Oct 27, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - "These are the kind that hurt the worst," Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said after watching the 13th-ranked Huskies of Washington (6-1, 4-1) sneak back in the final seconds to beat the Devils (4-3, 1-3). 33-31, on a last second field goal, Saturday.
The Huskies shattered the Devils' season home winning streak and prevented ASU from picking up its second conference win when UW kicker John Anderson nailed a 30-yard field goal as time expired.
"Washington has made a living wining games like that," Koetter said. "We just gave them too many things in the first half--a couple of turnovers and a missed field goal." Washington opened up strong, putting up 17 early points on two Cody Pickett TD passes and an Anderson field goal.
The Devils finally got on the board halfway through the second quarter when ASU's Jeff Krohn found tight end Mike Pinkard wide open for a 23-yard pass to wrap up an 87-yard drive, cutting UW's advantage to 17-7.
Washington then intercepted a Krohn pass right at the Devil red zone, and Pickett scored minutes later on a two-yard scamper to put the Huskies up, 24-7. ASU's Mike Barth capped off a 10-play, 54-yard drive just before the half by nailing a 42-yard field goal.
The Devils caught fire in the second half, as Krohn started the ASU air attack. Krohn hit sophomore receiver Shaun McDonald on passes of 11 and 22 yards before Tom Pace took four straight handoffs, eventually rumbling in from three yards out to get the Devils within seven points.
The Maroon and Gold defense then forced the Huskies to punt from deep within their own territory. Sun Devil receiver Donnie O'Neal reached up and blocked the Washington punt, sending it back tumbling into the end zone. However, before an ASU player could pounce on it, one of the Huskies kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a team safety.
With an extra two points on the board, and the pigskin back in their hands, Krohn led his offense to its first lead of the game. Krohn hit McDonald on a beautiful 33-yard strike, but missed the two-point conversion, giving the Devils a 25-24 lead.
McDonald led all receivers in the game with 194 receiving yards, and his speedy feet and soft hands gave ASU an important one-point lead.
"I'm going in confident every game. I worked hard this summer, and I just get what they give me," McDonald said of his outstanding effort. "I think my technique is 100 percent better than last year combined with my speed."
Washington finished the third quarter by regaining the lead on a Willie Hurst 23-yard run. Hurst, who finished the game averaging nearly nine yards a carry, gave the Huskies some huge support with his 185 rushing yards on the night.
As the Devils trailed by five points entering the fourth and final quarter, senior tailback Delvon Flowers handed ASU its second lead of the game on a one-yard run at the 12:59 mark. Unfortunately, the Devils' crucial two-point attempt again failed, and they kicked off to the hungry Huskies leading, 31-30.
Each team would have at least one more try to score in the final minutes, but after trading punts, it was Washington that would manufacture the game-winning drive.
Beginning at the 7:12 mark in the fourth quarter, the Huskies kept the ball in the hands of backs Hurst and Rich Alexis. The two combined for 24 scattered yards to help the Huskies round up five first downs on the Huskies' final drive.
On a costly off-sides call on fourth-and-one, the Huskies were handed a first down near the Devils' 10-yard line. The Huskies then used the final seconds to run down the clock. With three seconds remaining, Washington called upon the leg of Anderson, who drilled the game-winning 30-yard field goal as time expired.
A week after coming off a last second win over the Wildcats of Arizona, the Huskies did it to the Devils to sweep the Arizona teams.
"Our team did a great job to bounce back in the second half," Krohn said, who finished the game with an impressive 320 yards passing. "I need to give credit to Washington. They do it every week, and they did it to us."
"We're playing in a tough conference," Koetter said. "You can't beat teams like that if you don't make plays."
SUN DEVIL GAME NOTES:
Krohn tossed two more touchdowns in another 300-yard effort against Washington, increasing his total to 18 TDs on the season...Krohn finished last season with 12 touchdowns...McDonald recorded a career-high 194 receiving yards on nine catches against Washington...He leads the Pac-10 in yards per catch (22.5) and ranks second in the conference in receiving yards per game (99.4)...McDonald also leads the team with nine touchdown catches and is now tied for fifth on the Devils' all-time single-season list for TD grabs...The Devils are now averaging 38.7 points per game, which ranks sixth in the nation and third in the Pac-10...Sun Devil safety Jason Shivers recorded a team-high 17 tackles, including one for a loss... Barth is now second in the conference in FG attempts (8-of-10, .800) and fourth in the nation in PAT attempts (29-of-30, .967).