Sept. 26, 2009
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
ATHENS, Ga. –By Carmen Vitali, ASU Media Relations
It seemed that sophomore receiver A.J. Green and the Georgia Bulldogs proved to be too much to handle for the Arizona State Sun Devils on their first ever trip to Athens, Georgia as the Bulldogs held off the Sun Devils 20-17.
Green had eight catches for 153 yards including a 56-yard bomb from QB Joe Cox for a Georgia touchdown in the first quarter. Cox completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 242 yards and two interceptions.
The defense was the Sun Devil’s driving force causing three Georgia turnovers, two interceptions and one fumble, all recovered by senior Jarrell Holman. Holman returned his first interception 47-yards for the Sun Devils’ first touchdown of the night. He also picked one more and recovered a fumble after senior Mike Nixon forced it out.
The Devils were able to capitalize on the fumble when QB Danny Sullivan connected with senior RB Dimitri Nance on a 6-yard touchdown.
“Normally when you win that battle by two, you win [the game],” Coach Erickson said about winning the turnover battle against Georgia. “Or put yourself in a position to win and we did.”
Freshman LB Vontaze Burfict led the way for the defense with 11 tackles including 1.5 for a loss. Among the tackles, Burfict made a flying leap over the Bulldogs’ offensive line and subsequent tackle for loss on Georgia’s only attempt at a fourth down conversion.
The workhorse on the Devils’ offense was Nance rushing for 92 yards on 25 carries to tie his career high set in 2007 against Washington. Nance also caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
It came down to a pair of field goals. With the score tied 17-17 late in the fourth quarter ASU’s freshman kicker Bobby Wenzig went up to attempt a 37-yard field goal, having previously connected on a 43 yarder early in the game. The kick was blocked by none other than the 6-foot-4 A.J. Green, which gave the Bulldogs a chance to drive down the field.
With one second left in the game Bulldogs’ kicker Blair Walsh connected on a 37-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs on top with a final score of 20-17.
“I thought our guys played extremely hard; they have pretty much all year,” Erickson said. “But it makes no difference now, we’ve got to play Oregon State and start the Pac-10 season. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Sun Devils open up Pac-10 play this weekend when they face Oregon State at home.