Though the Arizona State Sun Devils couldn't escape a matchup with Missouri with a 3-0 record, they did manage to play well and keep the fans' spirits up. Managing 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter had something to do with this, but Mizzou was already up by many at that point, so ASU fell 24-20 in the end. That didn't stop House of Sparky, SB Nation's blog for the Sun Devils, from giving the team some solid postgame grades, which started with quarterback Taylor Kelly.
However, in the fourth quarter, he channeled the aura of another Idaho born Sun Devil quarterback and became a dangerous playmaker. Kelly made several key plays, including two key third down conversion passes to Marion Grice in which he extended plays and avoided pressure before unleashing his pass. At one point, he posted 13 consecutive completions.
Unfortunately, Kelly's final pass attempt of the night was intercepted by Kenronte Walker when it was a bit off the mark, and that sealed the loss for ASU. Still, Brad Denny of House of Sparky gave Kelly a solid 'B' for his performance on Saturday, and it's easy to see why.
Kelly finished with 14 of his 23 passes completed, 178 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he had two interceptions on the day, and is getting his grade based on his play in the second half and, namely, the fourth quarter. Without his performance, Arizona State would have very few silver linings to hang their hat on following their first loss of the season.
More commentary on the Arizona State Sun Devils can be found at House Of Sparky. For more on the Missouri Tigers, visit Rock M Nation.