When the audio system failed on fourth down late in the fourth quarter, and junior quarterback Cutter Boley was unable to get the play call from head coach Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State’s odds of getting the crucial first down looked slim.

In a last-ditch effort to salvage the play, Boley rushed under center, took the snap and ran for the first down himself.

The Sun Devils’ quarterback sealed the win for ASU in what was an ugly offensive performance overall.

Although ASU (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) allowed 10 unanswered fourth-quarter points to Kansas (1-2, 0-1 Big 12), the Sun Devils ultimately sealed the 24-17 victory on Saturday, Sept. 19, in the Union Jack Classic at Wembley Stadium in London. ASU’s offense struggled to move the ball and was outgained by Kansas, but an impenetrable defense and timely special-teams plays carried the Sun Devils in their first conference matchup and the first-ever FBS game in Great Britain. 

Head coach Kenny Dillingham said he’s expected good things from his defense.

“I’ve known all camp that I think it’s going to be one of the better defenses we’ve had here,” Dillingham said. 

Junior linebacker Owen Long dominated on defense, recording an interception and a fumble recovery in the second quarter. Long also led the Sun Devils in tackles with 12. 

Dillingham called Long a natural playmaker. 

“When you get on the football field, some people have the instincts to make plays, and (Long is) one of those guys,” Dillingham said. 

As a whole, ASU’s defense was invaluable, not allowing a single point through the first three quarters on Saturday. 

The Sun Devils surrendered just 17 points, with seven of those coming via a punt-return touchdown from Kansas sophomore wide receiver Tate Nagy and the other 10 late in the fourth quarter. 

Junior linebacker Martell Hughes also came up huge with 11 tackles, 3 ½ of them for a loss. 

Combined, the linebacking duo of Hughes and Long had 23 tackles, 16 solo, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and two turnovers. 

In the secondary, the seniors led the way, as defensive backs Montana Warren and Ashton Stamps combined for 15 tackles. 

Despite recording only one sack in the game, the Sun Devils kept Jayhawks’ sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall under constant pressure and stuffed the run game.

Marshall went just 17-for-33 in the passing game. However, he did have some explosive passing plays that brought his average to 7.1 yards per throw. 

Still, ASU kept the Kansas offense from scoring for the first 50 minutes of the game. 

However, the Sun Devils’ special teams delivered a mixed performance, seeing both extremes.

The Jayhawks' punt-return touchdown was their only score of the first half, but the Sun Devils struck back with a kick-return touchdown of their own.

Senior wide receiver Jaren Hamilton took the opening second-half kickoff all the way back 100 yards, a turning point in the game that put ASU up 10 after a back-and-forth first half. 

Hamilton said he could feel the big play coming. 

“Right before the play, I just had a feeling deep in my soul,” Hamilton said. “I just knew something was going to happen.” 

Apart from Nagy’s punt return, ASU’s special teams helped generate momentum for an offense Dillingham said was never in a rhythm. 

Dillingham attributed this lack of rhythm to ASU’s inability to run against the Jayhawks’ light-box formations, and to the Sun Devils’ failure to connect on deep play action. 

ASU failed to establish its run game, with senior running back Kyson Brown getting the bulk of the carries, 24, but rushing for just 81 yards – an average of 3.4 yards per carry. 

Sixth-year running back Marquis Gillis carried the ball 5 times and averaged 6.4 yards per carry. 

Boley ran 11 times for 25 yards, with eight of those yards coming on a key play late in the fourth quarter. 

However, in the passing game, Boley went 11-for-23 for just 95 yards and a touchdown to senior wide receiver Reed Harris, but took a major step back from his performance a week ago at No. 10 Texas A&M, where he completed 21-of-34 passes for 254 yards. 

The Sun Devils outgained the Aggies in that game; however, they fell due to turnovers and penalties. 

Conversely, Kansas outgained ASU 414 to 228 on Saturday, yet lost the turnover battle. 

Dillingham said he wasn’t impressed with the Sun Devils’ performance. 

“I thought offensively, we played significantly better last week,” Dillingham said. However, Dillingham pointed out that winning the game is still the most important thing. 

“Last week, we won the stats and lost the game,” Dillingham said. “Give me losing the stats and winning the game 100 times out of 100.” 

One area where Boley and the offense improved this week was on those turnovers. 

The major blemish on Boley’s performance against Texas A&M was his two interceptions, with the Sun Devils surrendering the football four times. 

However, ASU avoided any turnovers Saturday against Kansas despite struggling to move the ball. 

While the offense certainly wasn’t good, it stayed out of the way just enough to allow the defense to carry the Sun Devils to victory. 

“If I’m going to reach for some (offensive positives) deep in the pocket, winning the end of the first half and controlling the ball at the end of the game are what wins games,” Dillingham said. 

Coming out of the preseason, ASU’s defense appeared to be a strength, while the offense remained a question mark. 

Three weeks in and not much has changed, with the defense leading the way in Saturday’s victory.

As the Sun Devils head into their bye week, the offense will have a chance to regroup before continuing conference play against Baylor. 

Dillingham made it clear that the unit must be better going forward. 

“We’ve just got to be more consistent offensively, and I’ve got to do a better job putting our players in a position to succeed,” Dillingham said.  

While it wasn’t a clean win, ASU advances to 1-0 in conference play and picked up a victory in a historic game at an iconic venue. 

Dillingham reflected on what the trip meant to his players, many of whom said they loved London and want to return.

“Some people never get to cross the pond their entire life,” Dillingham said. 

Dillingham also said he made sure that, if ASU were to make the trip, they could bring all 105 players and all of the families.

“I’m not going to let one player miss out on this opportunity; I don’t care if they’re playing or not,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham also drew a comparison between the Union Jack Classic and the World Cup.

“Seeing the pageantry of the World Cup was unbelievable to me,” Dillingham said. “All the things that went into it were remarkable. And I think that’s one of the things that make football, soccer … special; it is the pageantry and the passion. So I think college football has a little bit of that pageantry.”