ON THE BADGERS
Arizona State is 3-1 all-time in the series against Wisconsin, and came up one point short on a blocked extra point from holding a perfect 4-0 record after falling to the Badgers in Madison in 2010, 20-19.
ASU vs. THE BIG TEN
Arizona State is now 9-0 against Big Ten programs at Sun Devils Stadium with the victory over Wisconsin. ASU has now outscored Big Ten foes in Tempe by a combined total of 170-66. This record only includes teams that were playing in the Big Ten when they competed in Tempe as Nebraska was not a member of the Big Ten Conference at the time of their victories at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU is now 17-13 all-time against current Big Ten opponents.
STRIKE FIRST
After scoring first in 11 out of 13 matchups last season, the Sun Devils have started this season by scoring first in both of their first two games, this time aided by a Zane Gonzalez 34-yard field goal. ASU now is 9-4 when scoring first in the Todd Graham era.
START STRONG…FINISH STRONG
After not allowing a point against them against Sacramento State, ASU opened the season with five consecutive quarters without letting the opposition score. The Devils won the first quarter Saturday night 3-0, and has now outscored opponents 162-69 in the first quarter under Todd Graham. ASU also outscored the Badgers 13-9 in the fourth quarter, now having outscored opponents 142-71 in fourth quarters under Graham. ASU improves to 9-0 when holding opponents scoreless in the first quarter under Graham.
GRICE FOUND A NEW HOME: THE END ZONE
Marion Grice became the first Sun Devil to rush for four touchdowns in a game since Mike Williams ran for four at Arizona on Nov. 29, 2002. Before this explosive performance, Grice’s personal record was three touchdowns in one game, which came in the season opener last season against NAU.
GRICE IS NICE
Marion Grice continues to find the end zone for the Sun Devils. With four touchdowns tonight, Grice now has amassed 12 touchdowns (ten rushing, two receiving) over the last five games. Grice now has six touchdowns on the year (five rushing, one receiving). Grice has racked up 25 touchdowns over his first 15 games in an ASU uniform. He continues to maintain his average of scoring a touchdown every 7.5 times he touches the ball – a figure that led the Pac-12 last season.
SUN DEVILS ARE EXPLOSIVE
Arizona State recorded 12 explosive plays on the Badgers, ten of which came through the air. An explosive play is defined as a reception of 16+ yards or a rush of 12+ yards. Jaelen Strong accounted for four of the ten explosive catches, and one-third of the team’s explosive plays. Three explosive plays came in one drive, an eight-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown while taking only 1:41 off the clock.
ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT
After catching six balls in his first game as a Sun Devil, Jaelen Strong brought in another six grabs against Wisconsin, this time for a personal-high 104 yards. Strong averaged 17.3 yards per reception, and only had one catch less than ten yards (nine-yard reception).
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS
ASU recorded just one penalty for five yards in its season opener, and followed up that stellar performance by only committing three penalties for a total of 15 yards. This performance ranks third-best since 2006.
A GRAND PERFORMANCE
Grandville Taylor made his mark in the season opener with an interception and a fumble recovery to go along with four tackles. Against the Badgers, Taylor again found a way to make an impact on the game, logging his second fumble recovery of the season.
QUARTERBACK OR PUNTER?
Taylor Kelly’s 29-yard punt in the first quarter forced Wisconsin to start its drive at its own 8-yard line. Of Kelly’s nine career punts, eight of them have been downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
Taylor Kelly had completed 130-straight passes without an interception before throwing a pick in the third quarter. Kelly had thrown 13 touchdown passes in his last four games without throwing an interception.