ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

Fork Report: ASU pulls off remarkable upset over No. 5 Washington

Oct 14, 2017, 11:48 PM | Updated: Oct 15, 2017, 1:14 am

Arizona State head coach Todd Graham, right, celebrates with linebacker Christian Sam, left, after ...

Arizona State head coach Todd Graham, right, celebrates with linebacker Christian Sam, left, after an NCAA college football game against Washington Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State defeated Washington 13-7. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

OK, a show of hands: Who saw this coming?

Yeah, put your hand down. No one predicted this. No one.

As more than two-touchdown home underdogs, the Arizona State Sun Devils played their best game of the season, and maybe their best-ever in the Todd Graham era.

For only the third time in its history, and the first time since upsetting No. 1 Nebraska in 1996, ASU defeated a top-five AP team at Sun Devil Stadium, beating No. 5 Washington, 13-7, in front of an announced crowd of 51,234 on Saturday night.

It was a total team effort but no effort was better than the Sun Devils’ on defense.

Against the Pac-12’s No. 1 scoring offense, ASU (3-3, 2-1) held Washington 26 points below its average. They sacked Jake Browning five times and recorded nine tackles for loss in limiting the Huskies to 230 yards of total offense, more than 200 yards below its average.

Manny Wilkins passed for 245 yards, Kalen Ballage scored the team’s lone touchdown and Brandon Ruiz kicked a pair of field goals to help give Graham a signature win in this his sixth season as head coach.

Coming off its bye week, ASU never trailed, leading 7-0 after the first quarter and 13-0 at halftime before holding on for its seventh straight home victory over Washington (6-1, 3-1).

The loss by the Huskies leaves no unbeaten teams left in the conference.

THE GOOD

Three third downs and a 4th-and-1 were converted on the Sun Devils opening possession which ended with a Ballage one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter. It was a 16-play drive that burned 8:08 off the clock, marking ASU’s longest scoring drive of the season in terms of plays and time. By the way, Wilkins went 8-of-8 for 39 yards on the drive.

For the second time this season, Ruiz hit a 50-plus yard field goal. He matched his season-long with a 52-yarder to extend the ASU lead to 10-0 at the 14:03 mark of the second quarter. It was all set up by the Sun Devils special teams unit. Curtis Hodges, a 6-foot-7 freshman wide receiver, blocked a punt, giving the offense excellent starting field position, the Washington 35-yard line.

It was the play of the game, and maybe the season. On 4th-and-3 at the Washington 37 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Wilkins completed a pass (how is still a mystery) to Ceejhay French-Love who ran 30 yards to the seven-yard line setting up 1st-and-goal at the 1:56 mark of the fourth quarter. Three kneel-downs later by Wilkins and the Sun Devils won the game.

THE BAD

A missed opportunity perhaps for the Sun Devils midway through the second quarter. They kicked a field goal for three points (for a 13-0 lead at the 5:44 mark) but would’ve preferred a touchdown for seven points, especially when it was 1st-and-goal at the 7 after a 36-yard reception by Jalen Harvey on 3rd-and-8. The drive stalled in large part to Wilkins losing seven yards on a first-down rush.

Talk about a bend-but-don’t-break defense. The Sun Devils were outgained 126-33 in the third quarter yet did not allow a score. Washington missed a pair of field goals, from 27 and 21 yards out; the latter hit the right upright. The 126 total yards by the Huskies was exactly three times what they gained in the entire first half (42). In addition, they had eight first downs, six more than they had in the first half.

STAT OF THE GAME, part 1

3-of-14: At one point this season, the Sun Devils had the worst third-down defense in the country, yet Washington converted only three of their 14 chances, two games after Oregon, ranked at the time, went 1-of-11.

STAT OF THE GAME, part 2

11: The Sun Devils had allowed 30 or more points in 11 straight games, which had been the longest active streak in the FBS.

HE SAID IT, part 1

“I’m proud of our guys. It’s just a half, it’s just a half. This is a good football team,” Graham said at halftime, referring to Washington. “We got to score touchdowns not kick field goals. We got to play another 30 minutes. That was a good half, proud of them but that’s just one half.”

HE SAID IT, part 2

“Big-time win. Monumental win for our program. And we’re not surprised,” said Graham, who earned his 10th win over a ranked team including three in the Top-10 since his arrival in Tempe. His 10-11 record against ranked teams is the fourth-best in the Pac-12 since 2012. Eight of those 10 wins have come at Sun Devil Stadium.

NOTED

Harry started his 18th straight game and he has at least one reception in all 18 games after his first quarter eight-yard catch.

Harvey appeared to cramp up, or worse, hurt himself in the third quarter; he limped off the field and later to the locker room. He would return.

John Humphrey returned after missing the past three games with an injury; he returned on defense after starting at receiver.

Scouts from five different NFL teams — the Bills, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Ravens as well as the Steelers — were at the game.

Eight new members to the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame, including former quarterback Andrew Walter, were at the game.

UP NEXT

It’s back on the road for the Sun Devils.

ASU plays at Utah on Saturday, Oct. 21, and once kickoff is scheduled, pregame coverage will begin two hours earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

The Sun Devils have won two straight over the Utes. They were victorious in last season’s meeting, 49-26. In addition, they have won three of their past four trips to Salt Lake City and Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Overall, ASU leads 20-8, including a 5-4 advantage on the road, in a series that dates back to 1961.

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