ASU football is now 27-2 under head coach Todd Graham when holding a halftime lead.
They suffered their second defeat in such circumstances this afternoon in Pullman, Washington, at the hands of a Washington State team that was primed to clinch a bowl game in the chilly comfort of Martin Stadium.
The Cougars (6-3) outscored the Sun Devils (4-5) 21-3 in the fourth quarter, led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Falk's five touchdowns and 497 yards through the air Saturday, avenging a shootout loss in Tempe last November.
After redshirt freshman running back Keith Harrington took a 23-yard pass from Falk to the house, redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici answered to take back the lead, going ahead 21-17 on a one-yard rushing touchdown to finish off a 17-play, 65-yard drive.
Though punter Matt Haack did his best to win field position battles for the Sun Devils, pinning the Cougars inside their own one yard line late, the secondary struggled to contain Falk's prolific passing attack– he connected with John Thompson, and Jamal Morrow for touchdown passes, and 10 Washington State receivers had a reception in Saturday's game.
With four minutes to go, Falk found Dom Williams on a busted coverage for a back-breaking 75-yard touchdown to ensure the victory.
The only scoring that followed Bercovici's run was a 22-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal with 4:13 to go that brought ASU within seven.
In each of their losses to Utah, Oregon, and Washington State, the Sun Devils surrendered fourth quarter leads.
ASU needs two wins to become bowl eligible.
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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