No. 9 Arizona State Takes Down No. 10 Notre Dame 55-31

The 9th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils knocked off the 10th ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 55-31 on Saturday night in very convincing fashion.

Arizona State (8-1, 5-1) jumped out to a 31-3 lead early in the second quarter behind an insane touchdown reception by Jaelen Strong, a rushing touchdown by Demario Richard, and a pick-six for Damarious Randall.

Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver Jaelen Strong (21) catches a second quarter touchdown pass against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame (7-2) cut the Arizona State lead to 31-10 with a touchdown pass from Everett Golson right before the half to gain momentum heading into the locker room. Golson would finish the day with 446 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, and a fumble.

The Irish would use the momentum from touchdown at the end of the first half to cut the score to 34-31 with Arizona State ahead with 6:37 left in the game.

The Sun Devils fought through the Irish’s tenacity and went down the field for a touchdown in just five plays to re-gain a double-digit lead at 41-31.

Golson began to march the Irish down the field. A ricochet off of Golson’s target landed into Lloyd Carrington’s hands who broke a tackle and brought it to the house for the second defensive touchdown of the day and a 48-31 Arizona State lead.

Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Lloyd Carrington (8) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the fourth quarter at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State defeated Notre Dame 55-31. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Kelly added a rushing touchdown just for good measure to seal the deal and secure the Sun Devils’ eighth win of the year. Kelly finished with 224 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

After the game, Todd Graham was asked if the crowd played a factor in the ball game and he responded by saying, “the atmosphere was unbelievable. They packed the house.”

Kelly added, “we have the best student section in the nation.” Kelly also said that tonight’s victory was “a big time moment for this program.”

Students had been camping out for their student tickets for this game since the game last Saturday against Utah concluded. The well-renowned term of “Camp Fargo” is now apart of the craziness that goes with Arizona State football.

DJ Foster said that tonight’s game was “a hump we needed to get over. We needed this to really impress people.” Foster had his best game out of the past six contests, finishing with 120 rushing yards.

When Graham was asked how great of a win tonight’s game was he replied, “I think the people in the stands got their money’s worth. The only other team to beat Notre Dame this year has been Florida State and we beat them more soundly. This win is different because it’s Notre Dame. It’s the biggest win since I’ve gotten here due to the fact of the team that they have.”

Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham enters the stadium prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona State’s defense forced five turnovers, sacked Golson seven times, and also added 10 tackles for loss. The 28-7 margin of points off of turnovers was the deciding factor in the game.

The Sun Devils will be at least 8th in the new College Football Playoff rankings that will be released on Tuesday night after No. 3 Auburn fell on Saturday as well, but Arizona State could be ranked higher than that after this signature victory over a stout Notre Dame squad.

Arizona State will travel to Corvallis, Ore. to take on the Oregon State Beavers next Saturday night.