By Nate Policar, ASU Sports Information
Sept. 11, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 15th-ranked Sun Devils came up short on their final drive of the night and fell to the No. 5/5 LSU Tigers 35-31 despite a career night from junior quarterback Sam Keller. The Tigers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Sun Devils in front of a crowd of 63,210 at Sun Devil Stadium. The game was moved from Baton Rouge, La., to Tempe four days before the game due to the ongoing relief effort from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The Sun Devils got on the board first following a fumble recovery by junior defensive tackle Jordan Hill on the ASU 19-yard line. Leading the offense 81 yards down the field, Keller found junior tight end Jamaal Lewis on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put ASU on top 7-0 in the second quarter. The Tigers responded with an 80-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard rush by Joseph Addai to tie the game late in the first half. However, the Sun Devils gained the advantage heading into the half when Keller found senior Matt Miller on a 44-yard completion to bring the Sun Devils across midfield and set up a 26-yard field goal by junior Jesse Ainsworth.
On the first drive of the second half, Keller led the Sun Devils on a 75-yard march down the field. Finding senior tight end Lee Burghgraef on a 27-yard completion to bring the Sun Devils into the red zone, Keller finished the drive with a screen pass to sophomore Rudy Burgess that went eight yards for the TD. Following fumbles by both teams in the opponents' red zone, the Sun Devils led 17-7 after three quarters.
The momentum then shifted into LSU's corner as the Tigers scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. LSU blocked an ASU field goal and Mario Stevenson returned the ball 55 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-14, while the Tigers blocked a punt and returned it 29 yards forth another TD on the next possession, erasing a 10-point deficit in less than two minutes.
Trailing 21-17, the Sun Devils responded with a touchdown as a 19-yard pass to Burghgraef set up Keller's second TD pass of the night to Lewis, this one a 26-yard down the sideline. LSU went to the ground on its next possession, rushing for 67 yards in an 80-yard drive that concluded with a five-yard touchdown rush by Addai to put the Tigers on top, 28-24, with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Sun Devils again responded in turn with a 80-yard touchdown drive that featured three receptions by senior receiver Derek Hagan for a total of 55 yards. Keller put the Sun Devils in the end zone with a four-yard pass to senior Moey Mutz, giving ASU the 31-28 lead. With 4:19 remaining in the game, LSU took over following a touchback on their own 20-yard line and drove to the ASU 39-yard line. Trying to convert on a fourth-and-10, Tiger quarterback JaMarcus Russel found Early Doucet on a double-roll in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown that gave LSU a four-point lead with 1:13 remaining. With a chance to win the game, the Sun Devils drove to the LSU 28-yard line but failed to convert on a fourth down in the 35-31 loss.
Keller finished completed 35-of-56 attempts for 464 yards and four touchdowns (all career highs). Nine different ASU receivers had catches in the game, led by Hagan, who surpassed John Jefferson's school record for career receptions in the game. Hagan finished with seven catches for 95 yards, while junior Terry Richardson had seven receptions for 75 yards. Lewis hauled in three receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, senior linebacker Dale Robinson made a career-best 15 tackles, including a career-high 11 solo stops, and had three tackles for loss, while junior safety Zach Catanese added 12 tackles in his second career game.