CORVALLIS, Ore. — It was the second coldest temperatures ASU football has played in since at least the 1970s, and the Sun Devils never quite warmed up.
It was 34 degrees at kickoff, only getting colder as the game progressed later into the clear Oregon night with wind chills creeping into the teens. As the temperature dropped below freezing, the ASU offense got ice cold. The Sun Devils (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) only got colder as the game went on, but the Beavers (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12) continued to heat up.
Things hit a boiling point when the temperature outside was at its coolest: when the clock struck triple zeros and the Reser Stadium crowd rushed the field to celebrate a 35-27 upset of the No. 6 team in the nation, effectively ending its College Football Playoff hopes and taking the Pac-12 South out of its control.
"We weren't prepared to play," ASU coach Todd Graham said.
Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly runs with the ball in a game against Oregon State in Corvallis on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2014. ASU lost against OSU 35-27. (Photo Courtesy of Justin Quinn - Daily Barometer)"They just came out with more energy than we did," redshirt senior safety Damarious Randall added.
"You've got to execute," redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly said. "We didn't do that."
Kelly threw two interceptions. Graham's defense allowed an astounding 7.1 yards per play. Randall was beat deep. It was a team effort in the worst fashion.
For the first time since Sept. 25, ASU's 62-27 loss to UCLA, the defense couldn't find an answer. It gave up 498 yards — only below 500 because of two Oregon State kneel-downs to end the game. Since the defensive renaissance, the offense had struggled. When the defense regressed Saturday night, the offense didn't pick up the slack.
When reasons for the loss were pitched to Graham, Kelly and Randall after the game, no one swung at them. The cold? "No," Kelly said. The effect of junior defensive tackle Jaxon Hood's absence? "None," Graham said.
Instead, they credited the Beavers for out-preparing, out-scheming and out-playing them. Even with a College Football Playoff berth on the line for the Sun Devils, Randall said Mike Riley's 5-5 team even wanted to win more.
But in the end, it came down to the 60 minutes of game time on the Reser Stadium turf, where Graham continued his onslaught of blitzes. They were effective the last five games. They were effective in the first half, to an extent. But they also resulted in three Beaver touchdowns. Their lengths? 78 yards, 67, yards and 66 yards.
Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly makes a call to the offensive line in a game against OSU in Corvallis on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2014. ASU lost against OSU 35-27. (Photo Courtesy of Justin Quinn - Daily Barometer)"Sometimes when you blitz, it can be feast or famine," Riley said of his opponent. After feasting for five weeks, the Sun Devils faced famine Saturday night, and they couldn't overcome it.
Oregon State set the tone for the night almost instantly. The teams traded three-and-outs to start the game before Oregon State running back Storm Woods broke a career-long 78-yard touchdown run. He ran through the outstretched arms of the Sun Devil defense, showcasing a tackling display that hadn't been seen since the Sun Devils' last loss.
The porous defense was showcased again not even 10 minutes later when the Woods' backfield partner escaped ASU's pursuit to scamper 66 yards into the end zone. It was 14-3, and the Beavers had all the momentum. But the Sun Devils responded quickly and with force. They scored 21 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead into the half — ASU's largest of the game, and one that wasn't seen again after the 3:19 mark of the third quarter.
ASU didn't lose the lead for good until the fourth quarter. Despite hopes of again turning third-quarter struggles into fourth-quarter heroics, the opposite happened. The Beavers scored two touchdowns in the final quarter while shutting out the Sun Devils.
Twice in the final two minutes, ASU had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. The first ended with a Kelly pick-six that gave the Beavers and eight-point lead. Still within striking distance, ASU got the ball back. But just like the rest of the second half, the offense was stagnant.
Any hope of an ASU comeback was vanquished when Kelly was sacked on fourth and two. Appropriately, the ball was in Kelly's hands when the Sun Devils lost the game for good. Each game since returning from injury, Kelly has thrown at least one interception. He threw two against the Beavers, in addition to closing the game by completing just 10 of his final 26 passes.
"We didn't come out and execute our goals tonight," Kelly said, simply.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
