(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
ASU traveled up to Pullman looking for signs of life to revive its bowl game hopes. Instead, the day ended with a 38-24 Sun Devil loss. Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici was 27 for 44 for 229 yards and one interception, while his counterpart WSU sophomore quarterback Luke Falk threw for 497 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
The Sun Devil running back duo picked up right where they left off against Oregon and stormed out of the gates on the ground. Sophomore running back Demario Richard opened the first drive picking up 53 of the 70 yards and capping it off with a six-yard touchdown.
His partner in crime, sophomore running back Kalen Ballage, showed that he too can finish a drive, and barreled over a WSU defender on the way to a nine-yard touchdown run. The tandem combined for 18 carries and 142 yards at halftime to go with their two touchdowns.
In the meantime, the ASU defense was all business, forcing the Cougars into two three-and-outs on their first two drives, and their third concluding in an interception by freshman safety Kareem Orr, his fourth of the season.
Other than a WSU field goal with 14:10 left in the second quarter to make it 14-3, no points were added to the board until a controversial sequence with 5:26 left in the first half.
WSU had a fourth and five at the ASU 11 yard line, and it appeared that WSU junior wide receiver Gabe Marks was stopped short of the first. ASU senior quarterback Lloyd Carrington was driving Marks back toward the line of scrimmage, and the referee blew an inadvertent whistle, and ruled that the down be replayed. On the second try, the Cougars converted on an 11-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Gabe Marks, and the Sun Devils held a 14-10 lead at the half.
The Cougars scored on their first possession of the second half on a 23-yard screen pass from Falk to redshirt freshman running back Keith Harrington. Washington State took their first lead of the game making it 17-14 on the touchdown to finish off a 94-yard drive.
ASU’s next drive was stalled at midfield, but Graham put his punt team on the field to execute a perfect fake which resulted in a 27-yard gain to senior wide receiver D.J. Foster. The drive ended with a one-yard keeper for Bercovici to regain the lead.
To make it three straight drives concluding with a touchdown, Falk found junior wide receiver John Thompson on an eight-yard connection, giving WSU a 24-21 lead. The Cougars would then extend their lead to 10 with Falk leading a 99-yard drive (the second 90+ yard drive of the game) to find redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jamal Morrow for a 12-yard touchdown. Falk finished the game completed a pass to 10 different receivers.
A late ASU field goal would give the Sun Devils one more breath to get back into it cutting the lead to seven, but the Cougars put the nail in the coffin. Falk found Williams for a 75-yard touchdown with four minutes remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession, Bercovici’s pass was picked off, which iced the game for the Cougars.
Player of the Game: Demario Richard
Although he didn’t get as many touches as he probably should have in the second half, Richard made the most of his opportunities as usual. Richard ran for 111 yards and one touchdown.
Biggest Concern: Mike Bercovici
While this may have to fall on the passing game as a whole, Bercovici’s numbers were less than stellar against the seventh best total defense in the Pac-12. Especially following the performance Bercovici put up against Oregon last week, he had to be much better this week in order to win.
Unsung Hero: DJ Foster
While Foster still didn’t make the impact he has become known to make, he still left his fingerprints on this game on the receiving end. Being most effective in the screen game, Foster had 80 yards from scrimmage.
Key Statistic: 202 rush yards
Richard and Ballage proved to complement each other to near perfection for consecutive weeks, unfortunately they didn’t get much opportunity to show it again in the second half of this game.
What’s Next?
The Sun Devils will play the Washington Huskies next Saturday, November 14, at Sun Devil Stadium.
