Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State claims back-to-back National Championships with thrilling comeback win over Alabama

December 31, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 20, 2016 01:19  

NEW ORLEANS -- Heisman winner Steve Williams ran for 190 yards and 2 scores, helping lead Arizona State to their second straight National Championship. He isn't the only hero from a National Title game that some are saying is the greatest of all time.

This instant classic started slowly enough - Alabama led 3-0 after the 1st and the teams were tied 10-10 at halftime - but turned into something else entirely in the 4th quarter, where the two teams combined for 45 points. A Matt Wesley interception mid-way through the quarter kicked off a wild sequence of events that saw the teams score two TD's each in approximately 4 minutes of game time, including a Bryant Mosley 75 yard TD off a slant and a Steve Williams TD run that cut the lead to 3 with about 2 and a half minutes remaining.

After quickly moving into scoring range and milking the clock to just over a minute, it appeared as if the game was all but over. The Sun Devils were forced to burn all three timeouts, but a Brian Jones sack on 3rd down forced a FG and gave them life.

Faced with the need to drive the length of the field with no timeouts, Mike Page gave the Sun Devils exactly what they needed with a 58 yard kick return to the Alabama 39 yard line. Matt Wesley needed just 3 plays and 33 seconds to drive them the rest of the way, finishing off the drive by scrambling into the end zone from 5 yards out. Stephen Tyree's XP would give them a 1 point lead with 20 seconds left.

The Crimson Tide managed to move it to the 50 and complete a final Hail Mary pass, but it was caught two yards short of the end zone.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Williams breaks Barry Sanders rushing record, #2 Arizona State beats #24 Oregon 52-7 for third straight Pac-12 Title

December 7, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 18, 2016 01:51  

GLENDALE -- Steve Williams ran for 335 yards and 4 scores, surpassing Barry Sanders' 31 year old rushing record and tying his record for TD runs. That was about the only exciting thing in this contest, which saw Arizona State completely dominate both sides of the ball, holding Oregon to just 124 total yards of offense.

Arizona State has now won three straight Pac-12 titles and will face #1 Alabama for a chance at their second straight National Championship.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Williams runs wild, #4 Arizona State crushes rival Arizona 70-28

November 23, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 18, 2016 00:06  

TEMPE -- Tucson native Steve Williams broke his own single game record for rushing yards and scores - again - totaling 365 yards and 5 TD's. This is now the 5th time this year Williams has topped 200 yards and 3 scores. Senior WR Bryant Mosley was also fantastic, catching 6 passes for 137 yards and a score.

The win is the Sun Devils 10th of the seaosn and clinches the Pac-12 South title. This marks their fourth division title in five years. It is also their third straight victory over rival Arizona.

INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)
C William Wright (High ankle sprain)

AWARDS
HB Steve Williams - NCAA Offensive Player of the Week

RECORDS
School Single Game Rushing Yards - Steve Williams (365)
School Single Game Rushing TD's - Steve Williams (5)

Wesley keys huge 1st half, #7 Arizona State takes Pac-12 South lead with 52-14 win over #10 Boise State

November 16, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 20:00  

TEMPE -- The Broncos came to Tempe with a plan - if they were going to lose, it would be Matt Wesley's arm and not Steve Williams' legs that beat them. Wesley did just that, hitting multiple big pass plays down the field and breaking up the 8 and 9 man boxes the Broncos brought early. The sophomore found Josh Jackson for a 46 yard score, Bryant Mosley for a 43 yard score and Jason Cox for a 32 yard score - in all, he threw for 247 yards and 3 scores on just 19 pass attempts. Once the Broncos abandoned their single high safety game plan, Steve Williams went to work, adding 165 yards and 3 scores to his already record breaking season.

The win is Arizona State's 9th of the season and puts them back in the drivers seat of the Pac-12 South.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

AWARDS
QB Matt Wesley - Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
MLB Mike Woods - Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

Hot start propels #8 Arizona State past Utah 49-21

November 9, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 18:57  

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Sun Devils jumped out to a 28-0 lead in this contest and cruised to victory, though it certainly got ugly at points. Turnover issues cropped up again, as Arizona State turned it over 4 times from the midway point of the 2nd quarter to the end of the game. This comes one week after turnovers directly led to a loss at UCLA.

Nevertheless, Arizona Start gets the win and moves to 8-2 on the season. They host Boise State next week in what is potentially a division championship game. The Broncos currently lead the Sun Devils by one game, but a win would give ASU the tie-break with just Arizona left on the schedule to beat.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Turnovers doom #3 Arizona State in 45-28 loss at #16 UCLA

November 2, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 18:36  

LOS ANGELES -- Turnover margin is often the deciding factor in football, and it was no different today as the Sun Devils three turnovers ultimately cost them this game - and along with it, perhaps a shot at a second straight national title. QB Matt Wesley was responsible for all three giveaways, one coming off an INT and two coming off fumbles.

The loss is Arizona State's 2nd of the season. It drops them one game back of Boise State in the Pac-12 South, setting up a potential decisive matchup in two weeks. Even more importantly, it will drop them well behind in the BCS rankings, where they will now need a lot of help to get back in one of those top two spots.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Page's 290 all-purpose yards lead #7 Arizona State to 66-7 victory over Washington State

October 26, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 18:03  

PULLMAN -- Senior HB Mike Page gained 290 all-purpose yards, 164 of them on the ground, as the Sun Devils racked up a 38-0 halftime lead and cruised to an easy victory over Washington State. Arizona State ran for 402 yards in total, with five players rushing for 25 or more yards.

Arizona State moves to 7-1 with the victory and remains tied with Boise State atop the Pac-12 South heading into a crucial game at #16 UCLA.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

AWARDS
HB Mike Page - Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week

#8 Arizona State avoids second straight upset loss, survives USC 41-35

October 19, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 15:34  

TEMPE -- HB Steve Williams ran for 199 yards and 3 scores and the defense produced 3 turnovers, which proved just enough for the Sun Devils to sneak past USC. The Trojans came into the contest having struggled mightily to start the season, but looked sharp throughout in what was a back-and-forth affair. A key INT by Kyle Logan and and Williams' 3rd score proved to be the difference late.

With the win, Arizona State avoids its first losing streak since 2016 and moves to 6-1 on the season. Thanks to Boise State's upset loss to UCLA, the two are now tied for the Pac-12 South lead.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

AWARDS
CB Kyle Logan - Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

#1 Arizona State suffers first setback as late FG propels #19 Oregon to 32-27 victory

October 12, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 05:41  

EUGENE -- An all-around miserable performance was nearly salvaged thanks to some 4th quarter heroics from Matt Wesley, who led two late scoring drives, the second of which ended in a TD run from Wesley that put gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the game at 27-26 with just minutes to play. It was not meant to be, however, as the Ducks promptly marched down the field for what would be the game winning score on a 4 yard pass with 32 seconds left. Truth be told, the Sun Devils were vastly outplayed and deserved the loss. They were out-gained by 158 yards of total offense, out-possessed by nearly 10 full minutes and managed only 7 points through the first 3 quarters of action. Perhaps the biggest indicator of how bad the struggles were is the paltry 85 yards of rushing Steve Williams was held to - his first sub 100 yard performance of the season.

The loss snaps Arizona State's 22 game win streak and drops them to 5-1 on the season, one game behind Boise State in the Pac-12 South.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Williams, #1 Arizona State use dominant 2nd half to blow past #12 Texas 61-23

September 28, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 04:55  

TEMPE -- Leading just 28-23 at halftime, it looked like #1 Arizona State would face their first test since the season's opening week. Instead, the Sun Devils rode another huge Steve Williams rushing performance, blasting the Longhorns 33-0 in the 2nd half. Williams totaled 263 yards and 3 TD's on the ground, the 4th consecutive game he has posted 200+ yards and 3+ TD's.

Arizona State is now 5-0 on the season and has beaten three top 25 teams on the way.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

Williams shatters his own record, #1 Arizona State trounces Washington 70-17

September 21, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 16, 2016 00:33  

TEMPE -- Steve Williams ran for 318 yards and 5 TD's as the top ranked Sun Devils continued to hammer opposing defenses with a record setting run game. Williams' 318 yards was more than enough to break the record he set just 3 weeks ago against Texas A&M, and the 5 TD's was enough to tie the previous school mark.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

AWARDS
HB Steve Williams - NCAA Offensive Player of the Week
CB J.R. Colbert - Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

RECORDS
School Single Game Rushing Yards - HB Steve Williams (318)
School Single Game Rushing TD's - HB Steve Williams (5)

Williams carries #1 Arizona State past Cal 45-31

September 14, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 15, 2016 04:03  

TEMPE -- The Golden Bears jumped out to an early lead and consistently moved the ball through the air, but it was not enough to overcome another oustanding day from HB Steve Williams, who had his second straight game of 200+ yards and 3 TD's.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

AWARDS
DE Aaron Meyers - Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

#1 Arizona State rides Williams' record setting day, throttles #21 Texas A&M 70-3

August 31, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 14, 2016 04:16  

TEMPE -- For the last two years, people have wondered what Steve Williams could do as the focal point of this offense. After breaking the school record for rushing yards in a game with 256 yards, that question has now been answered. QB Matt Wesley - returning from an injury scare last week - was almost as impressive, throwing for 272 yards and 2 TD's and adding 88 yards and 2 scores on the ground.

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INJURIES
DE Joey Reed (Broken collarbone)

RECORDS
School Single Game Rushing Yards - Steve Williams (256)

#2 Sun Devils rally back from injury, late deficit to fight past #7 Virginia Tech 31-28

August 24, 2019

Game Report Posted: October 14, 2016 03:01  

BLACKSBURG -- Freshman Stephen Tyree nailed a 31 yard FG late in the 4th quarter, capping a 10-0 run that put Arizona State up for good, and getting their National Title defense off to an impressive start. However, the story of this game isn't so much the win as it is the potential losses. Sophomore QB Matt Wesley was knocked out of his first career start early in the 1st quarter with an undisclosed injury. Wesley, once a highly touted recruit from the state of Arizona, was expected to step in for Mark Bray this year, but his status going forward is unknown. Star DE Joey Reed's status, meanwhile, is much clearer - and it's not good. The 1st Team All-Conference performer is officially out for the season with a broken collarbone.

The injuries overshadow impressive performances from HB Steve Williams, who rushed for 181 yards, and replacement QB Jason Ralph, who did an excellent job managing the game (0 turnovers) after replacing Wesley.