No. 5 Arizona State 56, Boise State 7
October 5, 1996Sun Devil Stadium
Attendance: 49,018
Weather: 97 degrees, clear
For the first time all season, Arizona State found itself behind in the opening minutes of a football game.
But after the initial shock, the Sun Devils made certain they would not trail Boise State again. In fact, they made certain that Boise State would not score again.
Tossing aside a quick 7-0 deficit, ASU scored 56 unanswered points - including 28 in the second quarter - to roll to a 56-7 win before 49,018 at Sun Devil Stadium.
The fifth-ranked Sun Devils finished their season-opening, five-game home stretch 5-0. BSU, in its first season as a Division I competitor, fell to 1-5.
"I don't know if it was an inspired performance, but it was efficient enough," ASU head coach Bruce Snyder said. "The big plays helped us and we did what we had to do. I'm proud of my team because every time we come to this stadium, we're ready to play."
Those big plays came from all aspects of the Sun Devil attack - passing, running and defense. After the Broncos marched 80 yards on their opening possession for a score, ASU put on a quick-strike clinic. The Sun Devils' six first-half scoring drives averaged 1:39 a piece.
ASU quarterback Jake Plummer played just two quarters, but was once again efficient, completing 10 of 15 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for another. Michael Martin, Terry Battle and reserve Marlon Farlow led a balanced rushing attack, while the defense again dominated, scoring twice in the second half and holding BSU to 58 yards rushing.
ASU answered Boise State's touchdown pass with a five-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in a Battle scoring run from 12 yards out. The next time the Sun Devils got the ball, they needed just two plays to hit the end zone, this time via a Plummer to Keith Poole touchdown strike of 34 yards. It was the 20th touchdown reception of Poole's career. ASU led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The dam broke on the Broncos in the second quarter. Despite keeping the ball for less than half the quarter, the Sun Devils produced four touchdown drives.
Battle broke loose for his second score, this one a 13-yard jaunt, with 11:11 left in the half, giving ASU a 21-7 lead. BSU went three plays and out, and ASU made the Broncos pay on its next play from scrimmage. Plummer faked a reverse to Ricky Boyer, stepped up in the pocket and found a wide-open Lenzie Jackson for a 52-yard touchdown pass. The catch was the longest of Jackson's career. ASU led 28-7.
The Sun Devils slowed the pace on their next drive, running Farlow left and right until he found the end zone from two yards out on the 10th play of the drive, pushing the ASU lead to 28 points. Farlow finished with a career-high 125 yards on the ground.
The Broncos still couldn't muster anything on offense and, after using two timeouts to stop the clock, the Sun Devils forced BSU to punt with 1:44 left in the half. Boyer took the punt and scrambled 43 yards to the Bronco 34. Plummer, after hitting Jackson for 23 yards, drove ASU to the Boise State one-yard line before running around the right end and second-and-goal for the score. The Sun Devils headed into the lockerroom with a 42-7 lead.
Snyder rested most of his starters in the second half, and ASU only attempted seven passes, but the Sun Devil defense got in on the scoring. Linebacker Pat Tillman intercepted a pass on BSU's opening possession of the second stanza and ran 16 yards for a touchdown. Late in the game, reserve end Derrick Ford forced a fumble, recovered it and scampered 55 yards for a touchdown to end the onslaught.
"I think the defense is the single most improved part of our team," Snyder said. "All three basic units are playing well and that's a direct reflection of those coaches doing a spectacular job and the players responding to that."
After the rout, all thoughts centered on ASU's first road trip of the season, a venture to the Rose Bowl to face UCLA.
"I think they're anxious to go on the road," Snyder said of his troops. "And I'm anxious to see them. I want to see if an environment change will change the way we play.
"I have no reason to believe it will."
Game Notes- ASU moved to 5-0 for the first time since 1982.
- The Sun Devils had 398 yards of total offense in the first half.
- ASU's 56 points was its highest scoring output since a 62-36 win at Stanford in 1981.
- ASU inched to fourth in the AP Poll and moved from seventh to fifth in the USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Boise State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Arizona State | 14 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 56 |
| Scoring |
| First Quarter |
| BSU- Andre Horace 42-yard pass from Tony Hilde (Belcastro kick) Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:41 |
| ASU- Terry Battle 12-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:13 |
| ASU- Keith Poole 34-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Nycz kick) Drive: 2 plays, 43 yards, 0:37 |
| Second Quarter |
| ASU- Terry Battle 13-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:51 |
| ASU- Lenzie Jackson 52-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Nycz kick) Drive: 1 play, 52 yards, 0:09 |
| ASU- Marlon Farlow 2-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 10 plays, 87 yards, 4:15 |
| ASU- Jake Plummer 1-yard run (Nycz kick) Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 1:11 |
| Third Quarter |
| ASU-Pat Tillman 16-yard interception return (Nycz kick) |
| Fourth Quarter |
| ASU-Derrick Ford 55-yard fumble return (Nycz kick) |
| Rushing | Att | Yards | Average | TD |
| Boise State | ||||
| Reggie Ethridge | 15 | 69 | 4.6 | |
| Tony Hilde | 5 | 14 | 2.8 | |
| Nicko Tatum | 9 | -2 | -0.2 | |
| Erik Davis | 2 | -13 | -6.5 | |
| Bryan Harsin | 1 | -10 | -10.0 | |
| Arizona State | ||||
| Michael Martin | 8 | 79 | 9.9 | |
| Terry Battle | 7 | 83 | 11.9 | 2 |
| Jeff Paulk | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Marlon Farlow | 26 | 125 | 4.8 | 1 |
| Steve Campbell | 3 | -4 | -1.3 | |
| Jake Plummer | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Passing | Comp | Att | Yards | Int | TD |
| Boise State |
|||||
| Tony Hilde | 9 | 29 | 116 | 1 | 1 |
| Erik Davis | 6 | 9 | 53 | ||
| Bryan Harsin | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| Arizona State | |||||
| Jake Plummer | 10 | 15 | 203 | 2 |
| Steve Campbell | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Gus Farwell | 1 | 3 | |
| Receiving | Rec | Yards | TD |
| Boise State | |||
| Reggie Ethridge | 1 | 12 | |
| Ryan Ikebe | 3 | 21 | |
| Andre Horace | 5 | 83 | 1 |
| Tony Mamaril | 1 | 3 | |
| Bryan Johnson | 1 | 7 | |
| Nicko Tatum | 1 | 4 | |
| Jessie Chan | 4 | 45 | |
| Dave Stachelski | 1 | 3 | |
| Arizona State | |||
| Keith Poole | 3 | 79 | 1 |
| Devin Kendall | 3 | 39 | |
| Lenzie Jackson | 4 | 91 | 1 |
| Zack Romero | 1 | 5 | |
| Ricky Boyer | 1 | 4 |
| BSU | ASU | |
| Total First Downs |
19 | 27 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 3-15 (20%) | 6-13 (46%) |
| Total Net Yards | 236 | 502 |
| Total Offensive Plays | 73 | 69 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 58 | 284 |
| Total Yards Passing | 178 | 218 |
| Punts- Number and Average | 9-42.8 | 6-44.0 |
| Penalties- Number and Yards | 10-72 | 13-115 |
| Fumbles- Number and Lost | 2-1 | 3-0 |
| Time of Possession | 32:53 | 27:07 |