By the Numbers: ASU’s 10-game winning streak over UW
Nov 18, 2016, 8:38 AM | Updated: 11:13 am
Arizona State's Kalen Ballage (9) tries to get past Washington's Ben Burr-Kirven, right, during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State defeated Washington 27-17. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
When the Arizona State Sun Devils take the field Saturday night at Husky Stadium in Seattle to face 6th-ranked Washington, they’ll be trying to extend a 10-game winning streak in the rivalry. It’s the longest active winning streak for one team over another in the Pac-12.
Seems hard to believe, doesn’t it?
Washington’s last victory over Arizona State came all the way back on Oct. 27, 2001 — a 33-31 win at Sun Devil Stadium. Since then, it’s been all Devils.
UW, in case you’re wondering, is a heavy favorite to end the losing skid Saturday. But here’s a look back at ASU’s decade of dominance in their rivalry with Washington.
15.2
Arizona State’s average margin of victory in the 10 games. The Sun Devils have beaten the Huskies by an average score of 33.2-18.
That average was boosted by ASU’s 53-24 win in Tempe in 2013. The Devils racked up 314 yards on the ground in that game, paced by tailback Marion Grice’s 158-yard, two-touchdown performance.
+17
During the 10-game streak, ASU is +17 in turnover margin against the Huskies. The Sun Devils have forced at least one UW turnover in all 10 games, and twice — in 2002 and 2014 — has forced four.
4
ASU’s run of dominance has come against four different Washington head coaches. Rick Neuheisel (0-1), Tyrone Willingham (0-4), Steve Sarkisian (0-3) and Chris Petersen (0-2) have all contributed losses. The Sun Devils didn’t play the Huskies during Keith Gilbertson’s two-year tenure from 2003 to 2004.
6
The Huskies’ standing in the current College Football Playoff rankings is the highest either school has been since the streak started in 2002, and only the second time Washington has come into the game ranked. The 2013 UW team was 20th, before ASU’s 29-point win in Tempe knocked them from the Top 25. Arizona State has been ranked three times — 23rd in 2002, 14th in 2007 and 2014.
401
ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter got his first career start against Washington on Oct. 29, 2005. The freshman completed 27-of-34 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns as ASU routed UW, 44-20. Carpenter would go on to beat Washington four straight years, the only quarterback in the span of the streak to do that.
17
The Devils’ win streak looked like it was very much in jeopardy in last season’s game in Tempe. When Jake Browning hit Darrell Daniels with a 29-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, the Huskies had a 17-0 lead. That’s apparently when ASU started playing. They outscored the Huskies 27-0 the rest of the way thanks to two touchdown runs by Kalen Ballage, a Mike Bercovici-to-Devin Lucien scoring pass and two Zane Gonzalez field goals.
50
Danny Sullivan didn’t have a distinguished run as ASU’s starting quarterback for part of the 2009 season, but he had one moment that stands out. In a tie game that looked like it was headed for overtime, receiver Chris McGaha somehow got behind Washington’s defense and Sullivan found him on a 50-yard touchdown pass with :05 remaining to give the Sun Devils a 24-17 win. It was the last shining moment of the season for ASU, as they closed on a six-game losing streak.
