Turnovers, penalties doom Arizona State Sun Devils in road loss to BYU

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Jaren Hall threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns and added 38 yards on seven carries, leading No. 23 BYU to a 27-17 victory over No. 19 Arizona State on Saturday night.

Tyler Allgeier added 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Cougars (3-0) earned their third straight victory over a Pac-12 opponent. BYU forced four turnovers and posted its third straight victory over Arizona State.

Jaylen Daniels threw for 265 yards to lead the Sun Devils (2-1), but also tossed a pair of interceptions. Daniyel Ngata ran for 82 yards and a touchdown to lead Arizona State’s ground attack.

Arizona State cut a double-digit halftime deficit to 21-17 late in the third quarter with back-to-back scoring drives. Ngata covered 51 yards on four straight runs and scored on a 10-yard sweep. Then, Christian Zendejas added a 40-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.

The Sun Devils appeared poised to go ahead before the third quarter ended after Merlin Robinson intercepted Hall at the ASU 25. Tyler Allgeier chased down Robinson as he ran along the sideline and punched the ball out of his hands, forcing a fumble that Hall recovered at the BYU 15.

The Cougars sealed the win after backup quarterback Baylor Romney tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Rex with 1:19 left. Romney came into the game after Hall was injured at the end of a QB run with 2:22 remaining.

Hayden Livingston recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, giving BYU the ball at the Sun Devil 12. Allgeier put the Cougars up 7-0, plowing across the goal line on a 2-yard run three plays later.

Daniels quickly went to work picking apart BYU’s secondary.

He completed 11 of his first 12 passes to help Arizona State regain some momentum. Daniels’ 58-yard strike to Andre Johnson set up Rachaad White’s 1-yard run that evened the score 7-all early in the first quarter.

The Cougars capitalized when Daniels finally made a mistake in the second quarter. Max Tooley picked off a pass from Daniels at the BYU 17. The Cougars covered 83 yards in six plays and took a 14-7 lead on a double-pitch flea-flicker to Hall that he promptly turned into a 34-yard pass to a wide-open Gunner Romney in the end zone.

Hall’s second touchdown pass, a 15-yard strike to a wide-open Isaac Rex, extended BYU’s lead to 21-7 late in the second quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arizona State’s early turnovers created huge problems for the Sun Devils. Arizona State had a fumble and two interceptions before halftime and those takeaways set up two of BYU’s first three scoring drives. ASU also had 16 penalties for 121 yards compared to the Cougars’ three penalties for 25 yards.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

BYU will move a few spots in the AP Top 25 Poll after beating a ranked opponent at home, while ASU could drop out of the poll after the loss.

UP NEXT

Arizona State hosts Colorado on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Catch all the action on ESPN 620 AM or 98.7 FM HD-2.