(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
1st Half
Herm Edwards and No. 18 Arizona State returned home on Saturday after a bye week to face Mike Leach and his Washington State Cougars. This is the first time Washington State has played Arizona State since 2016.
The Cougars did not hesitate to start the scoring. Quarterback Anthony Gordon found Travell Harris for a 35-yard touchdown over the middle on blown coverage to open scoring. The Cougars took advantage of the Devils three-and-out on its first drive by tacking on three more points, on a 33-yard field goal by Blake Mazza.
Gordon finished the first quarter going 11-17 with 111 yards and a touchdown. The Devils defensive line did not put any pressure on Gordon, allowing him much time in the pocket to find receivers in Arizona State’s zone coverage. Meanwhile, ASU’s offense put up only 23 yards on 11 plays in the entire quarter.
After two defensive stops by ASU’s defense, however, Jayden Daniels responded with an eight-play, 73 yard drive in 4:19, finding Brandon Aiyuk for a 40-yard touchdown.
Gordon and the Cougars would respond by going on a 7-play, 87-yard drive in just 3:30. Dezmon Patmon capped off the drive by catching a two-yard touchdown wide open in the back of the end zone, making the score 17-7.
After both teams traded punts, Brandon Aiyuk showed again why he is one of the best receivers in the Pac-12 on a week-to-week basis. Aiyuk took an inside slant 86 yards for a touchdown to bring the game back within one possession 17-14.
With a 1:29 left in the half, Daniels led the offense on an eight-play, 62-yard drive that ended in a Cristian Zendejas 31-yard field goal.
Better defensive line pressure and secondary coverage the last 7-8 minutes of the quarter allowed the offense to put up points and even up the score at halftime, 17-17.
For the first half, Arizona State leads Washington State 271-236 on total yardage. Daniels went 14-20 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Eno Benjamin rushed for 34 yards on six carries. Aiyuk caught four passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
2nd Half
ASU opened the second half with one of its strongest drives of the game. Benjamin concluded a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 to give the Devils an early 24-17 lead in the third quarter.
The Cougars, though, responded back with another methodical touchdown drive. Gordon completed 9 of 13 passes and completed his final pass of the drive to Eason Winston for a two-yard touchdown once again tying up the score 24-24 with 5:35 left in the third.
After an ASU punt, the Cougars marched all the way down the field for another touchdown, this time by running back Max Borghi from two yards away. The drive lasted nine plays for 92 yards in 3:42. The third quarter ended with Washington State leading 31-24.
The Brandon Aiyuk show continued after the Cougars’ offensive possession. He caught his third touchdown of the game once again off a quick slant from 33 yards away, knotting the score at 31-31 with 11:19 to go in the game.
Subsequently, both teams traded punts. However, ASU’s Michael Turk mishit the punt and booted it out from his own end zone to the 36 of ASU. The Devils defense stood tall, though, as the Cougars could only muster three points and the lead on a 31-yard field goal by Mazza with 2:30 left.
2:30 was plenty of time for Daniels to generate the winning drive for Arizona State. It took 10 plays, 75 yards and only 1:56 off the clock. Daniels completed 6 of 8 passes in the final drive and put the Devils ahead with a 17-yard touchdown run to give the Devils a 38-34 lead with 34 seconds left, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Gordon and the Cougars got all the way to ASU’s 43 for a chance at winning it in the final half minute, but the last play ended in heavy pressure by ASU and an incomplete pass way short of the goal line.
The victory improves ASU to 5-1 on the season (2-1 Pac-12) and it sets up a pivotal matchup next weekend on the road against No.15 Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
For ASU, it racked up 532 yards of total offense. Daniels completed 26 of 36 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 23 yards and a touchdown. Benjamin took 19 carries for 137 yards and touchdown. Aiyuk caught seven passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Jack Jones led the way with 10 solo tackles, including five pass breakups. Cam Phillips was behind him with five solo tackles.
