Nov. 6, 2004
By Nate Policar
ASU Sports Information
TEMPE, Ariz. - Coming down to the wire in a hard-fought battle that was marked by nine turnovers, the Arizona State Sun Devils struck the final blow to the Stanford Cardinal with just nine seconds remaining on a touchdown from quarterback Andrew Walter to receiver Matt Miller, to cap a come-from-behind victory, 34-31, and stay perfect within in the confines of Sun Devil Stadium.
"I've never been in a game quite like this. Our defense was playing great and our offense was marching the ball on the ground but we couldn't score. We had two punts blocked. So many guys stepped up and made plays when they had to. We answered the scratch as a team tonight," said ASU head coach Dirk Koetter. "They can say anything they want about us, but at the end of the day we're 7-2."
Stanford (4-5, 2-4) scored the first points of the game in the opening quarter when lineman Udeme Udofia blocked an ASU punt on the ASU three-yard line. The Cardinal led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter after a four-yard pass from Trent Edwards to Alex Smith.
The Sun Devils (7-2, 4-2) responded in the opening minutes of the second quarter as junior cornerback Josh Golden intercepted a pass at midfield to set up the offense. After Walter found sophomore Terry Richardson on a 29-yard completion, sophomore Jesse Ainsworth nailed a 34-yard field goal to narrow the gap to 7-3. However, Stanford capitalized again on another blocked punt by Udofia, this time knocking it down on the ASU 18-yard line. After missing a field goal from 43 yards but retaining possession on a penalty, Stanford tailback Kenneth Tolon rushed one yard for a touchdown and a 14-3 Stanford lead.
The Sun Devils answered by driving 80 yards in 31 seconds for a score. Walter connected with Richardson for a 41-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-10 late in the half. On Stanford's next drive, Golden picked off his second pass of the night, returning it 35 yards to the Stanford 42-yard line. With two seconds left, Walter threw a long pass into the end zone, and Matt Miller hauled in the 52-yard catch to put ASU on top 17-14 at the half.
The second half opened with a pair of turnovers, but the Sun Devils came out ahead. Following an interception by junior Mike Davis, Walter fumbled on the Stanford two-yard line to give the ball back to the Cardinal. However, senior safety Riccardo Stewart hauled down Tolon in the end zone for a safety, putting the Sun Devils on top 19-14.
After a pair of punts, Walter found junior Derek Hagan on a 20-yard gain to set up a seven-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller. Following17 unanswered points, the Sun Devils led 26-14 at the end of the third quarter. Countering with an 18-point run of their own, the Cardinal opened the fourth quarter by recovering a Sun Devil fumble on the ASU 25-yard line and punching it in for the score with a three-yard rush by tailback Ray Jones.
Following Stanford's successful two-point conversion, the Sun Devils still led 26-22. The Cardinal took possession on a turnover on downs deep in their own territory and drove 60 yards before settling with a 47-yard field goal to close to within one point of the Devils, 26-25. Stanford forced ASU into a quick punt and struck again quickly as quarterback T.C. Ostrander connected with Alex Smith on a 67-yard touchdown reception, reclaiming the lead at 31-26 after Ostrander failed to convert for two.
With 2:02 remaining in the game, the Sun Devils took possession on their own 20-yard line and began a 13-play, 80-yard drive. After scrambling for 12 yards for a first down, Walter took to the air, finding Richardson on a 19-yard gain and Hagan on an 11-yard pass. Inside the Cardinal 20-yard line, Walter connected with Zach Miller for 10 yards before finding Matt Miller in the end zone on a four-yard pass play that sealed the victory for the Sun Devils with just nine seconds remaining.
"Heading into this week, our team focused on mental toughness. We never want to give up in a game and we accomplished that tonight," said Matt Miller. "I have never had two bigger catches in my life. Zach (Miller) got double-teamed and I came across the middle and was able to make the catch to win the game. The whole team never gave up tonight and we all believed that it was going to happen."