Valedictorian: Junior punter Matt Haack
Sophomore running back Kalen Ballage nearly moonwalked his way into becoming this week's valedictorian, but by the time of his dramatic 23-yard touchdown run the game was already nearly in hand.
Matt Haack, however, accomplished a rarity — he became a true weapon through his punting. He downed five punts inside the 20-yard line, with none perhaps more important than his deadly coffin corner punt that pinned UCLA and true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen on its own 1-yard line in the fourth quarter and set up a safety.
Ballage finally appeared back at full strength and so was the rest of the Sun Devil offense. He finished with 59 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown, and sophomore Demario Richard totaled more than 100 all-purpose yards for the fifth straight game to start the season.
Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici had his best performance since breaking onto the scene with a NCAA-record 998 passing yards in his first two career starts, including making a play with his legs for a career-high 36-yard touchdown run while picking up three total touchdowns and a late interception.
ASU's defense held UCLA to 342 total yards, including keeping the Bruins to seven total rushing yards in the first half. The Sun Devils, who were repeatedly burned in third-and-long situations last week vs. USC, held UCLA to a 3-for-14 mark on third downs on Saturday.
The defense also picked up its first safety since the 2013 season against Colorado, and earned another late in the fourth quarter.
ASU played arguably its best overall game on special teams during the Todd Graham era Saturday, overcoming an early missed field goal by junior kicker Zane Gonzalez to succeed in multiple phases. The aforementioned Haack only had one punt returned – for a loss of three yards. Redshirt junior Tim White had a 63-yard kickoff return Saturday and was again impactful in setting up the Sun Devils with excellent field position. Gonzalez was solid on kickoffs, not allowing UCLA returner Ismael Adams to make an impact on the game.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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