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ASU football comes to life with season-saving second half in 27-17 win over Washington

The Sun Devils score 27 unanswered to knock off the Huskies

Redshirt senior wide receiver Gary Chambers, right, and redshirt senior quarter back Mike Bercovici, center, celebrate with sophomore running back Kalen Ballage, left, after his touchdown run during the fourth quarter of a game on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. ASU came back in the second half to win the game 27-17.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Gary Chambers, right, and redshirt senior quarter back Mike Bercovici, center, celebrate with sophomore running back Kalen Ballage, left, after his touchdown run during the fourth quarter of a game on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. ASU came back in the second half to win the game 27-17.

Just above the south end zone at Sun Devil Stadium sits a banner that reads a line from Dante's "Inferno."

"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here."

This phrase may evoke a feeling shared by many of the ASU students who have sat in that section for ASU football games this season, especially so on a Saturday afternoon in which their team looked up at a 17-0 score line midway through the second quarter.

The glimmer of hope remaining was all ASU needed, as the Sun Devils (5-5, 3-4 Pac-12) roared back with 27 unanswered points to capture a season-saving 27-17 win over Washington (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12).

For all intents and purposes, the Sun Devils' opening quarter and a half could go down as the worst for the program since coach Todd Graham was hired in December 2011. He even admitted so himself.

Offense, defense and injuries all earned failing grades.

Redshirt senior Mike Bercovici gave way to redshirt freshman Manny Wilkins for two plays midway through a second-quarter drive to unsuccessfully reignite a stagnant unit who didn't reach scoring position until two minutes remaining in the half.

The defense was gashed repeatedly by Washington freshman quarterback Jake Browning and freshman running back Myles Gaskin, with the only salve coming with the Huskies' struggles to convert on third downs and in the red zone.

The injuries plagued the team even before its 1:15 p.m. kickoff, with starting field safety Kareem Orr out for the game and starting "Devilbacker" Antonio Longino doubtful to play. Starting "Spur" linebacker Laiu Moeakiola and bandit safety Jordan Simone quickly added to the list of bodies taking turns on the ASU training table in the first half.

Neither Moeakiola nor Simone returned, as Graham said Simone suffered a "pretty serious" knee injury.

"That was the most chaotic first quarter I think I've ever been in," Graham said. "We lost our free safety this week in practice. We lost Jordan, then we lose Laiu. And we got guys that are third team playing."

The Sun Devils got a boost when Longino overruled Graham and chose to play despite the injury. He would turn in one of the best games of his career, finishing with seven tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.

"My team needs me to pick them up on and off the field so that’s what I came out there to do," Longino said. "That’s my last two or three games out there so I’m not passing them up, I’m going to give what I got."

Graham said Longino's performance had a profound impact on him and the team.

"Tony Longino inspired me (Like Will Sutton)," Graham said. "He should not even have played. As a matter of fact, I don't let you play if you don't practice. He took four reps. He took four reps on Thursday. And in no way did he need to play, in my opinion. And he let me know that that wasn't going to be my decision."

As the Sun Devils rallied back, the hope was replaced by many with a bizarre mix of tentative joy and fear that yet another close game would slip through their fingers.

Even as junior Zane Gonzalez knocked through a 23-yard field goal to give ASU its first lead with 8:25 remaining, the sentiment was more shock than it was accomplishment.

After forcing a stop on senior cornerback Kweishi Brown's interception, sophomore Kalen Ballage resumed his previous closer role.

Much like in his memorable run against UCLA, Ballage decided to take Saturday's game into his own hands. On the first play of the drive, Ballage broke free yet again for a 48-yard score to seal the stunning comeback victory.

"Just take care of the football," Ballage said. "I kept talking to the offensive line, they kept talking to me we agreed. Just go out there and work hard, lets run the ball and try to finish this game out, keep the clock running and that’s exactly what we did. They opened up a hole and I hit it and I couldn’t have done that without them."

It was Ballage's second score of the comeback, as he would add on 92 yards on 11 carries.

Brown's interception was the first of four the Sun Devil defense would force in each of Washington's final four offensive possessions, finally giving a burst of what many expected from the Sun Devil program entering the 2015 season.

"Yeah, it was great. It was fun," Graham said. "It was really fun. Kweishi was huge. That was a big one. Obviously, Christian's was huge and Marcus's was a big one as well. But, yeah, that was great."

All hope has not yet been abandoned for the Sun Devils.

For the second consecutive season, ASU's Territorial Cup matchup against Arizona will have postseason implications: last season, it decided the Pac-12 South. This season, both programs enter Tempe looking for a win to ensure bowl eligibility.

"If you’re a Sun Devil football player or Sun Devil fan this is — for the alumni, this is the most important game of the entire year," Bercovici said. "This is the game you circle when you get your schedule. The message is clear, we know what we need to do. There’s no much that needs to be said."


Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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