PERFECT ESCAPE
Trailing 34-27 in the final quarter, Sun Devils roar past Bears for 4-0 start
Throughout this season, nearly every time an Arizona State player has been asked about finishing strong, which has become a habit, the answer has centered around one thing: Better conditioning.
The Sun Devils enter contests convinced they can wear teams down in the second half and after a second-consecutive comeback victory, it’s getting hard to argue.
Saturday’s 51-41 win over California followed a similar script, which is to say a slow start and a second half that seemed to have fans asking, “Where was this the first half?”
Last week in Texas, ASU rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit against Texas-San Antonio. Against Cal at Sun Devil Stadium, the Sun Devils marched back from 14. They are the Comeback Kids, the Surging Sun Devils, the Never Die Devils.
A logical question: What kind of magic dust does coach Todd Graham sprinkle on his team at halftime? Graham was asked a similar question leading up to Saturday’s game and chuckled. Any team, he said, that waits until halftime to make adjustments gets clobbered. Perhaps. But for the second consecutive week, ASU just looked different in
Saturday’s second half, quicker-paced, more intense, and as a result they are off to the program’s first 4-0 start since Dennis Erickson’s first season in 2007.
The heroes this night: Senior linebacker Salamo Fiso, senior defensive back Laiu Moeakiola and sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins. The first had been suspended this season, the second had been injured and the third seems like he has to prove himself every week.
Playing in his first game of the season, Fiso picked off Cal quarterback Davis Webb late in the fourth quarter with the score tied. A few plays later, senior Zane Gonzalez’s 23-yard field goal gave the Sun Devils their first lead, 37-34 with 3 minutes, 17 seconds left.
On California’s next possession, Moeakiola picked off Webb and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown, setting off a celebration at Sun Devil Stadium.
Graham and his defensive staff have talked all week about forcing more turnovers.
This one sealed the contest, but not without one last Cal push, a Webb 26yard touchdown pass in the final minute, cutting ASU's lead to 44-41 in the final minute.
No matter: Junior linebacker DJ Calhoun took Cal's onside kick and returned it 42 yards untouched for a touchdown, an exclamation point on a head-scratching night.
After a shaky first half, Wilkins settled and had a brilliant second half, showing poise rare for someone starting his first Pac-12 conference contest. Wilkins was 16 of 20 for 228 yards in the second half. One of those incompletions was a dropped pass.
The quarterback finished 21 of 30 for 290 yards with a touchdown and interception.
He also rushed for 72 yards and three touchdowns. As a result, ASU outscored Cal 41-17 over the game’s final two quarters. Cal dropped to 2-2. For the second week in a row, ASU didn’t reach the end zone until late in the first half.
For the second week in a row, the Sun Devils trailed at halftime. This time it was 24-10.
The Sun Devils started the third quarter with faster tempo. Wilkins hit the sophomore receiver Jalen Harvey twice, once for 20 yards, again for 22. Two plays later Wilkins scored on a 1yard run to pull ASU within 24-17.
After the teams traded field goals, Wilkins led the Sun Devils for the tying score. He fired a bullet to senior receiver Tim White, who made a nice catch for 24 yards. The next play, Wilkins scored his third rushing touchdown, this one from three yards to knot the contest 2727 with 9:44 left.
The Sun Devils got an early scare. Late in the first quarter, junior running back Kalen Ballage caught a short, third down pass and dropped to the turf. He needed help off the field and later left for the locker room. He returned in the second half, as if his first-half injury -- at one point Ballage had a towel over his head and ice wrapped around his knee -- never had happened.
That's how this night went. California totaled 637 yards, but ASU made the bigger plays, and they all came when it mattered, in the second half.