Valedictorian: Kalen Ballage
Offense: A+
Where to begin?
Junior running back Kalen Ballage had the game of his life, matching an FBS record with eight total touchdowns (seven rushing) and racking up 207 all-purpose yards along the way.
Ballage was named Saturday’s “ultimate performer” by ESPN for his historic outing.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins tossed two touchdown passes, throwing for 351 passing yards and rushing for 55 (hurdling another defender in the process). Wilkins played his best game yet, even if it was overshadowed by Ballage’s herculean effort and Texas Tech junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing for 540 yards and five touchdowns.
Wilkins did not turn the ball over and was not sacked, a product of his effective game management and improvements made by the offensive line during the week of practice.
Freshman receiver N’Keal Harry caught his first career touchdown pass and was ASU’s leading wideout with six catches for 72 yards. Senior tight end Kody Kohl had two receptions for 67 yards and was one of three Sun Devils to get involved in the passing game for the first time in 2016 – the others were redshirt sophomore Jalen Harvey and redshirt senior Freddy Gammage.
Defense: C
Junior wide receiver Cameron Batson torched the ASU secondary for 148 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Red Raiders exploited the Sun Devil defense on several occasions, including a 59-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Derrick Willies and a 75-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to junior running back Justin Stockton. In the first half, defensive coordinator Keith Patterson deployed a more conservative gameplan, and even without blitzing, ASU’s defensive backs were burned and missed tackles in the open field.
However, redshirt senior cornerback De’Chavon Hayes had two interceptions, including one that was returned all the way to the Texas Tech 1-yard line. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but the Sun Devils made stops when they needed to.
Missing three linebackers, including redshirt junior Marcus Ball, junior Christian Sam and redshirt senior Salamo Fiso could have been fatal, but ASU dug deep and got solid contributions from redshirt sophomore Tyler Whiley at Spur.
Junior linebackers DJ Calhoun and Koron Crump both established pressure on Mahomes and each recorded sacks Saturday to set the tone.
Special teams: A
It was a quiet night for senior kicker Zane Gonzalez, who recorded several touchbacks on kickoffs that bounded past the back of the end zone, but wasn’t called upon to kick a field goal until nailing a 43-yarder with 3:04 in the fourth quarter. Redshirt senior wide receiver Tim White had 141 kick return yards, including a long of 28, to put the Sun Devils in prime field position often.
Notable on a night of exotic play-calling was the early onside-kick, which ASU failed to recover, setting up Mahomes and Co. on the Sun Devil 47-yard line on the first Red Raider drive of the night.
Senior punter Matt Haack flipped the field three times, pinning Texas Tech inside its own 10-yard line on three punts averaging 55 yards (including a long of 59 yards) and rendering the Red Raider return game virtually useless.
Overall: A
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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