Just a week ago the state of ASU football was up in the air after a blowout loss, but the Sun Devils (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12) recaptured hope after a 41-30 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12).
However, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that ASU found its offense.
Prior to the final quarter, the Sun Devils were trailing CU 27-17. Yet, led by senior running back Demario Richard, ASU quickly tallied 24 fourth-quarter points. Richard was responsible for six of the 24 and finished the night with 189 rushing yards.
It was the most rushing yards Richard has had in a single game of his collegiate career, and the first time he has reached 100 since Sept. 10 of last year.
The game will go down as one of Richard’s best, but freshman running back Eno Benjamin had himself a memorable night as well.
Benjamin scored his first collegiate touchdown and amassed 52 rushing yards on five carries.
ASU’s fourth quarter offense was what most expected to see throughout the season: runs, runs and more runs.
Nevertheless, redshirt junior quarterback Manny Wilkins delivered his best game in weeks. He threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Not to mention, he chipped in on the ground with 95 rushing yards and a score.
While it finally clicked for the offense, ASU’s defense had a mixed performance. A rough first half was filled with blown coverages, but several detrimental drops by CU receivers bailed the Sun Devils out.
It wasn’t until the second half that ASU showed a glimpse of what fans saw just a few weeks ago. The Sun Devils' defensive front was creating pressure, and playing lights out in the secondary constricting the Buffaloes’ offense to just three fourth-quarter points.
ASU will need to ride its fourth quarter dominance into Pasadena, California next weekend as the Sun Devils look to fight off a struggling UCLA Bruins team.
"Gone fishing, don't know when we'll be back," -Defenses in Oklahoma
The No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners (8-1, 5-1) snuck past the No. 11 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-2, 4-2) 62-52 in arguably the best game this season.
The teams combined for 114 points, but it was the individual performances that add up to make this meeting truly special.
Both quarterbacks threw for more than 400 passing yards and five touchdowns. In fact, the Sooners senior quarterback Baker Mayfield tossed for 598 passing yards, which is the most by a FBS quarterback this season.
With great quarterback play came phenomenal efforts from both wide receiver groups.
Three receivers caught seven or more passes, and as a whole, four pass catchers had more than 100 receiving yards.
If those numbers don’t blow you away, nine different skill players scored a touchdown. Of those nine players, five scored multiple times.
While both offenses rest easy knowing their game plans were successful, it was a bad time to be a defender in the state of Oklahoma on Saturday.
Dear Penn State Fans, There's Always Next Year
It was another heart-breaking loss for Nittany Lions supporters as No. 7 Penn State (7-2, 4-2) fell for the second week in a row. This time the loss came at the hands of the No. 24 Michigan State Spartans (7-2, 5-1).
Just two weeks ago, Penn State was on the top of the world. The team was 7-0 coming off its first ranked win of the season sitting comfortably at No. 2 in the country. It was all going smoothly for Nittany Lions fans as they had the pleasure of watching Heisman Trophy candidate junior running back Saquon Barkley take them on a venture unseen for years.
Then Penn State went where no CFB team wants to go – Columbus, Ohio.
The once promising future spiraled into an uncontrollable tumble that now has the Nittany Lions ranked No. 16 and surely out of the CFB playoff. Barkley, who was almost a lock for the Heisman Trophy two weeks ago, is now fading away after rushing for fewer than 65 yards in each of the last two games.
Stay tuned
ASU looks to wipe away the bad juju from its last trip to California with a road victory over the UCLA Bruins (4-5, 2-4) on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Reach the reporter at atotri@asu.edu or follow @Anthony_Totri on Twitter.
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