The Blaze

By Mike Sackley

TUCSON-After losing two games this season on blocked extra points, the Sun Devils got karma back on their side, blocking two Arizona extra points to defeat the Wildcats 30-29 in double overtime.

The first one came late in the 4th quarter. The Wildcats tied the game at 20, but ASU’s James Brooks blocked the extra point to force overtime.

And then in the second overtime, U of A was within one point of tying the game at 30 and sending it to a third overtime, but Wildcat kicker Alex Zendejas was blocked once again by James Brooks, Sending the Sun Devils to their sixth win of the season.

“Our guys have fought all season and we’ve had a lot of close games,” said ASU head football coach Dennis Erickson. “It’s nice to get the football gods on our side, well, at least the extra-point gods.”

The first half was a defensive battle. ASU scored the only six points of the half, coming off 2 Thomas Weber field goals. The first from 52-yards, one of the longest in ASU history. He kicked one from 36 to give the Sun Devils a 6-0 lead going into halftime.

The Wildcats would score two unanswered touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, as Arizona quarterback Nick Foles hooked up with Juron Criner for touchdowns of 28 and 52 yards, respectively. This give the Wildcats a 14-6 lead.

ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler would then hook up with Kerry Taylor for a 54-yard passing play. Weber would cap off the seven play, 62-yard drive with a 38-yard FG to cut the deficit to 14-9.

On Arizona’s next possession, running back Greg Nwoko fumbled right near midfield. ASU’s Oliver Aaron would recover what was the only turnover of the game.

The Sun Devils would make Arizona pay as Osweiler found Mike Willie in the end zone for the 3-yard TD pass. ASU would go for two and convert as Kerry Taylor made a reception in the end zone. ASU would take a 17-14 lead.

U of A would go for it on fourth down deep in its own territory on the next possession. Keola Antolin was stuffed by the Sun Devil defense.

“I thought we could get a yard, or that we could hold them to a field goal and still win the game,” said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops on why he went for it on fourth down. “I felt it was the right thing to do.”

ASU would take advantage via a 40-yard FG from Thomas Weber, increasing the Sun Devil lead to 20-14.

After a good kickoff return from Travis Cobb, U of A marched right down the field. Foles found David Douglas from 5 yards out to tie the game at 20.

Then, James Brooks leapt up in the air to block the Alex Zendejas extra point attempt to force the game into overtime.

In overtime, the Wildcats would have a 1st and goal from the ASU 5, and were forced to settle for a 19-yard Zendejas FG.

The Sun Devils could do nothing offensively on its possession, but Weber would make his fifth and final FG of the night, sending the game to a second overtime.

“Thomas hasn’t had the best year, but he certainly was at his best tonight,” said Erickson. “He got his confidence back last week. He was knocking [his kicks] straight through, too.”

In the second overtime, Osweiler completed a 19-yard pass to Kerry Taylor, setting ASU 1st and goal at the 4. ASU’s running back Cameron Marshall would punch it in from there. Weber’s extra point gave the Sun Devils a 30-23 lead.

The Wildcats would answer with a nine yard TD run from David Douglas. U of A was on the verge of sending the game to a third overtime, but Zendejas missed his second extra point of the night. A jubilant ASU team rushed the field, celebrating its first win in the Territorial Cup rivalry since 2007.

“You know last year we didn’t win in our house so that made it that much better to come to their house and take it back,” said Marshall.

Brock Osweiler was 22 of 49 passing for 267 yards a 1 TD. He filled in for an injured Steven Threet. Osweiler made an impact on the ground as well, rushing 19 times for 56 yards.

“I have never played in a game like this in my entire life, the guys refused to quit and I’m honored to be part of this football team.”

This is the second straight win for ASU, as the Sun Devils finish the regular season (6-6) overall and (4-5) in the Pac-10. The Wildcats lose their fourth straight, falling to (7-5) and (4-5) in the Pac-10. Stoops said that the Wildcats need to regroup heading into their bowl game.

“It would have been nice to finish better,” said Stoops. “Overall I’m pleased with our players and their ability to compete across the board.”

ASU will now wait to see if its waiver to play in a bowl game is granted. Because the Sun Devils played two FCS teams at the start of the season, ASU technically needed to win seven games to assure a bowl bid. But ASU hopes that the NCAA will accept the waiver, since FBS team San Jose State pulled out of its game with ASU before the start of the season.

Regardless, the Sun Devils salvaged part of their season by defeating the Wildcats in Tucson.

“What a football game,” said Erickson. “If you weren’t coaching that game, it had to be a lot of fun to watch.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 11:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.