ASU 45, Washington 42
September 7, 1996
Sun Devil Stadium
Attendance 73,379
Weather: 98 degrees, clear
After 84 points, 760 yards and nearly 60 minutes of enough gridiron oddities to make a sellout crowd's collective head spin, Robert Nycz stood poised to put an end to the madness with one swift kick.
"I told our guys after the game, imagine that you're running and blocking and working hard all night," Arizona State head coach Bruce Snyder said. "But then there's a man with everybody watching him and everything on the line."
So with everybody watching and everything on the line, Nycz calmly drilled a 38-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, lifting No. 20 ASU to a wild and woolly 45-42 win against Washington before a capacity crowd of 73,379 at Sun Devil Stadium. The season opener for both squads was televised nationally on Fox Sports.
The Sun Devils improved to 1-0, 1-0 in conference play, and won their ninth opener in the past 11 years. The Huskies, who beat ASU by three in the 1995 season opener, fell to 0-1, 0-1 in Pac-10 play.
Nycz's game-winning field goal capped a five-play, 42-yard drive that started at the ASU 37-yard line with :56 seconds remaining.Sun Devil quarterback Jake Plummer threw three straight completions -- a 21-yard toss to wideout Lenzie Jackson and two throws to tailback Michael Martin -- to advance the ball to the UW 26-yard line. Martin then ran up the middle five yards, perfectly positioning the ensuing field goal try at the middle of the field.
"That's something I've dreamed about my whole life," Nycz said. "I've just never had the opportunity to do it before."
Three minutes into the fourth quarter, most fans wouldn't have dreamed Nycz would even be a factor in the outcome. After rallying from seven points down twice, ASU exploded for four touchdowns in 7:59 -- the last a 1-yard toss from Plummer to tight end Steve Bush -- to build a seemingly insurmountable 42-21 lead with 12:01 left.
But the Huskies fired back, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 3:47 behind backup quarterback Brock Huard. Huard ran for a touchdown and threw a 67-yard bomb to Gerald Harris for another, cutting the ASU lead to 42-35. Sun Devil tailback Terry Battle fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving UW the ball at the ASU 21. Corey Dillon scored four plays later to knot the score.
The Sun Devils answered back, driving to the Husky 29-yard line. But Plummer was intercepted by C. Smith, giving UW a chance to win the game with 2:43 left. The Sun Devil defense held and a shanked 19-yard punt by Geoff Prince gave ASU solid field position, setting the stage for Nycz's heroics.
ASU jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession as Plummer found Martin in the left flat for a 35-yard dash and run. The Huskies answered on special teams, as Dan Janoski returned a punt 67 yards for a score to tie the contest.
After UW took a 14-7 lead, Plummer rolled out to his right and found Ricky Boyer for a 13-yard scamper into the endzone. The teams headed into the lockerroom knotted at 14.
Washington took its final lead early in the third quarter when Fortney found tight end Cleeland for a 36-yard touchdown. Then the Sun Devils exploded.
Martin, who finished with 92 yards on the ground and 74 yards receiving, capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. He earlier ran 19 yards around the left side on a fourth-and-2 to keep the drive alive. After UW went three plays and out on their next possession, freshman J.R. Redmond fought off four tackles, sprinted down the left sideline and returned a punt 61 yards. He fumbled at the UW 3, but Isaiah Mustafa fell on the ball and rolled into the endzone. ASU had the lead.
The Sun Devils got the ball back and, aided by a 32-yard reverse by Craig Spann, methodically marched down the field. Battle ran it in from seven yards out on the seventh play of the drive and the Sun Devils had a 14-point cushion.
Junior defensive end Derrick Rodgers nailed Fortney on the Huskies' next possession, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Brent Burnstein at the UW 4. Plummer hit Bush three plays later for a 42-21 ASU lead.
Snyder, who improved to 2-7 lifetime versus Washington, might have preferred putting the Huskies away a tad earlier, but he was nevertheless happy to kick off a season of lofty expectations off with a conference win.
"We did some nice things, we screwed some things up," he said. "But we were conditioned to win, we expected to win and I think this game really bodes well for our team.
"I'm really proud of these guys tonight."
Game Notes
- The 45 points scored by ASU was its most in a conference game since a 51-26 shellacking at Washington State in 1990.
- The win was ASU's ninth in its past 11 openers.
- Wideout Keith Poole did not catch a pass, snapping a 22-game streak of hauling in at least one throw.
- ASU inched from 20th to 18th in the Associated Press poll, while breaking into the USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll at No. 23.
Score By Quarters
1 2 3 4 F
Washington 0 14 7 21 42
Arizona State 7 7 14 17 45
Team Statistics
UW ASU
15 First Downs 19
127 Net Yards Rushing 208
239 Net Yards Passing 186
366 Total Offense 394
14-28-0 Passing: Cmp-Att-Int 16-30-1
8-40.3 Punting 5-43.8
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-1
10-89 Penalties 8-52
29:30 Time of Possession 30:30
Individual Statistics
Rushing (Att-Yds-TD)
UW: Shehee 17-48-1; Dillon 7-36-1; Huard 3-30-1; Fortney 6-12-0; Reed 3-1-0.
ASU: Martin 20-92-1; Battle 10-45-1; Spann 1-32-0; Redmond 4-28-0; Anderson 1-6-0; Plummer 7-4-0; Paulk 3-1-0.
Passing (Comp-Att-Yds-TD-Int)
UW: Fortney 8-17-96-1-0; Huard 6-11-143-1-0.
ASU: Plummer 16-30-186-3-1
Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD)
UW: Harris 3-84-1; Pathon 3-70-0; Shehee 3-4-0; Cleeland 2-49-1; Dillon 1-9-0; Janoski 1-9-0.
ASU: Martin 5-74-1; Bush 5-57-1; Jackson 2-31-0; Spann 2-8-0; Boyer 1-13-1; Battle 1-3-0.
Scoring Quarter Team-Scoring Play (Conversion) Score 1 ASU- Martin 35-yard pass from Plummer (Nycz kick) 7-0 2 UW- Janoski 67-yard punt return (Wales kick) 7-7 2 UW- Shehee 6-yard run (Wales kick) 7-14 2 ASU- Boyer 13-yard pass from Plummer (Nycz kick) 14-14 3 UW- Cleeland 36-yard pass from Fortney (Wales kick) 14-21 3 ASU- Martin 1-yard run (Nycz kick) 21-21 3 ASU- Mustafa 2-yard fumble return (Nycz kick) 28-21 4 ASU- Battle 7-yard run (Nycz kick) 35-21 4 ASU- Bush 1-yard pass from Plummer (Nycz kick) 42-21 4 UW- Huard 10-yard run (Wales kick) 42-28 4 UW- Harris 67-yard pass from Huard (Wales kick) 42-35 4 UW- Dillon 8-yard run (Wales kick) 42-42 4 ASU- Nycz 38-yard field goal 45-42