ASU Football: Rally falls short, division hopes dashed in loss

Despite a furious second-half rally, ASU football fell to Oregon 31-29. With the result, Utah wins the Pac-12 South Division.

An anecdotal speaker, coach Herm Edwards‘ first season at Arizona State is defined by a pair perpetual narratives.

The first is a tale of resiliency. Fueled by competitive nature and a Pac-12 South division title on the line, a young Sun Devils team battled back from a 15-point deficit against the Oregon Ducks.

Staring down a deafening, hostile crowd at Autzen Stadium, ASU appeared poised to complete the comeback, which would have set up a chance to win the division in Tucson next week.

But the more prevalent story revolves around an inability to finish.

Wide receiver Frank Darby was ruled out of bounds on a game-tying, two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter and quarterback Manny Wilkins was later stripped with ASU on its own 47-yard line, trailing by two.

“It’s been another Sun Devil game, it always gets down to the fourth quarter with us,” Edwards said. “Fell a little short and that’s kind of how it’s been for us.”

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ASU played from behind early after running back CJ Verdell recorded touchdowns on the ground and through the air on two of the Ducks’ first three drives. While the Sun Devils mounted two respectable drives as well, both resulted in field goals from kicker Brandon Ruiz.

Trailing 21-6 in the final minutes of the first half, Ducks’ quarterback Justin Herbert threw a costly interception to safety Aashari Crosswell. The freshman covered 50 yards before being tackled, and Wilkins found Darby for a touchdown on the next play.

Despite allowing 364 yards of total offense in the half, momentum shifted in favor of ASU. That is, until Herbert marched UO the opposite direction, traveling 71 yards in 39 seconds to push the lead back to two possessions.

Defensively, coordinator Danny Gonzales was forced to test less experienced players in a high-pressure situation due to injuries. Underclassmen defensive backs Cam Phillips and Evan Fields made their first career starts while linebacker Jay Jay Wilson saw significant time for the first time in weeks with freshman Merlin Robertson sitting as the result of a targeting call a week earlier.

“In the first half, we had a bunch of very inexperienced guys out there that had not played very much football,” Gonzales said. “The game was really fast for them.”

Regardless, ASU continued to bide its time.

Robertson’s return added an immediate jump start in the second half, providing six tackles and Eno Benjamin found a groove, contributing 141 of his 149 yards after the intermission.

But in the face of adversity, the Sun Devils folded late.

Following the failed two-point conversion, Herbert had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and corralled by Phillips for his first career interception. On the ensuing drive, Wilkins underthrew wide receiver N’Keal Harry for what would have been a first down into Oregon territory. The following snap, Wilkins fumbled for ASU’s sole turnover, its final offensive play of the night.

Able to run out the clock, Oregon denied ASU a chance to win its first division title since 2013.

Next. ASU Football: First-half takeaways from Autzen Stadium. dark

Although the Sun Devils have a chance at a positive conclusion to their story in the Territorial Cup, the 2018 season will be marked the chapter of ‘what if’ in Eugene.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.

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