ASU vs Colorado: Sun Devils nearly flawless in second half, defeat Buffaloes 51-17

Sun Devil nation was surely sweating early but Arizona State came out in the second half with first-class execution, scoring 31 unanswered en route to a 51-17 victory over Colorado.

And much of that credit can be directed towards QB Taylor Kelly, who had a career game with 308 yards and 5 touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing. Three of those touchdowns went to RB Marion Grice with the explosive juco transfer racking up 101 receiving yards on five receptions. Kelly was also the team's second leading rusher with 67 on 14 attempts.

The Sun Devils had three receiving touchdowns from their running backs in the first half with the offense firing on all cylinders despite a lack of run game. The Buffaloes were able to remain in the thick of it though as a Jamal Miles fumble on the kick return allowed Colorado to score 10 points in the final 30 seconds of the half.

But whatever Todd Graham had to add for halftime adjustments must have worked because this team came out of the locker room entirely invigorated. Graham's first change was to replace Miles with Rashad Ross on returns and the senior wide receiver responded perfectly, bringing the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown.

That huge momentum swing carried over to the defense as the unit forcing four straight three-and-outs on the Colorado Buffaloes after 17 first half points. With Graham's 3-3-5 smothering the Buffaloes, ASU's offense wouldn't let them down, scoring on five of their last eight drives.

Despite a little too many penalties and the sloppy end to the second quarter, this was about as good of a showing that ASU could have hoped for on national television. The Oregon Ducks were surely watching though so expect the No. 2 team in the country to be prepared for the huge Pac-12 showdown next Thursday in Tempe.