ASU 53, No. 20 Washington 24
First quarter: Each team got the ball four times in the first quarter but managed to record a first down on only one of those drives. ASU went three and out on its first two possessions, losing a first down on the opening drive when a 19yard sideline catch by Jaelen Strong was overturned by replay. Washington drove 60 yards to score on its opening drive — on a 1-yard run by running back Bishop Sankey — but went three and out on its next three possessions. The Sun Devils actually were able to drive from their 15 to the Huskies 7 on their third time with the ball but lost yardage from there and had to settle for a 26-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal to cut the Washington lead to 7-3. ASU’s final possession wasn’t a three-and-out, but it might as well have been. The Sun Devils tried to trick the Huskies into thinking they were changing the play but instead snapped the ball. Half the Washington defense was fooled, but corner Marcus Peters wasn’t, picking off quarterback Taylor Kelly on the right sideline.
Second quarter: ASU was easily the dominant team in the second quarter, but until late in the quarter had only a one-score lead. The Sun Devils scored on their first possession on a 14-yard strike from Kelly to Marion Grice that was initially ruled incomplete but overturned on review. Gonzalez’s kick was blocked, and ASU led 9-7. Gonzalez would make up for it, though, converting field goals from
22 and 36 yards to give the Sun Devils a 15-7 advantage. ASU got back into touchdown mode late in the second, scoring on a 1-yard run by Kelly and later on a 14-yard pass from Kelly to Chris Coyle to make it 29-7. The Sun Devils defense made things tough for Washington quarterback Keith Price, who went 2 of 10 in the quarter and took three sacks. ASU added five tackles for loss and outgained Washington 228-14 in the quarter.
Third quarter: Washington’s offense arrived for the second half. The Huskies struck quickly, scoring on their third play of the half on a 70-yard pass from Price to Kevin Smith to cut the ASU lead to 29-14. The Sun Devils answered with an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive that ended with another 1-yard scoring run from Kelly. After a John Ross kickoff return gave the Huskies the ball at their 49, Price relied on a series of short passes to move Washington to the ASU 4. Three plays went nowhere, and as the Huskies were prepared to go for it on fourth down they were whistled for a delay of game and settled for a field goal, making it 36-17. ASU mirrored that on their next drive, stalling at the Washington 4, where Gonzalez hit his fourth field goal of the game to push the lead back to 22. After Washington punted from its own end zone, the quarter ended with a 29-yard Grice run to the 1-yard line, the third straight ASU possession stopped just short of the end zone.
Fourth quarter: Grice punched the ball in from the 1-yard line to start the fourth, bringing his touchdown total to 17 for the season. It was the third ASU touchdown from a yard out for the game, and gave the Sun Devils a 46-17 lead. Price answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins but was pulled for backup Cyler Myles on the next Huskies possession. After a Washington punt, the Sun Devils piled on as Grice scored his third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard run to make it 53-24.
Key players: The ASU defensive front. The Sun Devils lived in the Washington backfield, registering 12 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks, both season highs. Salamo Fiso had two sacks, and Will Sutton had three stops in the backfield.
Key moment: Kelly’s touchdown pass to Coyle in the second quarter. The score gave ASU a two-score lead and came on the heels of ASU settling for field goals on back-to-back drives that stalled in the red zone.
Key number: - 5. Rushing yards by Washington. A vaunted Huskies rushing attack must have stayed in Seattle, as the Sun Devils defense tied its second-best performance against the run in school history. Sankey, who led the nation with 149 yards a game on the ground entering the contest, finished with just 22 yards on 13 carries.