(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
When the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-0) played hosts to Michigan State (2-1) last year, the Sun Devils went into the halftime break trailing, 3-0, before a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback erased a 13-3 deficit and gave the Sun Devils their first win over a ranked program in the Herm Edwards era. One year and one week later, the Sun Devils traveled to East Lansing and came away with another fourth quarter comeback to escape with a win.
Regulation in 2018 ended with a 28-yard field goal conversion from Brandon Ruiz, giving ASU the 16-13 win. In this matchup, it appeared that regulation would also end in a field goal, with Michigan State’s Matt Coghlin nailing a 42-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
A late review initiated by the booth showed 12 players on the field for the Spartans, forcing a five-yard penalty and a re-kick. Coghlin, who had already missed two first-half field goal attempts, missed again, this time from 47 yards out to allow Arizona State to escape with the 10-7 victory.
Michigan State’s inability to avoid penalties – the Spartans were whistled for 10 penalties, totaling 91 yards – played a crucial role in the Sun Devils ability to get the ball back late in the fourth quarter when an offensive pass interference by Matt Dotson brought back a would-be first down for MSU.
Trailing 7-3 with 3:34 to play, Jayden Daniels found Brandon Aiyuk for a 40-yard gain to move the Sun Devils into Spartan territory.
“I told Cohl [Cabral] and them just give me some time and we can go win this game,” Daniels, who ran 12 times for 37 yards said. “They trusted in me and I trusted in them, we went out there and executed.”
The connection between Daniels and Aiyuk, which set up the Sun Devils at the Michigan State 25-yard line, was one of only three plays which gained 15 or more yards on the day for ASU.
Three plays and a penalty later, the Sun Devils faced a 4th-and-13. After the Spartans used two timeouts, Daniels took the snap, scampered up the middle, and picked up a block from Eno Benjamin before getting out of bounds with a gain of 15.
“It was really just not trying to force anything in the passing game,” Daniels said. “If I was able to make something happen, I’d make it happen with my legs. Just to be able to keep drives alive, keeping that whole drive alive was just going out there and making plays.”
On a day when the Sun Devil offense struggled to move the ball on the ground, Daniels picked up another first down via two carries of five and seven yards, respectively. On the next play, Benjamin found the end zone from one yard out to give ASU a 10-7 lead.
In the win, Eno Benjamin tallied 38 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries with the Sun Devils as a team rushing 26 times for 76 yards. In the air, Daniels went 15-for-26 for 140 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions.
“We weren’t expecting to get as much push up front,” center Cohl Cabral said. “But those guys went out there and played their butts off.”
“Offensively, we knew that it was going to be very difficult for us to run the football,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “But at the end, that kid did good, boy. He did good. He made a lot of plays with his legs, and I think that’s surprising for a lot of people. His ability to run and he’s a smart runner.
“He’s going to be a good player one day.”
While ASU’s offense struggled to move the ball on the ground and through the air, the Sun Devils were able to get a win despite being outgained by nearly 200 yards in the contest. Edwards said despite the offensive issues, the Devils ability to win ugly is a good sign for now.
“It’s not pretty,” Edwards said, “It’s nothing you’d go home and pay to watch, but we’re going to play the way we have to play right now because that’s appropriate for us.”
For the third straight week, the ASU defense was able to force a turnover, as Tyler Whiley recovered a fumble in the first half for the Devils.
Next week, the Sun Devils welcome the Colorado Buffaloes (2-1) to Tempe to start conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.
“We’re fortunate,” Edwards said of the win. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
