Arizona State’s sophomore running back was not going to be denied. Neither were the Sun Devils in their biggest comeback in five years. Fans, restless from three straight losses and an anemic offensive performance to that point, let the team know their feelings loud and clear.
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Arizona State shut down Washington’s offense after losing two key starters in the first half and its offense clicked after sputtering through the opening 30 minutes.
With 6:18 left in the first half, junior punter Matt Haack lined up for his sixth straight punt to open the game for the ASU football team.
“This is what this football team is all about”, Ballage said. “Here is where you got to do this”. The Washington Huskies began to wonder what might be possible after a solid start.
“They’re a major pressure team”, said Washington head coach Chris Petersen of ASU’s pass rush, which logged four sacks. “If everything is not lined up just right, we have a hard time making plays”.
The streak dates back to the 2002 when Arizona State won 27-16 and covered as a 4-point home fave and it’s been ASU ever since heading into Saturday’s showdown. Washington’s first play went for 21 yards, a 46-yard pass set up a field goal and 53-yard run led to Myles Gaskin’s 1-yard touchdown run.
After those injuries, though, the Sun Devil defense did not get noticeably worse as was expected.
“Antonio Longino inspired me in the same way”, he said.
The disruption caused by those absences and lapses in execution allowed Washington-who entered the game ranked 103rd among the 128 FBS teams in total offense-to gain 320 yards over their first six drives to take a 17-0 lead over a stunned and mostly silent Sun Devil Stadium crowd. “That starts with me”.
Down but not out, Arizona State scored 27 unanswered points en route to a 27-17 win on Saturday.
While takeaways have not been the norm, Graham has emphasized the importance of them all season and that’s what the Sun Devils are trained to do: keep the ball and take it away.
Arizona State opened with a crisp scoring drive, capped by Ballage’s 3-yard TD run.
That came seven plays later when Bercovici, who completed 22 of his 34 throws for 253 yards, connected with Lucien for a 32-yard catch-and-run touchdown to tie the game.
The defense felt the momentum shift. Browning lofted a third-down pass toward the end zone from ASU’s 36-yard line on UW’s first possession, but it slipped just off the hands of receiver Jaydon Mickens.
Zane Gonzalez kicked 23-yard field with 13:25 left for a 20-17 lead.
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“I told him, ‘You don’t practice you can’t play.’ He said, ‘I did practice”.
