EL PASO -- No. 15 ASU (10-3) saw some star performances in their 36-31 win over Duke in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. How did each unit perform overall?
Valedictorian: Running back Demario Richard
Freshman running back Demario Richad had four total touchdowns going into Saturday's Sun Bowl against Duke. Four. That's the same amount of touchdowns he had Saturday alone, emerging as ASU's key threat in the red zone with two rushing and two receiving touchdowns. He also tacked on 63 total yards on 12 touches as ASU's running game ran for 152 yards against the Blue Devils. Richard was ASU's most consistent weapon on the offensive end, and a return to Richard and the running game got the Sun Devil offense going after briefly stalling.
ASU moved the ball well all day long, only needing to punt once all afternoon. The Sun Devils totaled 392 yards while maintaining a solid balance between the pass and run (34 pass plays, 35 run plays). Taylor Kelly had maybe his best game since injuring his foot against Colorado (24-34, 240 passing yards, two touchdowns) to engineer a hot start that had ASU up 20-3 early. The lone gripe for the offense in the early going was converting red zone opportunities, as only one of their first three trips resulted in a touchdown. The offensive line had a solid outing, but allowed Kelly to be blindsided for a pair of sack fumbles (both of which ASU recovered) and failed to get strong push for running back Kalen Ballage on a crucial fourth and inches play with ASU leading 30-24 in the fourth quarter. Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong became a key third down target for Kelly, making several sideline catches to finish with seven receptions and 103 yards in his final game as a Sun Devil.
Despite their offensive efficiency, ASU was outgained Saturday afternoon in allowing 400 total yards of offense to Duke. The Blue Devils came into the game allowing just 3.3 tackles for loss per game and allowed just one, keeping redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Boone clean against an ASU defense that ranked seventh in the nation in team sacks entering the game. Duke burned the over-agressive ASU defense with a series of screens including a pair of passes to running back Shaquille Powell to score Duke's first touchdown. ASU also bit too early on a jet sweep pass from wide receiver Jamison Crowder to fellow wide receiver Issac Blakeney, allowing Duke to take the 31-30 lead. It wasn't all bad for ASU, Duke converted on 10 of 20 third down opportunities, and went an incredible 4-for-4 on fourth down conversions. It wasn't all bad for ASU, however, as junior cornerback Kweishi Brown had a momentum-changing forced fumble in the third quarter before also having the game-clinching interception in the final minute as the Sun Devils defense held. Redshirt junior linebacker Antonio Longino had a solid outing, shattering the previous Sun Bowl record with 15 assisted tackles. Senior defensive lineman Marcus Hardison was named the game's best lineman, finishing the game with 13 tackles and team's lone tackle for loss.
ASU's special teams Saturday was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On the team's lone punt attempt, the coverage team over-pursued Crowder and allowed him to break through for a 68-yard touchdown return. However, sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez was a perfect 3-for-3 on the day and crossed the 20 made field goal plateau for the second straight season. Later, the Sun Devils were badly beaten on a punt fake as punter Will Monday completed a 30-yard pass to wide receiver Johnell Barnes to set up the go-ahead touchdown. Seconds after allowing Duke to take the lead, Ballage took the kickoff 96 yards before being pushed out at the 4-yard line, setting up the game-winning ASU score. Definitely not ASU's best special teams outing, but it came through when it needed to.
Reach the assistant sports editor at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter
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