Sun Devils Win Thriller in Sun Bowl- Heat Waved

True freshman Demario Richard scored four touchdowns to lead the Arizona State Sun Devils to a 36-31 victory over the Duke Blue Devils in the Sun Bowl.

Arizona State jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the middle of the second quarter behind great running by Richard and DJ Foster, but allowed Duke to get back in the game. They allowed a touchdown to Shaquille Powell and then a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jamison Crowder to only carry a 20-17 lead into the half.

The Sun Devils came out strong in the third quarter with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass off of a screen pass to Richard to regain a double digit lead.

Duke wouldn’t go away however as they converted two 4th down conversions on a drive early in the fourth quarter. That drive would eventually result in a very Johnny Manziel-esque play by Blue Devils quarterback Anthony Boone to find Johnell Barnes in the flat for a 14-yard touchdown to bring the score back to a single-digit deficit with Arizona State leading 30-24.

Arizona State’s offense stalled at the Duke 40 yard line on their next offensive possession as Kalen Ballage got stopped on fourth and one.

Duke picked up a first down on a beautifully drawn up fake punt from midfield. On the next play Boone narrowly avoided disaster as an interception on the field was overturned.

Two plays later, on fourth down again, Boone handed the ball off to Crowder who threw the ball to Isaac Blakeney in the end zone to take a 31-30 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Ballage bounced back from his fourth down stop with a 96-yard kick return to set up the Arizona State offense at the Duke four-yard line. Richard received the pitch from Kelly on the ensuing play and found the end zone to re-take the lead. Arizona State would not be successful on the two-point conversion and would just lead by five points, 36-31.

Duke used a big pickup from Crowder, who finished with seven receptions for 102 yards, on their final drive of the game to set-up a red zone attempt.

Dec 27, 2014; El Paso, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Jamison Crowder (3) runs back a punt for a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 2014 Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports

Boone looked for Crowder in the corner of the end zone, but Kweishi Brown would have none of it as he intercepted the pass to seal the victory for the Sun Devils.

Richard totaled just 41 rushing yards on the day, but was able to punch it into the end zone three times on the ground and once on a pass from Taylor Kelly.

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Arizona State writers are beginning to call Richard “Baby Beast Mode” as he just turned 18-years-old in early December. Richard has served as a terrific complement back to Foster this season.

Foster led the Sun Devils in carries with 11 and picked up 79 yards on the ground, while also catching three passes for an extra 42 yards. The redshirt junior continued his streak of receiving at least one pass to 40 games.

Kelly played extremely well despite the offensive line having troubles in the first half. Kelly fumbled the ball twice due to sloppy blocking, but was able to maintain possession on both. He finished the day going 24-of-34 for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

The senior finished his college career by surpassing Jake Plummer on the all-time passing list at Arizona State. Kelly also helped Arizona State win 10 games for consecutive seasons for the first time since 1970-1973.

Fellow Sun Devil Jaelen Strong played great in his final game in maroon and gold as well. The future-NFL wide-out brought in seven catches for 103 yards. It was his 12th career 100+ yard outing.

Zane Gonzalez, a Texas native, returned to the Lone Star State with a tremendous outing in which he nailed three field goals from 28, 38 and 47 yards out.

The No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils finished the 2014 season with a 10-3 record and will look to continue their recent success under coach Todd Graham next season.

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