(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
Arizona State (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) closed out its home slate by securing bowl eligibility in a 31-28 victory against the UCLA Bruins (2-8, 2-5 Pac-12).
It was senior day for the Sun Devils, and senior quarterback Manny Wilkins put on a show for his final outing in Sun Devil Stadium. He had two rushing touchdowns, 199 passing yards, and a passing touchdown.
It very well may be star wideout N’Keal Harry’s last game at home as well. He added 100 yards through the air.
Sophomore running back Eno Benjamin produced like fans have come to expect, racking up 182 yards and a touchdown.
ASU came out of the gate quick, but its first drive stalled and sophomore kicker Brandon Ruiz kicked a 34-yard field goal to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead.
UCLA responded with a 75-yard drive capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Joshua Kelley to put the Bruins up 7-3.
The first quarter ended with the Sun Devils trailing 7-3. The ASU offense produced 97 yards in the opening frame compared to UCLA’s 102.
ASU regained momentum at the start of the second quarter by stopping a 13 play, 65-yard drive on a fourth-and-one attempt inside its own 20-yard line.
The Sun Devils capitalized as N’Keal Harry gained 40 yards off a Wilkins pass attempt. Two plays later Wilkins ran in ASU’s first touchdown of the day with a 13-yard quarterback keeper. ASU took a 10-3 lead with 10:09 left in the second quarter.
UCLA converted its third down attempts at a high clip in the first half, finishing 5-7 on third down.
UCLA put together a drive that eventually stalled an ended with a 44-yard missed field goal attempt by junior kicker JJ Molson.
The following ASU possession, Wilkins threw an interception that was returned for a 31-yard touchdown by UCLA’s Darnay Holmes. The Bruins took a 14-10 lead.
Wilkins shook it off the following possession, leading ASU on a 10 play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to Nick Ralston with 58 seconds left in the first half.
ASU took a 17-14 lead into halftime. Wilkins had 148 yards, 77 of those to Harry, and a touchdown. Benjamin added 51 rushing yards of his own in the first half.
In the second half, momentum shifted quickly in ASU’s favor.
ASU suffered a huge defensive loss when freshman linebacker Merlin Robertson was ejected for targeting.
Shortly after, Chase Lucas picked off a pass from Wilton Speight with 10:47 left in the third quarter.
Benjamin ran in a 1-yard touchdown for ASU and the Sun Devils took a 24-14 lead with 8:13 left in the third quarter.
UCLA put together a six play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut ASU’s lead to 24-21 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Ruiz missed a 42-yard field goal attempt 44 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Sun Devils still held a 24-21 lead.
With 3:56 left in the fourth quarter, Wilkins added to ASU’s lead with a one-yard rushing touchdown to put ASU up 31-21.
UCLA would not go away, however, as the Bruins scored a touchdown with 1:57 remaining in the game to cut the deficit to 31-28.
However, ASU and its crowd cause a flurry of penalties, and ASU walked out with the win, bowl eligibility secured.
ASU’s quest for a Pac-12 South title continues after topping UCLA. With wins over Oregon and Arizona, ASU can claim its first Pac-12 South title since 2013.
Arizona State will take on Oregon in Eugene next weekend.
