(Photo: Jannah Din/WCSN)
In one of the most improbable endings to a football game in recent memory, the Arizona State Sun Devils defeated Wisconsin 32-30 on a botched final play. The Sun Devils outplayed Wisconsin most of the night, but mental mistakes had Wisconsin in position to win before the game went awry.
It was over when: Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave decided to roll left and drop the ball with 18 seconds left. The referees never called the play dead and a Sun Devil defender fell on it. Whether it was a fumble or not, Wisconsin was out of timeouts and never seemed in a rush to snap and spike the ball, and the clock ran out, giving the Sun Devils a bizarre victory.
Player of the Game: Osahon Irabor, the senior corner for the Sun Devils, somehow led the led the team with 7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and the only sack of the night. He also never got beat by a Wisconsin receiver and consistently blew up run plays to his side.
Biggest Concern: For the first time in the Todd Graham era, the biggest issue was discipline. Six drops all came at critical times, including a dropped touchdown by Kevin Ozier and three huge drops by Rick Smith. The team committed three false-start penalties and missed multiple 2-point conversions. Taylor Kelly threw an interception, but for the first time as a Sun Devil, actually won while throwing a pick. A missed tackle by Robert Nelson almost lost the game on the final drive as well.
Unsung Hero: Jaelen Strong had six catches for 104 yards, and every single catch seemed important. He is the real deal.
Stat of the Game: 231: The Sun Devils held Wisconsin to under 300 yards of rushing for the first time all year, and James White had just 45 yards on 12 carries.
What’s Next? The Sun Devils travel to Northern California for their first road game of the year against defending Pac-12 champion Stanford on Saturday, September 21. Stanford struggled against an outmatched Army on the road today, but that means nothing for next week. This will be another huge game for the Sun Devils.
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