Record Updates
In its 102nd season of competition, Sun Devil Football’s all-time record is 575-370-24. The Sun Devils are now 23-5-1 all-time against the Lobos and now holds a 104-34-2 record all-time against schools currently in the Mountain West
An End to That Business
ASU had not won a non-conference road-game since defeating a then non-conference Colorado team in Boulder, 21-3, in 2006. The last time ASU beat a non-conference team on the road that isn't currently playing in the Pac-12 was against Northwestern in Evanston in 2004, a 30-21 victory. That was also the last time ASU had played a road game in the second game of the season.
Getting it Done On the Road
ASU had not won its first road game of the season since 2007 - a 41-3 rout over Stanford in Palo Alto in the fifth game of the season – and has lost six straight first road games of the year.Todd Graham is 6-5 at Arizona State in true road games and ASU is winners of three straight road games, their last coming in the Notre Dame game last season. ASU had 8 road wins in the entirety of the previous coaching regime 2007-11.
Youth Gone Wild
ASU started three true freshmen on defense for the first time since at least 1983, which is as far back as current Sun Devil starters have been tracked and are easily accessible. Freshmen have only been allowed to play in the NCAA since the 1972 season.
- CB Armand Perry
- LB DJ Calhoun
- DT Tashon Smallwood
Droppin’ A 50-Spot
The UNM game was the 10th time under Todd Graham and Mike Norvell that ASU had scored 50 or more points. That number is significant as ASU had 10 such games TOTAL from 2001 through 2011.
Strike First
ASU has now scored first in 23 of the 29 games under head coach Todd Graham, and are 18-5 in such contests.
Start Strong
The Sun Devils have now outscored their opponents 317-146 in the first quarter under Todd Graham and 39-7 in two games in 2014.
A Game of Firsts
- Wide receiver Cameron Smith's 41-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the first touchdown of his career
- Cornerback Armand Perry and linebacker Vilami Latu each recorded their first career tackle for loss
- Defensive tackle Edmond Boateng, defensive back Deandre Scott and cornerback Kweishi Brown each recorded their first career tackles
- Demario Richard 46-yard run in the fourth quarter was the first touchdown run of his career.
Offense
Running Wild
The Devils racked up 423 rushing yards on 48 carries and scored six touchdowns on the ground, including five by different players. They averaged 8.8 yards per carry as a team, including 11.4 by Foster, 8.4 by Kelly and 14.3 by Richard. The 423 yards on the ground were the most by the Devils since they had 450 against Arizona in 1996.
Red Zone Efficiency
ASU is now 12-for-12 in the red zone this season with 10 TDs and 2 FGs.
#FosterFacts
Running back D.J. Foster collected his first 200-yard all-purpose game, including a career-high 216 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards.
Foster became the first Sun Devil since to rush for over 200 yards in a game since Delvon Flowers rushed for 226 yards against Oregon State in 2001. He became just the third Sun Devil since 1994 to rush for over 200 yards in a game out of the 20 total 200-yard rushers in ASU history and his 216 yards are tied for the ninth-highest total in program history.
He now has four 100+ yard rushing games in the last five games with eight rushing TDs in that span. In the 24 games prior to that, he had no 100+ yard games and just four rushing touchdowns.
Foster has set a new career high rushing marks past three games (132 against Texas Tech, 147 against Weber State and 216 tonight).
Taylor Kelly Tidbits
With a 9-yard pass to Foster to open the fourth scoring drive of the game in the second quarter, Taylor Kelly became the fourth quarterback in ASU history to pass for more than 7,000 yards. He has 7,126 career passing yards after throwing for 192 against the Lobos.
Kelly's 52-yard carry on the Devils’ first offensive play was a new career high. He finished the game with 84 total rushing yards.
Kelly now has a touchdown pass in 25 of his 29 games as a starting quarterback and has 60 in his career – four behind Danny White for fourth on ASU's all-time list.
A Barrage of Ballage
True freshman running back Kalen Ballage scored a pair of touchdowns and now has three rushing touchdowns in two career games.
All Freshmen Drive
True freshmen running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage combined to take the Devils 24 yards on three plays in 45 seconds on ASU’s third scoring drive of the game (Richard 5-yard carry and 18-yard catch, Ballage 1-yard carry).
A Tale of Different Drives
The Devils put together three separate scoring drives of three plays under one minute (36 yards, 32 seconds; 24 yards, 45 seconds; 41 yards, seven seconds), their three shortest drives of the season in terms of time and number of plays, and also put together a 10-play, 2-minute, 52-second scoring drive, their longest of the season. None of ASU’s 16 scoring drives this season have lasted longer than 2:52.
How The Devils Scored
- Running back Deantre Lewis 1-yard rush (2-pt conversion from Nelson to Gonzalez) to put ASU ahead, 8-0
- Quarterback Taylor Kelly 12-yard rush (XP good) to put ASU ahead, 15-0
- Running back Kalen Ballage 1-yard rush (XP good) to put ASU ahead, 22-0
- Ballage 3-yard rush (XP good) to put ASU ahead, 29-7
- Kicker Zane Gonzalez 29-yard FG to put ASU ahead, 32-21
- Wide receiver Jaelen Strong 24-yard pass from Kelly to put ASU ahead, 38-21
- Wide receiver Cameron Smith 41-yard pass (XP good) from Kelly to put ASU ahead, 45-21
- D.J. Foster 1-yard rush (Extra point blocked and returned by UNM for two points) to put ASU ahead 51-23
- Running back Demario Richard 45-yard rush (XP good) to put ASU ahead 58-23.
Career Highs
Wide receiver Cameron Smith had a career-high 77 receiving yards and four catches
Foster had a career-high 216 rushing yards on 19 carries and a career-high 270 all-purpose yards as he added 54 receiving yards on three receptions
Defense
Capitalizing On Turnovers
ASU has outscored New Mexico 21-7 in points off turnovers in this game. Under Coach Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 296-107 in the category.
- Defensive tackle Marcus Hardison forced one fumble, recovered one fumble
- Safety Jordan Simone recovered one fumble
- Linebacker Laiu Moeakiola recovered one fumble
- Safety Damarious Randall forced one fumble
Career Highs
LB Laiu Moeakiola set a career high with nine tackles
LB Antonio Longino set a career high with five tackles
S Jordan Simone set a career high with seven tackles
LB Vilami Latu set a career high with four tackles
Special Teams
Kicker Zane Gonzalez went 1-for-2 on field goals and 5-for-7 on extra points. He now has 155 career points
Safety Damarious Randall's 8-yard punt return in the first quarter was ASU's longest since Robert Nelson had a 10-yard return against Washington State last season
The Devils converted a two-point converstion after their first touchdown of the game on a pass from TE De'Marieya Nelson to Gonzalez