Washington State Football: Cougs Get Derailed in Desert, Arizona State Sun Devils Cruise 46-7

Nov 17, 2012; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Marion Grice (1) beaks a tackle during the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-US PRESSWIRE

It was the typical road performance from WSU (over the past 6 or 7 seasons) and it took all of 3 plays to get it started. A quick 3 and out after electing to receive the ball to start the game led to a rolling snap (the second in 2 weeks) form the long snapper to punter Mike Bowlin. The play was tackled at the 4 and Arizona State was off and running. It was only a 3-0 lead after the defense got off the field but the tempo had been set for 46 straight by ASU before the Cougs finally mounted a score to avoid a 3rd straight goose egg in Tempe.

There aren’t very many numbers that mean anything in the game, but WSU went 1-16 on 3rd down and threw 2 picks, which pretty much sums up the offensive performance. On defense they allowed 561 total yards, 27-32 passing plays by ASU and 32 Devils’ first downs, which was the story there. Not to mention the team missed more than 20 tackles on the afternoon. Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday both had frustrating days, as the offensive line finally gave them time to throw for the first time in a while, but they found more open Sun Devils than Cougars.

The Cougars finally scored on a 54 yard pass to Kristoff Williams with under a minute to play, but it was much to little, much to late. Washington State will get prepared for a home tilt against the Washington Huskies while ASU gets ready for a fight in Tuscon to wrap up their respective seasons.