(Photo: Jack Harris/WCSN)
Arizona State had shown glimpses of its potential this year, but too often failed to put together the whole package in a 2-3 start to the season. On Saturday night, the Sun Devils were in control from the opening kick, upsetting No. 5 Washington 13-7 at Sun Devil Stadium.
The previously unbeaten Huskies looked lost all night, dazed and confused in the face of a dominant Sun Devils defense. Washington (6-1, 3-1 in Pac-12) never came close to scoring in the first half, missed two short field goals in the third quarter and provided too little too late to comeback down the stretch.
Heisman contending quarterback Jake Browning was forced to scramble around the backfield all night, rarely given a clean pocket to deliver from. He was sacked five times, and threw for just 139 yards. His only touchdown came via a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.
Offensively, ASU (3-3, 2-1 in Pac-12) did enough to clinch the school its first win against a Top 5 team since 1996, neutralizing a talented Huskies defensive line with a productive running game and precise ariel attack. Usually reliant on big plays, the ASU offense opening the scoring with a methodical 16 play, 63-yard drive. The Sun Devils didn’t gain more than 8 yards on any single play, but converted three third downs and a fourth down on the drive, allowing Kalen Ballage to finish the possession off with a 1-yard touchdown.
The third phase of the game also fell decidedly in ASU’s favor. The Sun Devils blocked a Washington punt in the second quarter, leading to a 52-yard field goal from ASU freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz. Ruiz finished the night 2-for-3 on his kicks, also connecting from 25 yards out later in the first half.
His Washington counterpart, redshirt freshman Van Soderberg, had two costly misses in the third quarter for the Huskies. Twice Washington got into the red zone, but Soderberg missed both his attempts from inside 30 yards, including clanging a 21-yard try off the right upright.
Washington also had a would-be 50-yard touchdown run in the quarter wiped off the board by an offensive holding penalty. By the time the Huskies’ offense came to life in the fourth quarter, it was too late.
The Sun Devils scored all 13 of their points in the first half, but salted away the win with a clock-devouring drive after Washington finally got on the board with 5:32 left in the game. Up 13-7, ASU drove 11 plays to seal the win. Facing a 4th-and-3 from the UW 37-yard-line, ASU coach Todd Graham elected to go for it and Wilkins found tight end Ceejhay French-Love for a 30-yard completion down the sideline. That left just 1:56 on the clock, effectively clinching the victory with Washington out of timeouts.
Wilkins finished the night going 29-for-41 with 245 yards and avoided throwing an interception for the fifth time this season.
ASU was an 18-point underdog coming into the game, but never trailed en route to its second victory over a ranked team this year. It is the 10th time the Sun Devils have knocked off a ranked team since Graham took over in 2012 and the highest ranked team the school has defeated in his tenure.
