In a football showdown at Husky Stadium Sun Devil football (1-6 0-4 Pac-12) gave it their all but fell short in an upset attempt losing 15-7 to No. 5 Washington (7-0 4-0) on Saturday night.
Arizona State Football
For most of the game it was a tight contest with Arizona State Football even holding a 7-6 lead in the fourth quarter. They were deep in Washington territory hoping to extend their lead when Mishael Powell intercepted a pass by Trenton Bourquet. Powell then ran an impressive 89 yards for a game-changing touchdown. Despite this setback the ASU defense successfully thwarted the subsequent 2-point conversion attempt keeping the deficit at 12-7.
Later the Huskies added a third field goal leaving the Sun Devils trailing. Bourguet attempted to lead the team to a comeback but his pass to Jalin Conyers was broken up ending their hopes of an upset.
Bourguet showcased his skills with 196 passing yards completing throws to eight different receivers. Elijah Badger stood out as his primary target making eight receptions for 50 yards. On the ground the Sun Devils managed 145 rushing yards with DeCarlos Brooks contributing 63 and Cam Skattebo adding 51.
The Sun Devil defense had an outstanding performance forcing the Huskies’ top-three offense into committing four turnovers and keeping them out of the end zone. Washington was limited to 288 yards of offense their lowest since the final game of the 2021 season. Notably the Huskies’ 13 rushing yards were the fewest allowed by an ASU defense since holding Stanford to the same total on October 8 2021.
Calleb McCullough led the defense with eight tackles including 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a pass breakup. Ed Wood Dashaun Mallory and Elijah O Neal also contributed with a tackle-for-loss each. Woods added six tackles and forced a fumble.
Despite creating multiple turnovers ASU only managed to score seven points from those takeaways. They struggled in the red zone recording points on only one of three trips and failing on both field goal attempts.
In addition to causing issues for the Husky offense ASU’s defense made Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. commit four turnovers limiting him to 275 passing yards the lowest since he joined Washington. This was also the first time he failed to score a touchdown since ASU’s upset victory over Washington on Oct. 8 2022.
Looking ahead the Sun Devils will return home to Mountain America Stadium on Oct. 28 where they will face Washington State at 5 p.m. MST. You can catch the coverage on Pac-12 Network and listen to it on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM or ESPN 620 AM with Tim Healey and Jeff Van Raaphorst.
First Quarter: Arizona State Football
The game began with Ro Torrence intercepting Penix midway through the first quarter. However the Sun Devils couldn’t capitalize on the turnover. They managed six first downs and outperformed the Huskies in rushing yards showing their determination to control the time of possession.
Second Quarter: Arizona State Football
The second quarter mirrored the first with Penix being intercepted by Shamari Simmons. It was only the second time in his Husky career that he threw two interceptions in the same game and his first red zone interception this season. After an ASU punt a Penix fumble set up the Sun Devils in good field position. They capitalized on it with Cam Skattebo scoring a 1-yard run making it 7-3 at halftime after a Washington field goal.
Third Quarter: Arizona State Football
Coming out of halftime Washington committed its fourth turnover after a forced fumble by Woods. However the Sun Devils couldn’t convert the field position into points. Both offenses struggled to gain yardage and ASU had a field goal attempt blocked.
Fourth Quarter: Arizona State Football
In the final quarter Washington managed to score a 47-yard field goal making it 7-6 in favor of ASU. The Sun Devils then responded with a promising drive with Bourguet finding Badger for 34 yards. However the game’s fate was sealed with an interception by the Washington defense ending ASU’s upset hopes.
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