(Pullman, WA) Sun Devil Football’s first trip to Pullman since 2015 saw the Sun Devils (3-7, 2-5 Pac-12) fall behind early in a 28-18 loss at Washington State on a crisp afternoon at Martin Stadium. The Cougars jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and held on despite a late ASU rally down the stretch to keep things interesting.
X Valladay brought terrific energy, rushing for 134 yards on 21 carries, while Emory Jones hit Jalin Conyers for a 47-yard catch-and-run on fourth down near the end of the third quarter to get the Sun Devils on the board. Trenton Bourguet struggled about the top scoring defense in the Pac-12 early and exited with a leg injury and was replaced by Jones, who passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Valladay moved into the Top-100 among all-time FBS career rushers, surpassing Tulane’s Matt Forte for 92nd place with his 4,267 yards following toda’s effort. He compiled 189 of ASU’s 333 total yards of offense on the day and has 370 all-purpose yards over the last two games.
Elijhah Badger added his fifth touchdown reception of the last five games.
The Cougars (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12) got on the board first with a short nine-play, 39-yard drive at 6:31 of the first quarter, which was started by a third-down 25-yard sack and fumble that had the Sun Devils kicking from their one-yard line. WSU then went 84 yards on seven plays to make it 13-0 as the Sun Devils blocked the extra point.
After ASU stopped the Cougars at the one-yard line on fourth-and goal, WSU made it 21-0 after a 28–yard interception return to the four-yard line by Chau Smith-Wade. The Cougars punched it in two plays later and converted the two-point conversion. The Cougars went 75 yards on plays to close the half, holding ASU to 61 total yards while racking up 289. WSU ran 48 plays in the first half and allowed ASU only 28.
Despite a four-possession deficit, the Sun Devil defense showed no quit down the stretch. They pitched a second-half shutout to allow the Jones-led offense to tack on 18 unanswered points. The Cougars ran five drives in the second half, with four resulting in punts — including a pair of three-and-outs — and one turnover on downs. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars could only muster 19 total yards on 12 plays and went 0-for-3 on third-down attempts.
The Sun Devils registered three sacks, six quarterback pressures and eight tackles for loss. The team saw it’s streak of 18-straight games forcing an opponent turnover come to an end – the second longest active FBS streak entering the weekend – as well has its streak of 11 straight games with an interception.
Three of the Sun Devils’ last four offensive possessions led to points, but the Cougars’ scoring barrage in the first half was too grand to overcome. Despite that, ASU kept up with a couple trends that have become common over the last five years as it was the 33rd time in 53 games the team did not allow an opponent to score 30 points after allowing 30+ points in 32 of its previous 43 games between 2013-17. Additionally, ASU held WSU under 400 total yards of offense, something it has done 29 times over the last 53 games after doing so just 24 times in 65 games prior to 2018.
The teams have now split the past eight meetings. Thirty remains the magic number as ASU dropped to 5-13-1 in the series when it doesn’t score 30 points while going 15-1 in games against the Cougars when it does.
ASU next hosts Oregon State at 12:15 p.m. MT (ESPN2) on Nov. 19 before traveling to Tucson for the Territorial Cup on Nov. 25 for a 1 p.m. Friday kick on FS1. ASU has won the past five Territorial Cups.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkins
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