Football Losses to No. 5 Washington on Defense
SEATTLE - On Saturday night at Husky Stadium, Sun Devil
football (1-6, 0-4 Pac-12) saw its upset attempt fall short with a 15-7 loss to
No. 5 Washington (7-0, 4-0). A late defensive score proved to be the difference.
Mishael
Powell intercepted a Trenton Bourguet pass in the fourth quarter with Arizona
State leading 7-6 and was deep in Washington territory when he scored a
game-changing touchdown after traveling 89 yards. The subsequent 2-point
conversion try was thwarted by the ASU defense, maintaining the margin at 12-7.
After the Huskies' third field goal of the match, Bourget pushed the Sun Devils to
midfield before his pass to Jalin Conyers was intercepted, ending the Sun
Devils' attempt at an upset.
Eight different receivers caught Bourguet's passes for a total of 196 yards. His
favorite target, Elijah Badger, was caught eight times for a 50-yard gain. Cam
Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks combined for 51 of the Sun Devils' 145 rushing
yards.
The top-three Huskies offense was forced into four turnovers and prevented from
reaching the goal line by the Sun Devil defense. Since the team's final game of
the 2021 season, Washington's offense has averaged 288 yards per game. Since
holding Stanford to the same number of rushing yards on October 8, 2021, ASU's defense
has only given up 13 to the Huskies.
A pass breakup and 1.5 tackles for losses were among Caleb McCullough's eight
tackles, which led the team. Dashaun Mallory, Elijah O'Neal, and Ed Woods each
had a TFL. Woods tallied six tackles in addition to forcing a turnover.
While they were generating those extra opportunities, ASU only accrued seven points
from those turnovers. They only managed to score on one of their three
excursions into the end zone, while both of their field goal tries were blocked.
The maroon and gold forced Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. to four turnovers, a
season-low with 275 passing yards, the lowest since he joined Washington, and
no touchdowns for the first time since last year's upset victory by ASU over
Washington on October 8, 2022.
On October 28, at 5 p.m. MST, the Sun Devils will welcome Washington State at
Mountain America Stadium in their return home. The Pac-12 Network will be
airing coverage, and ESPN 620 AM or Arizona Sports 98.7 FM will have Tim Healey
and Jeff Van Raaphorst providing commentary.
Quarter one
Ro Torrence intercepted Penix midway through the first period of the rivalry game
between the two schools, but the Sun Devils were unable to take advantage of
the turnover. In the first quarter, ASU gained six first downs and outrushed
the Huskies by 50 yards, demonstrating their determination to maintain
possession of the ball going into the second.
Second quarter
When it looked like the Huskies were going to take the lead in the first quarter,
Penix was intercepted by Shamari Simmons. It's his first red zone interception
of the season and only the second time in his Husky career that he's thrown two
in the same game.
A Penix turnover after an ASU punt gave ASU good field position at midfield. The
Sun Devils then went no-huddle, and Skattebo scored his sixth touchdown of the
year on a one-yard rush. At the end of the first half, Washington increased the
lead to 7-3 with a field goal in response.
Quarter three
After the break, Ja'Lynn Polk was forced to turn the ball over by Woods, which led to
Washington's fourth turnover of the game, but the Sun Devils were once more
unable to capitalize on their advantageous field position. After both offense
exchanged possessions, neither was able to gain much yards, and ASU had a field
goal attempt blocked.
Quarter four
Washington covered 40 yards in seven plays on its first drive of the third quarter,
allowing Grady Gross to kick a 47-yard field goal and giving ASU a 7-6 lead. In
retaliation, the Sun Devils connected with Badger for 34 yards after Bourguet,
which helped the Washington defense set up the pivotal interception.