Arizona State vs. Cal 2012: Defense, Taylor Kelly draw praise

A strong showing in Berkeley proved enough to lift the Arizona State Sun Devils past the California Golden Bears, with some key members of the Sun Devils' defensive attack and quarterback Taylor Kelly seeing their efforts lauded widely by ASU faithful.

Over at House of Sparky, the bloggers were most impressed with Kelly's showing, both in the box score and on the field.

Taylor Kelly had an efficient game, throwing for three touchdown passes. ... TK's toughness: Kelly took a lot of hits today and found his way out of some tricky situations. A very impressive showing from the redshirt sophomore signal caller.

Defensively, the attack was strong all game, led by defensive tackle Will Sutton, who the guys over at House of Sparky called a "one-man wrecking machine."

Tackles for loss: The Devils picked up an impressive 12 tackles for loss, forcing Zach Maynard into tough situations and difficult downs.

There were some concerns raised, however, in a few key areas, including the kicking game and an inefficient rushing attack that rushed for less than three yards per carry.

The Bad

• Kicking game: 2 for 5 on field goal attempts (2 FG missed, 1 FG blocked). Alex Garoutte has struggled once again in 2012, and his job security may be in question with a bye week coming up.
• With a few significant rushing losses on fumbles, ASU only averaged 2.4 yards per carry.