BOULDER, Colo. – No. 25 Arizona State wasn’t close to perfect against Colorado on a chilly Saturday night. In fact, its four turnovers – its most of the season – suggest that it played one of its sloppiest games of the year.
But, like it’s been for the Sun Devils in most games this season, they didn’t have to be flawless.
Amid frigid conditions, with temperatures dipping below 40 degrees, the Sun Devils didn’t freeze when mistakes piled up.
Instead, ASU (8-3, 5-2 Big 12) relied on a stout defense and proficient rushing attack to grind out a 42-17 victory over Colorado (3-8, 1-7 Big 12), keeping its Big 12 title game hopes alive.
Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward and his unit came up with multiple timely stops to limit a Buffaloes offense that benefitted from a host of ASU turnovers.
In the critical moments, the Sun Devil defense stood tall, holding Colorado to a 0-for-2 mark on fourth down and keeping the Buffaloes from scoring touchdowns in three red zone trips.
Additionally, it caused havoc in the backfield, constantly placing Colorado true freshman quarterback Julian Lewis and the Buffaloes under duress. ASU ended the night with four sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in the winning effort.
“You defend 17 (16) drives, you’re defending a game and three quarters,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. “To only give up 17 points and roughly 300 yards in a game and three quarters is phenomenal.”
On offense, Arizona State floundered early, tallying just three points and 56 yards in the first quarter. A hurried ASU senior quarterback, Jeff Sims, frantically dashed around, evading Colorado pass rushers but struggling to get into a rhythm against Colorado’s man-to-man heavy defense.
More success came as the game went on, connecting with Sun Devil receivers on some explosive plays. One of which came on a 68-yard strike across the middle to sophomore wide receiver Derek Eusebio, who accumulated a career-high 87 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, in his return to his former school and first game back since suffering a hamstring injury, junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson generated a few big plays, contributing 61 receiving yards on two catches.
Still, Sims’ two turnovers stunted the Sun Devils and allowed Colorado to stay within striking distance for much of the night.
“You can’t lose the turnover battle four (to) one,” Dillingham said. “You’re going to win 5% of your games, if not less, and that happened to be one of the 5% that we won, so that’s got to get cleaned up before last week.”
On an up-and-down night for Sims, the Maroon and Gold rushing attack shouldered the load, racking up 355 yards on the ground.
Junior tailback Raleek Brown led the pack, setting an ASU single-game record for rushing yards on the road with his career-high 255 rushing yards.
“Once you run the ball, everything else opens up,” Brown said.
“We just had to get a feel for the defense and see what they were doing. And then once we got a feel we were on one.”
A whopping 236 of ASU’s 355 rushing yards came in the second half, with Brown breaking off a few lengthy runs and a 33-yard catch-and-run score on fourth-and-2.
He delivered the knockout blow early in the fourth quarter, splitting the defense and sprinting past a Colorado defender to find pay dirt on an 88-yard touchdown.
Brown’s long scamper launched Sparky to a strong finish, as the Sun Devils scored on their final three offensive drives to put the game on ice.
With the victory, ASU remains in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 championship game. It’ll need some help, with No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Utah all positioned ahead of the Sun Devils in the standings. But considering the injuries Dillingham’s squad has dealt with, it’s a noteworthy feat.
“It’s remarkable, a testament to these guys,” Dillingham said. “I’m sure everybody, if they could sit back and be real, and they said all of this was going to happen, and we’d be sitting where we’re sitting, and we’re still playing meaningful football. The last game of the year matters, not just because it’s the rivalry game; it matters to the league.”
“If we can play meaningful football on the last Saturday every year, I think we’re going to sell out games. And if we continue to sell out games, we’re going to continue to get more investment from the university, and if we get more investment from the university, we’re going to continue to sell out games.”
Arizona State will look to finish its season strong at home against Arizona in the Territorial Cup. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. MST. next Friday, Nov. 28.
“They’re (Arizona) playing really good football,” Dillingham said. “They’re probably one of the best teams in our league right now.”
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