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Fork Report: Short-handed Arizona State unable to keep up with Washington State

Oct 22, 2016, 10:59 PM

Washington State wide receiver Isaiah Johnson-Mack (5) is hit by Arizona State defensive lineman Ed...

Washington State wide receiver Isaiah Johnson-Mack (5) is hit by Arizona State defensive lineman Edmond Boateng, left rear, and linebacker Salamo Fiso, left front, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Down its starting quarterback, two-fifths of its starting offensive line and leading tackler on defense, Arizona State nearly pulled off the improbable on Saturday night.

In the end, however, ASU fell short, losing its homecoming game, 37-32, to visiting Washington State in front of 50,582 at Sun Devil Stadium.

Luke Falk passed for 398 yards and three touchdowns to help extend the Cougars’ winning streak to five and end their six-game road losing streak to the Sun Devils.

Washington State (5-2, 4-0) had not won in Tempe since 2001.

Trailing 14-3, the Cougars scored 28 points and ultimately held off ASU (5-3, 2-3).

Manny Wilkins started the game for the Sun Devils, but he left after two series because of an injury. Dillon Sterling-Cole entered and, as expected, struggled being a true freshman.

Sterling-Cole went 7-of-16 for 86 yards.

The Sun Devils had been undefeated at home this season.

Washington State, meanwhile, has now won back-to-back games over ASU for the first time since 2002-03.

THE GOOD

Three times on the Sun Devils’ opening possession they converted on third down, matching their conversion total from last week in Colorado, when they finished 3-of-18. The 11-play, 59-yard scoring drive that took 4:35 off the clock ended with Wilkins’ three-yard run, his fifth rushing touchdown of the season and ASU’s 19th, equaling its ground-scoring production from all of 2015. The Sun Devils took an early 7-0 lead at the 10:25 mark of the first quarter.

Considered a strength at season’s start, the Sun Devils running game had become a liability in recent weeks. That wasn’t the case this week, at least in the first half. On 3rd-and-1 at the ASU 48, Ballage, operating out of the “Sparky” formation, found a large hole off right tackle and ran 52 yards virtually untouched for a touchdown. The five-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 2:07 off the clock extended the Sun Devils’ lead to 14-3 at the 8:56 mark of the second quarter.

Five different Sun Devils have thrown passes this season. True freshman Jack Smith became the fifth with his 40-yard throw in the third quarter. Out of Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School, Smith found Tim White open down field. It was the fifth play — a trick play out of the “Sparky” formation — of a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that took 4:26 off the clock that ended with a Demario Richard one-yard touchdown run to pull ASU to within 31-21 on the quarter’s last snap.

Check that. Six different Sun Devils have thrown passes this season (and four different in this game alone). Frederick Gammage became the sixth with his throw to Kody Kohl to convert the two-point try following Tim White’s 70-yard punt return touchdown that pulled ASU to within a score, 37-29, at the 11:15 mark of the fourth quarter. By the way, the White punt return was the Sun Devils’ first since Jamal Miles’ 78-yard effort against Oregon State on Oct. 1, 2011.

One in the first, followed by two in each of the second, third and fourth quarters. Add it all up and the Sun Devils recorded a season-high seven sacks. Koron Crump had three, including a pair on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter. D.J. Calhoun sacked Falk twice, while Marcus Ball and Tashon Smallwood brought the junior signal-caller down once apiece. ASU’s previous season-best effort at sacking the quarterback was five two games ago against UCLA.

THE BAD

Two series into the game and Wilkins’ day appeared over due to an injury. He spent much of the remaining first half sitting side-by-side with Brady White on the trainer’s table. Wilkins finished with 43 total yards and a touchdown. He passed for 39 yards, completing 5-of-6 attempts, and rushed four times for four yards. On his final snap, Wilkins was sacked.

Better than 77 percent of Zane Gonzalez’s kickoffs have gone for touchbacks this season. His first sailed into the end zone, but his second was returned, and then some. Robert Taylor was credited with a 100-yard kickoff return, answering Ballage’s touchdown and putting Washington State right back into the game, 14-10, at the 8:41 mark of the second quarter.

Held scoreless in the first quarter, Washington State exploded for 17 second-quarter points to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. Falk was nearly flawless, missing only one throw. He went 14-of-15 for 121 yards and a touchdown; the latter was a nine-yard completion to Tavares Martin Jr. that handed the Cougars their first lead of the game.

Halftime did not slow down Washington State. They added two more touchdowns with Gerard Wicks and Jamal Morrow scoring third-quarter touchdowns. Wicks rushed three yards to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive to begin the second half (24-14 at 11:26). Two possessions later, Morrow caught a three-yard pass to cap a nine-play, 74-yard drive (31-14 at 4:32).

Defensively, the Sun Devils had managed to avoid the big play through three quarters, but then the fourth quarter arrived. On 2nd-and-10 at the Washington 48, Falk hooked up with his favorite target, Gabe Marks, for a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown to make the score 37-21 at the 13:27 mark. It was the final play of a five-play, 75-yard drive in just 93 seconds.

STAT OF THE GAME

28-0: Washington State scored 28 unanswered points to overcome an early deficit, take its first lead and ultimately win the game

HE SAID IT

“Those comments were chicken (expletive), have a little respect,” the on-field mics heard head coach Todd Graham tell Mike Leach during the post-game handshake, an obvious reference to the Washington State head coach’s assertion leading up to the game that ASU illegally steals signs.

NOTED

Starting offensive linemen Sam Jones (left guard) and A.J. McCollum (center) missed the game because of injury.

Safety Armand Perry didn’t play, missing his first game of the season. He’s reportedly dealing with a turf toe injury.

Linebacker Christian Sam missed his seventh straight game due to an ankle injury suffered in the season opener.

Will Sutton, a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and current Bears defensive tackle, was at the game.

Scouts from five NFL teams—Bears, Broncos, Cardinals, Falcons and Seahawks—were expected to be at the game.

UP NEXT

The stay at home was a brief one for the Sun Devils, who now will play three of their final four games on the road.

ASU travels to Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning two hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

It’s the Sun Devils first visit to Autzen Stadium since 2011, Dennis Erickson’s last season as head coach.

ASU has lost nine straight to the Ducks, including last season’s double-overtime thriller at Sun Devil Stadium, 61-55; meaning the Sun Devils’ last win in the series came in 2004, a victory in Eugene.

Overall, Oregon leads 18-16 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1966.

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Fork Report: Short-handed Arizona State unable to keep up with Washington State