ASU held off the Oregon State Beavers (1-10, 0-8 Pac-12), beating them 40-24.
With this win, the Sun Devils (6-5, 5-3 Pac-12) have clinched bowl eligibility. ASU gashed the Beavers for 286 rushing yards, while redshirt junior quarterback Manny Wilkins threw two touchdown passes.
The Sun Devils came out hot in this one, starting with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Wilkins to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Williams down the middle of the field.
ASU quickly built on its lead in its next possession. Wilkins ripped off a 32-yard scramble that put the Sun Devils in the red zone, and soon followed it up with a touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Curtis Hodges (first of his career). ASU had a 14-0 lead with 9:06 left in the first quarter.
The defense got in on the scoring action soon after. With OSU in the shadow of its own goalpost, junior defensive lineman JoJo Wicker smothered Beaver senior quarterback Darell Garretson, causing him to throw the ball away. However, Garretson was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 16-0 ASU advantage.
Senior running back Demario Richard began the second quarter by running untouched to the end zone for a 17-yard score, putting the Sun Devils up 23-0.
Richard scored again in the second quarter, this time from one yard out to put ASU up 30-0 with 4:44 left in the first half.
The Beavers got on the board with under a minute left in the second quarter, coming from junior running back Ryan Nall. At half, ASU led 30-7.
Freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz kicked off the second half with a 45-yard field goal, extending the Sun Devil lead to 33-7.
After OSU hit a field goal, the Sun Devils responded with a 78-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a three-yard touchdown run from Richard. Those scores put ASU up 40-10 early in the fourth quarter.
The Beavers closed the gap with a one-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Trevorris Johnson, cutting the ASU lead to 40-17 with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.
OSU dug into its bag of tricks and converted on the ensuing onside kick. Momentum stuck with the Beavers, as they cut the lead to 40-24 on a four-yard rush from Garretson on a drive fueled by a 38-yard reception from senior wide receiver Jordan Villamin.
On the next OSU possession, the Beavers drove deep into ASU territory, but faltered when a Garretson fumbled snap was recovered by Wicker.
The Sun Devils next game will be Saturday, Nov. 25, at 2:30 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium against UA.
Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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