BOULDER – In a game that featured offensive fireworks by both teams, the Arizona State football team fell to the No. 21/22 Colorado Buffaloes, 28-21, on Saturday afternoon in Boulder, Colo.
After setting the single-game school rushing record with 312 yards in ASU's win vs. Oregon State last week, running back Eno Benjamin's encore performance consisted of pounding out 120 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins engineered an outstanding effort that consisted of 222 passing yards. Frank Darby was on the receiving end of 131 of those yards to go along with a touchdown reception. N'Keal Harry (62 yards) and Kyle Williams (26 yards) both had three catches for the Sun Devils (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12), who fell by a touchdown for the third time this season (two of them against ranked teams on the road).
Jalen Harvey finished the game with a career-best 14 tackles on defense but ASU was unable to come up with a stop on Colorado's final possession of the game as the Buffaloes converted two third downs to effectively run out the final 7:10 of the game.
After stopping the Buffaloes (5-0, 2-0) on their initial drive, the Sun Devil offense put together its longest opening drive of the season, moving the ball 86 yards in 13 plays. The drive, which took 6:33 off the clock, was capped off by Benjamin's one-yard touchdown run to put ASU up 7-0. Benjamin ran for 43 yards on the drive, including a 17-yard dash on 2nd-and-13 from the ASU 22.
ASU's lead lasted less than three minutes as the Buffaloes countered with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own to knot the score at 7-7. Steven Montez's 39-yard pass to Tony Brown was the key play on the drive, which culminated in Lavis Shenault's one-yard touchdown run.
After gobbling up yards via the ground game on their first drive, the Sun Devils found success through the air on their second march as Wilkins connected with Harry for 30 yards to move ASU into Colorado territory. ASU would eventually be compromised by consecutive false start penalties and, although Wilkins found Harry for 16 yards on a 2nd-and-20 play, ASU was not able to move the sticks after Benjamin was stopped for no gain on third down. The Sun Devils came up empty after sophomore placekicker Brandon Ruiz missed his first kick of the season, a 53-yard attempt that sailed wide left.
Benjamin started ASU's next drive with his second 17-yard run of the game. The sophomore tailback accounted for 29 more yards on the drive, including his second one-yard touchdown run to put ASU back in front 14-7. Benjamin also had a five-yard reception on the drive that was just enough to keep the chains moving on a 3rd-and-5 from the ASU 39. The officials tacked on 15 more yards after they called targeting on Colorado linebacker Nate Landman.
Colorado kept pace with ASU after Montez located Shenault in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown that squared the game at 14-14 with 24 seconds left in the half. A 27-yard pass from Montez to Jay MacIntyre on 3rd-and-12 from the Colorado 28 was the longest play of the scoring drive, which covered 84 yards.
The two teams combined for 28 points (ASU 14/Colorado 14) and 405 yards of total offense (Colorado 222/ASU 183) in the first half.
Darby pulled in a 19-yard reception from Wilkins on ASU's first play of the third quarter. Benjamin went over the 100-yard mark with a 15-yard run on the next play. The Sun Devils regained the lead two plays later after Wilkins found Darby with a perfectly-placed 40-yard bomb for his 11th touchdown pass of the season. Darby beat two Colorado defenders on the play for his first touchdown reception of the season.
Colorado once again tied the game after Montez and Shenault combined for their second touchdown of the game through the air (30 yards).
After the game's next three drives failed to produce any points, the Buffaloes claimed their first lead of the game when Shenault scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a one-yard carry. The scoring play was preceded by a 51-yard strike from Montez to K.D. Nixon.
The quarter's aerial fireworks continued when ASU got the ball back as Wilkins found Darby for a 72-yard gain that set the Sun Devils up with a 1st-and-goal at the Colorado three-yard line. An eight-yard loss on 2nd-and-goal ended up being a critical play as the Sun Devils were still three yards short of the end zone after Williams' seven-yard reception on 3rd-and-goal. ASU elected to go for the game-tying touchdown on 4th-and-goal but was unable to convert.
The Sun Devils will have a bye week before returning to action on Thurs., Oct. 18 when they host No. 14 Stanford at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets for the game against the Cardinal, call the Sun Devil Ticket office at 480-727-0000 or go online to TicketMaster.com.
After setting the single-game school rushing record with 312 yards in ASU's win vs. Oregon State last week, running back Eno Benjamin's encore performance consisted of pounding out 120 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins engineered an outstanding effort that consisted of 222 passing yards. Frank Darby was on the receiving end of 131 of those yards to go along with a touchdown reception. N'Keal Harry (62 yards) and Kyle Williams (26 yards) both had three catches for the Sun Devils (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12), who fell by a touchdown for the third time this season (two of them against ranked teams on the road).
Jalen Harvey finished the game with a career-best 14 tackles on defense but ASU was unable to come up with a stop on Colorado's final possession of the game as the Buffaloes converted two third downs to effectively run out the final 7:10 of the game.
After stopping the Buffaloes (5-0, 2-0) on their initial drive, the Sun Devil offense put together its longest opening drive of the season, moving the ball 86 yards in 13 plays. The drive, which took 6:33 off the clock, was capped off by Benjamin's one-yard touchdown run to put ASU up 7-0. Benjamin ran for 43 yards on the drive, including a 17-yard dash on 2nd-and-13 from the ASU 22.
ASU's lead lasted less than three minutes as the Buffaloes countered with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own to knot the score at 7-7. Steven Montez's 39-yard pass to Tony Brown was the key play on the drive, which culminated in Lavis Shenault's one-yard touchdown run.
After gobbling up yards via the ground game on their first drive, the Sun Devils found success through the air on their second march as Wilkins connected with Harry for 30 yards to move ASU into Colorado territory. ASU would eventually be compromised by consecutive false start penalties and, although Wilkins found Harry for 16 yards on a 2nd-and-20 play, ASU was not able to move the sticks after Benjamin was stopped for no gain on third down. The Sun Devils came up empty after sophomore placekicker Brandon Ruiz missed his first kick of the season, a 53-yard attempt that sailed wide left.
Benjamin started ASU's next drive with his second 17-yard run of the game. The sophomore tailback accounted for 29 more yards on the drive, including his second one-yard touchdown run to put ASU back in front 14-7. Benjamin also had a five-yard reception on the drive that was just enough to keep the chains moving on a 3rd-and-5 from the ASU 39. The officials tacked on 15 more yards after they called targeting on Colorado linebacker Nate Landman.
Colorado kept pace with ASU after Montez located Shenault in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown that squared the game at 14-14 with 24 seconds left in the half. A 27-yard pass from Montez to Jay MacIntyre on 3rd-and-12 from the Colorado 28 was the longest play of the scoring drive, which covered 84 yards.
The two teams combined for 28 points (ASU 14/Colorado 14) and 405 yards of total offense (Colorado 222/ASU 183) in the first half.
Darby pulled in a 19-yard reception from Wilkins on ASU's first play of the third quarter. Benjamin went over the 100-yard mark with a 15-yard run on the next play. The Sun Devils regained the lead two plays later after Wilkins found Darby with a perfectly-placed 40-yard bomb for his 11th touchdown pass of the season. Darby beat two Colorado defenders on the play for his first touchdown reception of the season.
Colorado once again tied the game after Montez and Shenault combined for their second touchdown of the game through the air (30 yards).
After the game's next three drives failed to produce any points, the Buffaloes claimed their first lead of the game when Shenault scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a one-yard carry. The scoring play was preceded by a 51-yard strike from Montez to K.D. Nixon.
The quarter's aerial fireworks continued when ASU got the ball back as Wilkins found Darby for a 72-yard gain that set the Sun Devils up with a 1st-and-goal at the Colorado three-yard line. An eight-yard loss on 2nd-and-goal ended up being a critical play as the Sun Devils were still three yards short of the end zone after Williams' seven-yard reception on 3rd-and-goal. ASU elected to go for the game-tying touchdown on 4th-and-goal but was unable to convert.
The Sun Devils will have a bye week before returning to action on Thurs., Oct. 18 when they host No. 14 Stanford at 6 p.m. To purchase tickets for the game against the Cardinal, call the Sun Devil Ticket office at 480-727-0000 or go online to TicketMaster.com.