ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

Fork Report: ASU becomes bowl eligible with win over Oregon State

Nov 18, 2017, 4:55 PM | Updated: 4:56 pm

Arizona State receiver Kyle Williams, right, makes a touchdown catch behind Oregon State defensive ...

Arizona State receiver Kyle Williams, right, makes a touchdown catch behind Oregon State defensive back Jay Irvine, left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, in Corvallis, Ore., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez)

(AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez)

Bowl eligible.

After a one-year absence, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be bowl-bound at season’s end. They win their sixth game, beating the Oregon State Beavers, 40-24, in front of an announced crowd of 36,063 at Reser Stadium.

Despite the outcome, ASU didn’t make it easy on themselves.

They started well—as they did a week ago—scoring the game’s first 30 points and led 30-7 at halftime. And though they were outscored 17-10 in the second half, the Sun Devils left Corvallis with their first victory since 2005, snapping a five-game losing streak.

Offensively, ASU (6-5, 5-3) played an efficient afternoon of football.

Demario Richard (119) and Kallen Ballage (103) each topped 100 rushing yards, while Manny Wilkins completed 12-of-19 passing attempts for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Richard had three rushing scores.

The Sun Devils gained 286 of their 453 yards of offense on the ground.

Oregon State (1-10, 0-8) finished with 375 total yards, many of those coming in the second half. They have now lost nine straight games.

THE GOOD

It was a near perfect first quarter for the Sun Devils. They scored on their first two possessions and added a safety when JoJo Wicker pressured Darell Garretson into an intentional grounding penalty while in the end zone, increasing the ASU lead to 16-0 at the 1:18 mark. Wilkins accounted for 121 of the Sun Devils 219 total yards of offense. They rushed for 147 yards with Richard going for 59 on six carries.

On the first play of the second quarter, Richard carried the ball 17 yards for a touchdown, his second of the game and ninth of the season, to make it 23-0 ASU at the 14:54 mark of the period. At that point, Richard had 76 rushing yards on seven carries. He finished the half with 87 rushing yards on 10 carries. As a team, the Sun Devils totaled 219 of their 318 first-half yards via the run, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

With his 11-yard third-quarter run, Richard surpassed 100 rushing yards (109) for the third straight game and the 12th time in his career, tied for the fifth-most in school history with Leon Burton and J.R. Redmond. Meanwhile, Ballage went over 100 rushing yards for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career. Interesting to note, all four times Ballage rushed for 100 yards, so too did Richard.

THE BAD

A 22-game starting streak ended for N’Keal Harry. He played special teams—twice fielding punts—but did not see the field offensively in the first quarter. Instead, the Sun Devils used five other wide receivers: Terrell Chapman, Frank Darby, Curtis Hodges, Ryan Newsome and Kyle Williams. Harry, who took the field on the first snap of the second quarter, had started every game in his ASU career.

So, once in the first quarter and then again in the second quarter, the Sun Devils were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the first half. Chase Lucas earned his by waving his finger in the face of an Oregon State player after making a play near the sidelines. Later, Wilkins was penalized for apparently taunting as he stepped over an Oregon State player during a scuffle between the two teams.

On back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, Garretson passed for a combined 97 yards, more than three times his first-half total. Both drives ended in touchdowns. Trevorris Johnson scored on a one-yard run, while Garretson scored on a four-yard run; the latter of which pulled Oregon State to within, 40-24, at the 7:27 mark of the period. Included in Garretson’s 97 passing yards was a throw of 38 yards on 1st-and-20.

STAT OF THE GAME

286: For the third straight game and fifth time this season, the Sun Devils rushed for better than 200 yards; the 286 total is the third-best mark of 2017

HE SAID IT

“Go get bowl eligible and do it in decisive fashion. Really proud of our guys in how we went about doing it,” said Todd Graham, who has the Sun Devils bowl eligible for the fifth time in six seasons in Tempe.

NOTED

With his 19-yard reception in the second quarter, Harry has caught at least one pass in all 23 games he has played at Arizona State

Two defensive players, lineman George Lea and safety Dasmond Tautalatasi, both missed their second straight game due to injury

With the victory, the Sun Devils locked up at least a .500 record in the regular season for the seventh time over the past eight years

With the victory, the Sun Devils recorded two Pac-12 road wins in the same season for the first time since 2014 (Oregon State, UA)

With the victory, the Sun Devils improved to 8-9-1 in Corvallis against Oregon State compared to 20-4 at home against the Beavers

With the victory, the Sun Devils improved to 30-23 in games against Pac-12 teams since 2012, the second-best mark in the division

UP NEXT

One more game, and it’s arguably the most important game.

The Sun Devils host in-state rival Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning two hours earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

The Territorial Cup is currently in the Wildcats’ hands after a 56-35 win last season.

ASU has lost two of the last three matchups, but then they’ve won the past two meetings at Sun Devil Stadium, scoring 50+ points in each victory.

Overall, ASU trails 40-49-1 in a series that dates back to 1899.

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Fork Report: ASU becomes bowl eligible with win over Oregon State