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Explosive plays.
It's what killed No. 13 ASU football against Oregon State. It's what allowed Notre Dame to nearly erase a 34-3 ASU lead. ASU coach Todd Graham said they're what Pac-12 football is all about. And finally, the Sun Devils (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) used them to their advantage to beat Washington State 52-31.
ASU only had one touchdown drive longer than 2 minutes, 10 seconds. Junior D.J. Foster caught a screen pass for 42 yards to set up a 17-yard touchdown run. One minute, four seconds. Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly hit sophomore receiver Cam Smith for a 42-yard touchdown. One minute, 33 seconds. Kelly to Smith for 67 yards to set up another Foster touchdown run. One minute, 38 seconds.
The Sun Devils had eight plays of at least 15 yards. Three went directly for scores, including the longest scoring pass of Kelly's career. Although the explosive plays were key to the Sun Devils' offensive success, Graham didn't single them out. His key to the game was far simpler.
"Today we played like the team we are," Graham said.
Graham was enthused about the outcome of the game, but he left some to be desired when talking about explosive plays. He pointed to the absence of redshirt junior Jaelen Strong, who missed the game with a concussion sustained against Oregon State. The team didn't know Strong would be out until just before kickoff.
"I always want more explosive plays," Graham said. "I thought (Strong) was going to play. ... That was hard. That kind of hurt the big play deal a little bit."
The long plays were much-needed, as ASU couldn't piece together a sustained drive all game against the Cougars (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12). Through their first four drives, the Sun Devils had negative 24 yards and four three-and-outs. The game kicked off at 11 a.m., and it was as if the Sun Devils continued to hit the snooze button until late in the second quarter.
Even then, it was the defense that woke up first. Senior Marcus Hardison continued his standout season with an interception off his own tip, which sparked the only Sun Devil touchdown that didn't come from an explosive play.
"Snagging that ball like that was pretty amazing," Graham said.
On Senior Day, Hardison was one of the few seniors who played, at least to start, like it was his final game at Sun Devil Stadium. Right tackle Tyler Sulka took the brunt of the Washington State pass rush, which sacked Kelly four times in the first half and only once in the second. The constant pressure plagued Kelly, who was just 3-of-7 in the first quarter and 7-of-15 in the first half.
But the redshirt senior turned it around on his and 12 of his teammates day. Kelly helped the Sun Devils climb back from a 21-7 deficit. In the second half, he was 8-of-10 for 122 yards with two touchdown passes.
But the real MVP was the Sun Devil defense. It forced five Washington State turnovers, and the Sun Devils scored after all five turnovers for a total of 35 points.
"(The defense) helped us out tremendously," Kelly said. "Field position was what this game was all about."
Additional notes
— On one drive, ASU got whistled for four offsides penalties. There were six total but only four were accepted. Graham called the penalties "borderline embarrassing" and didn't have a reason for their occurrence.
— Cam Smith was the main recipient of Jaelen Strong's catches. He caught six passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Graham said postgame he "always tells him, get me one touchdown. Matter of fact, I said two today. So he's listening well."
— The 622 yards ASU gave up to the Cougars were the most of the season. But Graham said "you can't look that stuff." He prefers to look at the five turnovers and, of course, the final score: 52-31.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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