Sun Devils Route Arizona, 56-14
1 2 3 4 F Arizona State 7 21 14 14 56 Arizona 0 7 0 7 14
November 23, 1996
Arizona Stadium
Attendance: 59,920
Weather: 62 degrees, cloudy
The trip to Pasadena was already booked. But the Arizona State football team had one more score to settle before it headed to the Rose Bowl.
ASU racked up 651 yards en route to a 56-14 thrashing of Arizona before 59,920 mostly stunned, and partly delirious, fans at Arizona Stadium.
ASU, which had not defeated Arizona since 1992, completed its season 11-0, 8-0 in the Pac-10. The Wildcats finished 1996 at 5-6, 3-5 in conference play.
"It's difficult to describe my feelings, I'm so happy," ASU head coach Bruce Snyder said. "We beat our archrival at their place and we're going to the Rose Bowl undefeated.
"I'm going to vote us No. 1. I've not seen a better team."
The Wildcats wouldn't argue. After a sluggish start, the Sun Devils put on an offensive clinic, primarily on the ground. And the ASU defense reaffirmed its rank as the best unit in the Pac-10, just one year removed from the conference's defensive basement.
Tailback Terry Battle ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a school-record 18 rushing TDs on the season. Flyback Jeff Paulk ran for 82 yards. Backup tailback Marlon Farlow nearly hit the century mark in just one quarter. And even quarterback Jake Plummer got into the act, rushing for 60 yards, including a 25-yard scamper. In all, ASU rolled up four and a half football fields of real estate on the ground.
"We knew Arizona couldn't stop the run," Battle said.
Battle, who passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season, started the onslaught with a 20-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Arizona got the ball back but, after a personal foul, the Wildcats faced a third-and-31 from their own 21. They tried a quick kick, but senior end Shawn Swayda had already crashed the backfield. Swayda blocked it and ASU had the ball at the UofA 5. Battle scored two plays later to give the Sun Devils a 14-0 lead.
"I was at the right place at the right time," Swayda said. "I think it turned the game around."
Arizona quarterback Keith Smith scored on a one-yard plunge to cut the lead to 14-7. But the Sun Devils were just warming up. Paulk rumbled 42 yards around the left end to the Arizona 27. Then Plummer hit wideout Keith Poole in the end zone on the next play, pushing the lead back up to 14.
"We wanted to run the ball on them and then open up the passing game, and we did," Plummer said. "Our line played great. They opened a lot of holes."
Plummer hit Poole again for 46 yards to the Wildcat 27 on ASU's next possession. Battle scored from a yard out five plays later and the Sun Devils had a 28-7 lead heading into the lockerroom.
While the offense kept clicking, the defense kept hitting. Arizona went three plays and out on its first four possessions of the second half. Mitchell Freedman intercepted a Smith pass on the first play of the fifth drive. The Wildcats could manage just 52 total yards in the second half and 170 in the game. This from a squad that had averaged 38 points and 432 yards in its previous four games.
"You hit them hard enough and they're going to wear down and they're going to break, and I think that's what happened," linebacker Derek Smith said.
Keith Smith showed glimpses of his speed, but the redshirt freshman spent most of the evening running for his life. ASU registered eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Smith gained 59 yards on 16 carries, but he lost 57 of those on sacks.
"They really kicked our butts," Smith said. "We couldn't do anything."
Plummer hit Poole in the end zone for the second time - this time from 40 yards out - to give ASU a 35-7 lead at the 10:25 mark of the third quarter. Plummer then hit tight end Steve Bush for an historic touchdown toss from six yards out. The scoring strike was Plummer's 64th, tying him with Danny White for first on ASU's career list. Not to be outdone, Poole also tied a record with his two touchdown catches. His two grabs gave him 25 for his career, tying Doug Allen for first in Sun Devil annals.
ASU ran the ball 17 straight times and scored twice on Farlow runs in that span in the fourth quarter. It was a quarter marred by personal fouls and ejections. Arizona had dominated the rivalry in recent years, winning 11 out of the last 14. But the Sun Devil winning margin on this night - the largest over the Wildcats in 38 years - is what ASU's senior class will remember.
"We were so much better than they were," Swayda said. "We didn't just beat them - we punished them. Beating the UofA is probably the greatest thing I've ever experienced."
Perhaps, but one more experience awaits Swayda and the rest of the Devils on Jan. 1. ASU faces Ohio State in the 83rd Rose Bowl, with an undefeated season and a national championship at stake.
"If we can go on and win in the Rose Bowl," Snyder said, "we'll have as good a claim as anybody on the national championship."
Game Notes
- ASU moved to 11-0 for the first time since 1975.
- Bruce Snyder won his 100th game as a college coach.
- Jake Plummer threw his 64th career touchdown pass, tying him with Danny White for first place on ASU's all-time list. White was the color commentator for the Fox Sports telecast of the game.
- Keith Poole caught his 25th touchdown pass, tying him with Doug Allen for first place on ASU's all-time list. Poole's one-handed catch in the third quarter was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's "Plays of the Week."
- Terry Battle, despite starting just six games, became just the fourth ASU back since 1975 to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Battle finished 1996 with 1,043 yards and 20 touchdowns.
- ASU's winning margin was its largest in the series since a 48-0 win in 1958.
- The loss was the worst for Arizona at home since a 65-12 setback to Colorado in 1958.
- ASU moved to third in the AP Poll and the USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll.
Scoring:
First Quarter
ASU (0:15)- Terry Battle 20-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 3 plasy, 34 yards, 0:59
Second Quarter
ASU (12:17)- Terry Battle 4-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:32
UA (8:20)- Keith Smith 1-yard run (Peyton kick) Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:57
ASU (7:13)- Keith Poole 27-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Nycz kick) Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07
ASU (1:17)- Terry Battle 1-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 1:45
Third Quarter
ASU (10:22)- Keith Poole 40-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Nycz kick) Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 2:30
ASU (0:39)- Steve Bush 10-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Nycz kick) Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 3:24
Fourth Quarter
UA (12:18)- Mikel Smith 98-yard interception return (Peyton kick)
ASU (10:47)- Marlon Farlow 1-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 5 plays 56 yards, 1:31
ASU (1:06)- Marlon Farlow 8-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 11 plays, 85 yards, 7:27
Rushing Arizona Att Yards Avg. TD Gary Taylor 10 14 1.4 Scooter Sprotte 2 0 0.0 Charles Myles 2 -2 -1.0 Keith Smith 16 2 0.1 1 Leon Callen 6 19 3.2 Kelvin Eafon 2 11 5.5 Arizona State Att Yards Avg. TD Terry Battle 23 143 6.2 3 Marlon Farlow 9 93 10.3 2 Jeff Paulk 9 82 9.1 Jake Plummer 5 60 12.0 Keith Poole 1 27 27.0 J.R. Redmond 5 13 2.6 Mike Morales 3 18 6.0 Kevin Tommasini 4 14 3.5 Passing Arizona Comp Att Yards Int TD Keith Smith 6 15 91 1 Brady Batten 2 4 35 Arizona State Comp Att Yards Int TD Jake Plummer 10 19 201 2 3 Receiving Arizona Rec Yards TD Rodney Williams 2 34 Gary Taylor 1 14 Jeremy McDaniel 2 54 Dennis Northcutt 1 5 Brad Brennan 1 11 Mike Lucky 1 8 Arizona State Rec Yards TD Keith Poole 4 123 2 Terry Battle 1 11 J.R. Redmond 1 11 Kenny Mitchell 1 17 Steve Bush 2 27 1 Lenzie Jackson 1 12 Team Stats Total First Downs ASU 32 Arizona 11 Third Down Efficiency ASU 7-13 (54%) Arizona 3-13 (23%) Total Net Yards ASU 651 Arizona 170 Total Offensive Plays ASU 78 Arizona 57 Net Yards Rushing ASU 450 Arizona 44 Total Yards Passing ASU 201 Arizona 126 Punts- Number and Average ASU 4-30.8 Arizona 9-38.4 Penalties- Number and Yards ASU 13-125 Arizona 8-108 Fumbles- Number and Lost ASU 2-2 Arizona 3-1 Time of Possession ASU 32:52 Arizona 27:08