Two-headed monster: Brown, Robinson carry Arizona State past No. 14 BYU
Kyson Brown ran for 124 yards before wear and tear sent him to the sideline. Demarius Robinson took it from there, scoring the tying touchdown and powering the game-winning drive as the Sun Devils ran for 226 yards in a 27-24 win, their second straight over a ranked opponent.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State let a 17-0 lead turn into a 24-17 deficit. Then the Sun Devils' backfield finished the job. Kyson Brown ran for 124 yards, Demarius Robinson took over in the fourth quarter and scored the tying touchdown, the defense held No. 14 BYU scoreless over the final 15 minutes, and a 26-yard field goal capped a game-winning drive in a 27-24 win under the lights at Mountain America Stadium.
The win moves the Sun Devils to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. It gives Coach Luck a ranked win in his first home game, one week after Arizona State opened the season with a 31-28 overtime win at No. 12 Arkansas. BYU falls to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14BYU (0-1, 0-1) | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Arizona State (2-0, 1-0) | 17 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| Team stats | BYU | ASU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 28 |
| Total yards | 281 | 495 |
| Rushing (att-yds) | 22-22 | 34-226 |
| Yards per carry | 1.0 | 6.6 |
| Passing yards | 259 | 269 |
| Third down | 5-11 | 7-13 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
Fast start, long drought
The Sun Devils came out of the tunnel firing. They put 17 points on the board in the opening 15 minutes and had the home crowd standing before BYU found its footing.
Then the Cougars took over. BYU scored 14 points in the second quarter to cut the lead to 17-14 at halftime, then added 10 more in the third to take a 24-17 lead into the final period. Arizona State did not score in either the second or third quarter.
Arizona State moved the ball nearly all night. It finished with 495 yards and 28 first downs, twice as many first downs as BYU, and outgained the Cougars by 214 yards. What kept BYU in the game was the turnover column: Arizona State gave it away three times, all on interceptions, to BYU's one. Quarterback Cutter Boley still finished 25-of-37 for 252 yards and two touchdowns, both to Harris.
The fourth quarter
Brown, who had shouldered the workload all night, came out in the fourth quarter due to wear and tear. Robinson stepped in and ended the drought. The No. 23 running back took a handoff 9 yards into the end zone with 11:48 remaining, tying the game at 24.
From there, it belonged to the defense. BYU ran 22 times for 22 yards on the night, and leading rusher Sione Moa managed 37 yards on 16 carries with a lost fumble. With 1:40 left, the Cougars faced third-and-14 with a chance to keep their last drive alive. Bear Bachmeier threw high across the middle to a wide-open Reggie Frischknecht, BYU's leading receiver with 128 yards, and Frischknecht couldn't hang on. The Cougars punted.
Arizona State took over with the game on the line and went back to Robinson. He touched the ball four times for 39 yards on the final drive, including a 20-yard gain that moved the Sun Devils into BYU territory. Coach Luck also went to his package quarterback: redshirt freshman Jake Fette came in and hit Harris for 17 yards and a critical first down, Fette's only completion of the night. The 26-yard field goal that followed put the Sun Devils ahead for good, 27-24.
"Gosh, what a heck of a football game. Credit to BYU, that's a really, really good football team, and they punched us right in the mouth in the middle of that game. Nobody on our sideline flinched."
-- Arizona State coach Luck
Luck spread the credit around after the game. "Our defense gets off the field on that third down, and then you've got Kyson carrying us for three quarters and Demarius coming in and running as hard as I've seen anybody run, Reed making a big-time catch, and our kicker stepping up and hitting it clean," he said. "That's a full-team win. We'll enjoy it tonight, and then it's right back to work."
By the numbers
Two-headed monster
Arizona State needed both backs to win this one. Brown, a 6-foot-1, 206-pound senior from Lancaster, Texas, with great speed and vision, carried 18 times for 124 yards with a long of 33 and caught four passes for 42 more before fatigue forced him out in the fourth quarter. Robinson was the closer: 11 carries for 85 yards and the tying touchdown, plus three catches for 56 yards. Together they produced 307 yards from scrimmage. That one-two punch could be a problem for Big 12 defenses all season.
Poll watch
Arizona State entered the season unranked. Two weeks in, it has a résumé few teams in the country can match: an overtime road win at No. 12 Arkansas in Week 0 and a home win over No. 14 BYU in Week 1. Back-to-back victories over ranked opponents have put the Sun Devils squarely in the Top 25 conversation.
Up next
Arizona State stays home to face Michigan State on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Spartans, led by coach Connor Cook, run a multiple offense with a 4-2-5 defense and are looking to bounce back from a 26-19 loss at Fresno State. The schedule gets no easier after that: No. 2 Ohio State visits Tempe in Week 3.
