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Stanford gained 33 yards and punted on its first drive. The Cardinal followed with a field goal, then another and another.
There was one touchdown mixed in there and Stanford went on to roll over Arizona 37-10 with a big second half Saturday night, but the Cardinal will head into their bye week looking for a way to sprint out of the gate instead of stumbling.
''I don't know how to explain it,'' Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck said. ''I don't think we want to do that every game. It's definitely something we're going to try to improve on.''
Stanford (3-0) has been dominant this season on the heels of a breakout 2010 season. The Cardinal have outscored their three opponents 138-27, rolling behind Luck, the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, an efficient running game and a punishing defense.
It just seems to take them a little while to get going.
Stanford is tied for ninth in the nation in scoring at 46 points per game, but tends to get its field goals in the first half, touchdowns in the second.
The Cardinal opened the season with a 57-3 win over San Jose State, getting four touchdowns in the second half after twice settling for field goals in the first. The next week, Stanford again had two field goals - with two TDs - in the first half and scored four touchdowns in the second in a 44-14 win over Duke.
A similar pattern emerged in the desert, where Jordan Williamson kicked three field goals in the first half as Arizona kept it close before the Cardinal pulled away with three touchdowns in the second.
OK, so it's a little nitpicky to complain about three routs, but for a team that has Pac-12 title game and BCS bowl expectations, there's always an eye on ways to get better.
''We're starting the game too slowly, but I love the way we're finishing games,'' Stanford coach David Shaw said.
The Cardinal certainly finished against Arizona.
Williamson hit field goals of 20, 45 and 33 yards to go with Anthony Wilkerson's 24-yard run, putting Stanford ahead 16-10 at halftime. The Cardinal poured it on in the second, with Luck throwing both of his touchdown passes, Jeremy Stewart bulling in from two yards out to cap a 7-minute drive and the defense holding the high-scoring Wildcats scoreless to run away with it.
Luck finished with 325 yards passing, Taylor set a career high with 153 on the ground and Stanford won its 11th straight over two seasons, the longest winning streak in the nation and program's longest run since taking 13 in a row from 1939-41.
The Cardinal are rolling and know what they need to work on with a bye week coming up.
''We've been talking about starting off fast, but we weren't able to do it tonight,'' Stanford safety Michael Thomas said. ''We still pride ourselves in ending quickly, but we need to get better in the start of the game.''
Stanford's next chance comes Oct. 1, against UCLA at home.
