ASU football’s offense comes to life against USC
Oct 27, 2018, 2:32 PM | Updated: 9:11 pm
Arizona State's N'Keal Harry (1) celebrates his touchdown catch with teammate Frank Darby during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
After a couple of difficult weeks that contributed to losses, the ASU football offense woke up on Saturday against USC.
The Sun Devils (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) put up 450 yards of offense, including 95 receiving yards and two total touchdowns from wide receiver N’Keal Harry, in a 38-35 road win over the Trojans on Saturday.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of these games,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said after the game. “It was fun to just watch these guys come into the locker room, beating a good football team in USC, a very talented group of players, and you think about what they had to beat.”
It was USC’s first home loss under coach Clay Helton.
ASU scored a pair of touchdowns in the opening quarter, besting its point total against Stanford last week (13) in the first nine minutes against the Trojans.
The first touchdown was a 44-yard strike from quarterback Manny Wilkins to Harry.
Manny Wilkins to N’Keal Harry here for the TD. Tie game in L.A. pic.twitter.com/b9AUV8T2lH
— Maxwel Madden (@maxwelmadden) October 27, 2018
It was a refreshing connection for the two considering Harry hadn’t caught a touchdown pass from Wilkins since Sept. 29 against Oregon State.
A USC turnover set up the Sun Devils inside the 10-yard line on their next drive, which was finished off by a 3-yard touchdown run from running back Eno Benjamin.
Eno Benjamin in for the TD. #ASU with a 14-7 lead midway through the first. pic.twitter.com/2fZfQOq5jW
— Maxwel Madden (@maxwelmadden) October 27, 2018
The Sun Devils outgained the Trojans 172 to 29 in the first quarter.
A 31-yard field goal got ASU on the board in the second quarter before the Sun Devils put together one of their best drives of the season.
ASU went 95 yards, capped off by a 49-yard touchdown run from Benjamin, to extend their lead to 24-7 with 6:12 left in the first half.
Here’s that long Eno Benjamin TD that put ASU up 24-7: pic.twitter.com/MQ4Jdi3HO7
— Maxwel Madden (@maxwelmadden) October 27, 2018
The Sun Devils finished with 286 total yards in the first half and 24 points, the team’s most since their win over Oregon State.
Benjamin had 125 yards and two touchdowns while Wilkins completed 9-of-15 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
ASU led USC, 24-14, at halftime.
“I told the guys before the game started, ‘whatever we do today, we are not going to look at the scoreboard,” Edwards said. “We go into halftime, I said ‘don’t look at the scoreboard, at the end we are going to win this game.'”
The offense slowed at times in the second half, but showed up when it mattered most.
Harry returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown to give ASU a 31-28 lead with 2:54 left in the third quarter.
N’Keal Harry: the best wide receiver in the country pic.twitter.com/TavV8BU5h7
— Harrison Klopp (@HarrisonKlopp) October 27, 2018
ASU iced the game late when Manny Wilkins rushed for a 45-yard touchdown with 1:23 to put the Sun Devils up 38-28.
A week ago, Manny Wilkins made a mistake that may have cost ASU the game against Stanford. This week, he put the nail in the coffin in a Sun Devils victory: pic.twitter.com/E61OOt4NH5
— Maxwel Madden (@maxwelmadden) October 27, 2018
“They just kept fighting,” Edwards said. “That’s what these kids have done all year, they have fought and I’m proud of them for that. I really am.”
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