It was a strange and slightly spooky night in Tempe, AZ as the Arizona State University Sun Devils unveiled their new all black uniforms against the white-clad Missouri Tigers. The nearly full stadium of fans were decked out for the first-ever Blackout which created quite a visual spectacle. Making the event even more memorable was the lightening strikes visible in nearby parts of town and flashing across the sky to the south. It even rained a bit.
The game was just as odd as the circumstances with both teams making big plays and both teams making multiple, painful mistakes. ASU blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead and Missouri wasn't able to convert a game-winning field goal from 47 yards. Fittingly, the game went into overtime where both tired teams continued to slug it out.
In the end, Brock Osweiler was able to score in over time while the Tigers were held.
ASU moved the ball extremely well all game and took a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, just as we saw with this team last year, mistakes were their worst enemy. A fumbled punt and numerous penalties allowed the Tigers to close the gap to within one touchdown.
After getting the ball back, the Sun Devils defense looked like they were going to hold before the Tigers converted a fourth down and managed to recovere from third and 29 to complete 49-yard pass to move into scoring position. The Devils defense cracked under the pressure and gave up a game tying touchdown on fourth down and four.
Brock Osweiler got the ball back with under three minutes with the ball on the 40-yard line but wasn't able to get even one first down which gave the ball back to Missouri with time on the clock.
Missouri got the ball around their own 10 yard line with under two minutes but quickly racked up 39-yards on a run to the outside, once again taking advantage of the Sun Devils inability to contain the edges. A few more plays moved the Tigers within field goal range. Kicker Grant Ressel missed a 48-yard attempt with 12 seconds on the clock.
In over time, the Sun Devils got the ball first (on the 25-yard line) and were able to punch it in on a swing pass to Miles.
When the Tigers got the ball, they were held to five yards and forced into a fourth and five with the game on the line. Finally, the Sun Devils defense held to win the game.
ASU finished with 492 total yards compared to 496 for Mizzou. Osweiler threw for 353 yards on 24-32 passing while Franklin was 25-40 for 314 yards through the air. He added 94 yards rushing on 25 attempts. Aaron Pflugrad caught eight passes for 180 yards. Both teams combined for 21 penalties for 214 yards.
Big win for the Devils.
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