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Bounces fall ASU football's way in 48-23 win over Colorado

ASU was both lucky and good in their rout of the Buffaloes

Redshirt senior wide receiver Devin Lucien (15) reacts with Redshirt senior quarter back Mike Bercovici (2) after a touchdown pass in the third quarter against Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Buffaloes 48-23.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Devin Lucien (15) reacts with Redshirt senior quarter back Mike Bercovici (2) after a touchdown pass in the third quarter against Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Buffaloes 48-23.

Tim White, Mike Bercovici, Jordan Simone Colorado postgame from The State Press on Vimeo.

Winning helps things — as does having the bounces fall your way.

ASU football (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) played opportunistically on Saturday, riding a pair of bizarre touchdowns to a 48-23 win over Colorado (3-3, 0-2 Pac-12).

The Sun Devils knew it was their night from their opening drive, as sophomore running back Demario Richard's fumble was scooped up by redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl, who took the ball the remaining 28 yards for the score and a 7-0 lead.

ASU head coach Todd Graham noted his team's luck, but attributed it to the added effort on the field.

"It's guys hustling," Graham said. "We talk about covering the ball. So our guys are hustling and making things happen there. So you work hard and you play every play and max out every play, good things happen to you. Sometimes it bounces your way."

Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici said the play shouldn't have happened, but Kohl's field awareness enabled him to make the play.

"You never want to put the ball on the ground, but if it does, we practice those situations — fumble drills, hectic situations," Bercovici said. "Kody's one of the smartest football players on our team, and that's just a tribute to his character, just being around the football and following the ball."

The second funky play came in the second half with ASU coasting at a 24-10 lead, as Bercovici rolled left and found redshirt junior Tim White as he was hit on fourth down and 1 yard to go after his pass was deflected by Colorado junior defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon. White bounced through an arm tackle, completing the 45-yard score.

"That fourth and one was an interesting play," Graham said. "I, we had a little conversation with Coach (Mike) Norvell and he said, 'I guarantee you this play's going to work.' And then when I saw that, I thought, well, man, I was just about getting a little upset. But it worked out."

White downplayed the play, which was just one of several highlights in his seven-catch, 144-yard performance in which he tallied two touchdowns.

"You just play the game and if the ball comes your way then you have to make a play," White said. "The ball was tipped, and I was fortunate enough to be in position to make a play."

Graham said he had been slacking through the opening minutes of play of the second half until White's big play.

"One of the things we talk about is you play to the end of the whistle," Graham said. "That's one of the things we talked to our guys about. There was some plays early in the game where we quit on the play. Where we stopped on the play. I don't know if you guys noticed that, like on some balls thrown deep and stuff like that."

Part of ASU's success on Saturday night was, admittedly, due to luck.

The Sun Devils did, however, have substance to their success. The offense, while struggling in the running game, put together 491 total yards and Bercovici tied a career-high with five touchdowns. The defense forced two turnovers and got eight sacks on Colorado junior quarterback Sefo Liufau. Special teams had a perfect night, with junior kicker Zane Gonzalez hitting his two field goal attempts and redshirt freshman Dasmond Tautalatasi breaking through for a blocked punt in the second quarter.

But last week's upset win over then-No. 7 UCLA changed matters for the Sun Devils — a sign that maybe the luck is starting to bounce in ASU's favor.

Every bounce through the first four games — be it sophomore running back Kalen Ballage's mononucleosis diagnosis, former running backs coach Bo Graham's sudden resignation or the literal amount of times ASU's fumbles bounced against the turf — went against ASU through their first four games.

Against UCLA, they were forced to make their own luck. Saturday, luck came to them.

"To get kicked in the gut and knocked down and that and then, man, go over to L.A. and win like that that's pretty cool." Graham said. "I kind of like that. But I would rather just win them all and make it easy, you know. But we're not quite there yet. But we're going to get there."


Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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