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SEATTLE — It was "Dawg Weather" on Saturday night at Husky Stadium, with game time temperatures dropping into the 50s and wind gusts approaching 60 miles-per-hour, while a consistent shower fell from the skies.
Yet, it was No. 14 ASU football that overcame the conditions and beat Washington 24-10, behind another standout performance from its defense and special teams.
It long looked as if the Sun Devils (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12) might shut out the Huskies (5-3, 1-3 Pac-12), before redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly threw his first interception of the season — a pick-six to senior linebacker John Timu. The Huskies then drove from their own 14-yard line behind 13 runs for tie the game at 10.
Although momentum had faded away, the Sun Devils delivered the knockout blow on the next drive. They drove 75 yards in 4 minutes, 14 seconds to take a 17-10 lead, then held the Huskies in the final three minutes, capped off by an Armand Perry interception on a last-gasp fourth-and-25.
"I'm really proud of how they responded down the stretch, going down and scoring," ASU coach Todd Graham said.
The win was especially significant for redshirt junior safety Jordan Simone, who grew up in the Seattle-area and wasn't recruited by the Huskies.
"It feels great being able to get a win out at U-Dub," Simone said. "Especially being a former Coug, I don't really like the Huskies."
It was also his kind of weather. Although most of the Sun Devils weren't accustomed to the stormy conditions, Simone had been playing in them since he was 8 years old. It was "football weather," as Graham put it. He said he prefers these conditions to the typical sunny skies in Tempe. So does Simone.
"Everyone always asks me, 'Does it suck to play in the rain?' " Simone said. "I'm like, 'I love playing defense in the rain.' There's nothing better. ... It's awesome."
While the weather obviously affected both teams, the Sun Devils tried not to think about it. Instead, they focused on another dominating defensive performance. ASU allowed only three points on defense (seven more came from Timu's interception).
"I'm just really proud of these kids," Graham said. "(There has been) so much scrutiny about how we're inexperienced and this and that and how great everybody else is and how crappy we are."
The win gives ASU its sixth on the season and fourth on the road. With six wins, ASU is bowl eligible, but as junior wide receiver Gary Chambers put it, ASU has "way bigger" goals than that.
Additional notes
— Kelly was seen getting looked at on the sidelines after taking a big hit on the final touchdown pass, but Graham doesn't believe it's anything serious. He said the same about offensive lineman Christian Westerman.
— The Sun Devils continued their recent dominance over the Huskies. Saturday's win marked the Sun Devils' ninth straight win over UW. They haven't lost in Seattle since the turn of the century.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
