilson had a 30-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. … Another freshman, defensive end Thomas Booker, had his first interception, on a pass tipped by Toohill. And redshirt freshman wide receiver Osiris St. Brown caught a 53yard bomb from K.J. Costello, a play that set up Scarlett’s 5-yard touchdown run. … Next Saturday’s game at Oregon will start at 5 p.m., it was announced this week.