Sun Devils come up short against Houston

After an emotionally charged upset win against Texas Tech last weekend, the Sun Devils had a chance to solidify their hopes of a second straight Big 12 championship game appearance with a win.

Standing in their way was the 6-1 Houston Cougars, an opponent that the Devils could ill afford to overlook.

Arizona State won the toss and deferred to the second half, and Houston set the tone early thanks in large part to a 50 yard run by quarterback Conner Weigman. The defense did come up with a 3rd down stop in the red zone, holding Houston to a field goal on their first drive.

Arizona State's troubles started on the ensuing drive. On 3rd and 16, quarterback Sam Leavitt scrambled for a 14 yard gain, going down hard and hitting his head on the turf. After staying down for a few moments he would leave the field under his own power, later going to the locker room for further examination. Jeff Sims entered and moved the ball down into the red zone, but a missed 31 yard field goal by Jesus Gomez kept the Devils off the scoreboard.

Houston answered with a 10 play, 80 yard drive ending with a Weigman 1 yard touchdown run, and the Devils found themselves down 10-0 as the first quarter came to a close. Leavitt would return on the next drive and the teams would trade punts, pinning the Devils deep in their own territory at the 8 yard line. A defensive pass interference penalty and some key passing had the Devils driving near midfield before a fumble by Leavitt put a stop to the growing momentum.

After fumble, both teams traded punts for the rest of the half, with the Sun Devil defense coming up with two 3 and outs but the offense unable to string together a drive. Halftime found the score reading the same 10-0 as after the opening quarter.

The 3rd quarter opened with a nice return by Jaren Hamilton, but a holding penalty during the return took the starting field position from the 29 all the way back to the 10. Yet another 3 and out gave Houston the ball on their own 43, and 3:14 later the lead was 17-0 on a touchdown pass to Tanner Koziol. Arizona State responded with a 50 yard drive but came up empty again when Gomez missed his second field goal of the night. 10 plays and 75 yards later, aided by a crucial targeting call that disqualified Ghost Rowser, Weigman got his second 1 yard rushing touchdown of the night to make the score 24-0 late in the 3rd.

It was at this point that the Sun Devil offense found their wheels. Leavitt marched the ball quickly down the field and found Cameron Harpole to get on the board. The Devils went for the two point conversion but Houston's defense forced Leavitt to scramble and forced an incompletion, keeping the score 24-6.

Arizona State forced another 3 and out, and Gomez would convert his first field goal of the night on the next drive to inch closer at 24-9. Houston's next drive looked to milk time off the clock but an impressive hold once again by the Sun Devil defense gave the ball back to the offense at their own 30 with 7:15 left in regulation. Sims would enter the game again at this point and put together an impressive 70 yard drive capped off by a Chamon Metayer touchdown that left 5:12 on the clock.

Another impressive stand by the defense forced a Houston punt that gave the Devils 95 yards to cover in 2:08. Comeback dreams would go unanswered as the Devils turned the ball over on downs, allowing Houston to wind down the final 1:52 and escape with the 24-16 win.

Houston's methodical offense was the story coming in, and they were exactly as advertised, winning the time of possession battle 37:02-22:58. The Sun Devils found themselves fighting from deep time after time with an average starting field position of their own 18 yard line.

Untimely penalties led to the field position issues as multiple returns were called back due to penalties on special teams. A key illegal shift penalty in the 3rd quarter took a Chamon Metayer touchdown off the board ahead of the second miss of the night for Gomez. In total, 12 penalties for 76 yards kept all phases out of whack for the Sun Devils, fulfilling the prophecy that the only way they would lose this game is if they beat themselves.

The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend from Ames as they take on Iowa State.