Arizona State Sun Devils Railroad Washington Huskies 53-24
By Matthew Gray
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
TEMPE — Taylor Kelly accounted for 352 yards and four touchdowns, Marion Grice scored three times and Arizona State’s defense put the kibosh on Washington’s Bishop Sankey in a 53-24 beat-down over the 20th-ranked Huskies on Saturday.
Arizona State (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) has had trouble defending against the run the past two seasons, and Sankey came into the game as the nation’s leading rusher at nearly 150 yards per game. Nevertheless the Sun Devils exploded with a dominating defensive performance, restraining Sankey to 22 yards on 13 carries while holding the nation’s eighth-best offense to 212 total yards.
Grice ran for 161 yards and added to his nation-leading scoring total with an outstanding touchdown catch and two more scores on the ground.
The Huskies kept it close into the second half in losses to then-No. 5 Stanford and No. 2 Oregon, however they ran into a buzz saw after being bullied on both sides of the ball during Arizona State’s 26-point second quarter.
Washington had minus 5 yards rushing on 25 carries and permitted seven sacks as quarterback Keith Price was beat like a two dollar mule. The Huskies’ defense was punished ruthlessly as well, giving up 585 total yards.
Washington gave the impression they were in good shape at the start, moving 60 yards on 11 plays for a 1-yard touchdown run by Sankey on its opening possession.
Impressions can be deceiving however, because it was a one-sided game in favor of Arizona State from that point on.
Kelly threw for 268 yards and two scores and Zane Gonzalez kicked four field goals in Arizona State’s eighth straight win over Washington (4-3, 1-3).