The Arizona State Sundevils rushed for 235 yards including 5 rushing touchdowns at a clip of 6 yards per carry and were able to grab just their second victory of the season, 37-28 on Saturday over the Cougs. In one of the best starts to a season in Cougar history, the Cougs began the season with a record of 4-0 and 2 top 25 wins on their resume. Since the last win against Oregon State on September 23rd, the Cougs have lost four straight games and see themselves with a 4-4 record.
The Cougs had the right idea when the game started, Cam Ward put together a fifteen play 75-yard drive taking over 6-minutes, culminating in a 3-yard Ward touchdown run to put the Cougs up 7-0. The lead was short lived, as DeCarlos Brooks rushed the ball in from 14 yards out to tie the game. The Cougs played catch up the majority of the game after that and the ASU was able to ice the game late behind their big rushing game.
The Sun Devils (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) had season highs in many categories this game, total yards with 502 and also in points scored. The Cougar defense has dropped from what they were to start the season and it’s progressively gotten worse each week. The offense on the other hand put up over 400-yards and 27 points against an ASU team who held a 5th ranked UW Huskies team last week to zero offensive touchdowns. Ward drove the Cougs down with 2-minutes left to the ASU 2-yard line but threw an incomplete on fourth down and the Cougars see their 4 straight loss in consecutive weeks. “We just didn’t execute the offense. You can’t win with field goals,” Ward said following the game.
The Cougs come back home to GESA Stadium to face the 2-6 Stanford Cardinal on Saturday to try and get back on the winning track. The Cougars need to win two of their next four games in order to become bowl eligible. The next three games are definitely winnable with teams that are at .500 or below.
