ASU Vs. Washington State: Cougars Thrash Devil Defense for 37-27 Win

Well, those "same ol' Devils" are back.

With UCLA's earlier loss at the hands of Utah, the door was wide open for the Sun Devils to return to the top of the Pac-12 South. Now, instead of winning the South, the Devils just need to find a way to win another game.

It's never a good sign when the opening kickoff is the high point, but that was the case. Jamal Miles took the opening kickoff 95-yards for a touchdown. On the Devils' final play, he fumbled a kickoff after Washington State has scored to take a 10-point lead with 1:50 left.

In between, the ASU defense surrendered 494 yards passing to third-string quarterback Connor Halliday (the most by a Pac-12 quarterback this season) and gave up key third down after key third down in a loss that very well could be the low point in Dennis Erickson's tenure.

The first half featured some sloppy offensive play that was punctuated by big plays, notably those from Halliday as he continually found gaping holes in the ASU secondary. Yet, a late drive engineered by Brock Osweiler was capped by Cameron Marshall's two-yard touchdown to give the Devils a 20-16 lead at the break.

Thus ushered in a back and forth half that may have ended ASU's run at the South division.

The third quarter began with each team trading punts before the Cougars managed to break through.

Halliday continued his stellar outing, completing all four of his attempts for 78 yards, and none was bigger than his final throw, a towering rainbow that fell into the hands of Wilson for a 19-yard score, their third connection of the game.

As they had done all year long, the Devils responded with their own scoring drive. Thanks to another short kickoff and a Cougar penalty, ASU began at the Washington State 40-yard line. A few plays into the drive, Osweiler found Robinson on a corner pattern for a 16-yard score to retake the lead for Arizona State.

The defense finally managed a three-and-out, and the ensuing ASU drive marched down the field, helped by a huge 20-yard reception by Mike Willie on third down. Later in the drive, Osweiler wasn't able to sneak for a first down on third and inches and the Cougar 10-yard line, and ASU ran Marshall on fourth down, but he was tripped up for a loss.

The next Cougar drive was equal parts well executed and a defensive disaster. The first play was an intentional grounding call, backing the Cougars up to their four. They then converted a third and 16 and Halliday then had completions of 38 and 20 yards before throwing his fourth touchdown of the night, a 17-yard dart to Isiah Barton.

Osweiler rallied the Devils back. He found Robinson on the first two plays for 42 yards, and later made his third catch down to the Cougar five yard line. On a crucial third down, Osweiler found a wide open George Bell, but the pass went right through his hands, forcing ASU to settle for a chip shot 21-yard field goal. Or so they thought. The kick went wide left, and the Devils remained on the short end of a 30-27 margin. 

Halliday wasted no time in moving the Cougars down the field, finding Wilson on a key third and nine reception for 25 yards. They were able to run the clock down before facing another long third down, but Halliday connected with Wilson yet again for 29-yards to take it down to the Sun Devil one yard line. On the next play, Carl Winston pounded it in for the clincher.

To seal the indignity, Jamal Miles fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it was recovered by Washington State.

For those wondering what rock bottom feels like, it's here now.

ASU Vs. Washington State Score Update: Osweiler Leads Late Drive, Sun Devils Lead 20-16 At Halftime

The Arizona St. Sun Devils followed a similar formula to their first quarter: slow at the start and then good late. The Sun Devils watched the Washington St. Cougars take a 16-13 lead with 1:15 left in the half but scored less than a minute later to take a 20-16 lead into halftime.

The Cougars closed the 10-6 gap from the first quarter on their first drive of the second period following a 31-yard pass from Connor Halliday to Isiah Barton. The Cougars marched to the Sun Devil 22-yard line but were stopped there, resulting in a 39-yard field goal by Andrew Furney to close within 10-9.

The Sun Devils came back with a field goal of their own later as light snow started pouring from the sky. Brock Osweiler found Gerrell Robinson for a 25-yard completion at the beginning of the drive, and a gusty call on 4^th-and-8 on the Cougar 29-yard line paid off with a trip to the redzone. The drive concluded with a 22-yard field goal by Alex Garoutte to push ASU's lead to 13-9.

Halliday led the Cougars down the field for a score with 1:15 left in the half. In a repeat of the Cougars first score of the game, Halliday found Marquess Wilson for an 18-yard score to give Washington State a 16-13 lead.

ASU responded with three straight completions by Osweiler to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Cameron Marshall.

The Sun Devils lead 20-13 at halftime. Osweiler has 180 yards on 15-of-27 passing while Marshall has only eight rushing yards on 10 carries and Gerrell Robinson leads the ASU receivers with 56 yards on three receptions. The Sun Devils need to get the ball to Marshall more in the second half as they seek to open up the offense.

Washington State will receive the opening kickoff of the second half.

Arizona State Vs. Washington State Score Update: Sun Devils Lead 7-6 After Jamal Miles Kickoff Return Touchdown

The Arizona St. Sun Devils looked to bounce back against the Washington St. Cougars on Saturday after last week's 29-28 loss to the UCLA Bruins. Through one quarter of play, the Sun Devils have had mixed results in doing that and enter the second period up 7-6.

Jamal Miles kicked things off for ASU early when he fielded the opening kickoff at the ASU five-yard line. Miles proceeded to take the kickoff return back 95 yards for the touchdown, giving the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game.

The Cougars struck back later in the period with an 85-yard touchdown pass from Connor Halliday to Marquess Wilson. Washington State did not convert on the two-point conversion, however, and the Sun Devils still maintained a lead at 7-6.

ASU struggled to generate offense until late in the period. The Sun Devils recorded only one first down until the final drive of the period, when the Sun Devils marched 31 yards down the field. ASU begins the second quarter at the Cougars 22-yard line.

Arizona State Vs. Washington State Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Arizona State Sun Devils are coming off an incredibly painful loss to UCLA and need to rebound this weekend. Fortunately for Dennis Erickson and the Devils, their opponents, the Washington State Cougars, are among the worst teams in the conference and have not won a game since October 1.

All of this being said, strange things can happen in the Pacific Northwest and ASU needs to be on upset alert. The Cougars are playing for nothing but pride at this point in the season and have nothing to lose. Expect a fight out of WSU on Saturday evening.

Start Time: 10:30 EDT / 7:30 PDT; that's an 8:30 p.m. start in Tempe and the surrounding areas.

Weather Report: When the Devils leave Arizona, they'll leave 60-degree temperatures and blue skies. When they arrive in Pullman, it'll be in the 30's. Snow and rain are expected on Saturday night as well.

TV Coverage: Versus

Radio: Sun Devil IMG Radio Network; Sirius/XM Satellite Radio channel 193.

Opening Line: Arizona State is favored by 14 points.

Team Sites: House of Sparky; Coug Center

ASU Vs. Washington State: Sun Devils Try To Keep Track With UCLA In Pac-12 South

The Arizona St. Sun Devils have very little margin for error the remainder of the season if they want to work their way back into the Pac-12 title game picture. Currently ASU is tied with UCLA in the conference standings, but the Sun Devils have already lost the head-to-head matchup with the Bruins, and thus need to hope for UCLA to lose in the upcoming weeks.

UCLA has two tough road contests upcoming against Utah and (especially) USC. Neither of these games are expected to be gimmes by any means, so the Sun Devils probably should feel fairly comfortable with their hopes of capturing the South.

ASU has the Washington St. Cougars this week, so this is pretty much a game they should and must win if they really want any shot. After that they have Arizona in their rivalry matchup (a game in which the Sun Devils should be heavily favored) and then they match up with Cal. All of these games are winnable ones where the Devils should be favored. The Sun Devils should still be considered the favorites to win the South at this point.

For more on ASU football, check out House of Sparky. For more on UCLA football, go to Bruins Nation.

ASU Vs. Washington State: Cameron Marshall Sits Out Of Practice On Tuesday

The Arizona St. Sun Devils practiced without running back Cameron Marshall (ankle) on Tuesday, according to Craig Grialou of Sports 720 KTAR. The Sun Devils are scheduled to play the Washington St. Cougars on the road this weekend.

ASU head coach Dennis Erickson doesn't appear too worried about Marshall's status for the game, stating, "We need him (Marshall) on Saturday, not Tuesday." Tuesday's time off should give Marshall the chance to rest up after two straight weeks of play.

Marshall has topped 100 rushing yards in each of the two games since ASU's bye week, rushing for 117 yards and three touchdowns against Colorado and 168 yards and one touchdown against UCLA. Marshall posted season-best rushing averages of 7.6 yards per carry (against Colorado) and 6.2 yards per carry (against UCLA).

Should he miss more time this week, Marshall's absence could hurt the Sun Devils offense as the team attempts to claim its second road win of the season. For now, Marshall's absence on the field during Tuesday's practice seems to be nothing more than a means to rest up the junior running back.

ASU Vs. Washington State Odds: Sun Devils Favored By Two Touchdowns Over Cougars

The Arizona St. Sun Devils face another Pac-12 opponent on the road this week in the Washington State Cougars after last week's disappointing 29-28 loss to the UCLA Bruins. Despite the loss, the opening line places ASU as 14-point favorites over the Cougars.

ASU has struggled on the road this season, with all three losses coming away from home to Illinois, Oregon and UCLA. The Sun Devils averaged 23.0 points per contest over those three games, far below their season average of 35.0 points.

The Cougars ranked 95th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 31.8 points per game. Washington State has allowed at least 30 points in each of their last four games, a trend that the Sun Devils hope to continue this week and one that could work in favor of sports betting.

The 14-point spread, however, is too high given ASU's inconsistent play on the road so far this season. The Devils certainly have the potential to cover the two-touchdown spread if they come out focused and play as well as they have at home this year. Following last week's loss to UCLA, however, the ability of the Sun Devils must be called into question.

Arizona State Football Vs. Washington State: Trying To Put UCLA Loss In Rear View Mirror

ASU begins the new game week still trying to move past a heartbreaking loss at UCLA last Saturday.