Northwestern
2-1
Arizona State
2-1
Wildcats Fall To No. 18 Arizona State
9/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2005
Arizona State Box Score in PDF format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Arizona State Box Score in html format
TEMPE, Ariz. - In a contest that showcased nearly 1,200 yards of total offense, it was the 18th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils who prevailed, defeating Northwestern 52-21 Saturday night in front of 55,029 fans at Sun Devil Stadium.
Arizona State racked up a school-record 773 yards of offense, 532 in the first half when ASU built a 38-14 lead. The Sun Devils, led by quarterback Sam Keller, scored 31 second-quarter points.
Northwestern got on the scoreboard first as quarterback Brett Basanez hit 9 of his first 11 pass attempts, including a 7-yard strike to Shaun Herbert with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
After that opening touchdown, the Keller and the Sun Devils went to work, rattling off 31 unanswered points. Keller, who finished with 409 yards and four touchdowns, threw TD passes to Jamaal Lewis and Derek Hagan while freshman Keegan Herring, who ran for 197 yards, scored twice on runs of 2 and 5 yards.
The Sun Devils (2-1), coming off a tough 35-31 loss to No. 3 LSU last week, added a touchdown each in the third and fourth quarters to close out their scoring.
The Wildcats, who came into the game ranked seventh nationally in total offense, managed a respectable 416 yards, but it was not nearly enough to overcome ASU's record-setting performance.
"We played a great football team tonight -- a great offensive team," said NU coach Randy Walker. "I know we didn't play up to our potential, but I give a lot of credit to Dirk (Koetter) and his team. They have an outstanding quarterback who just made shot after shot."
Basanez, who moved into ninth place on the Big Ten's career passing yardage list, completed 24-of-37 passes for 224 yards and two TDs. Freshman running back Tyrell Sutton nearly earned another 100-yard rushing performance, totaling 98 yards on 15 carries (6.5 ypc).
Early in the game, Northwestern's Marquice Cole had a 57-yard punt return, but the Wildcats (2-1) stopped their momentum with an offensive face-mask penalty, and Joel Howells missed a 43-yard field goal.
Basanez then marched the 'Cats 80 yards in 1:58 on their next possession, setting up the game's first score with a 34-yard play -- a 27-yard pass to Ross Lane, followed by a roughing-the-pass penalty on linebacker Dale Robinson that moved the ball to the 7.
Banasez passed to Shaun Herbert for the TD with 7:23 left in the quarter.
Team Stats
NU 7, ASU 0
NU - Herbert, Shaun 7 yd pass from Basanez, Brett (Howells, Joel kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:58
NU 7, ASU 7
ASU - Herring, Keegan 2 yd run (Ainsworth, J. kick), 6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:29
NU 7, ASU 14
ASU - Lewis, Jamaal 36 yd pass from Keller, Sam (Ainsworth, J. kick) 4 plays, 69 yards, TOP 0:49
NU 7, ASU 17
ASU - Ainsworth, J. 27 yd field goal 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:17
NU 7, ASU 24
ASU - Hagan, Derek 24 yd pass from Keller, Sam (Ainsworth, J. kick) 4 plays, 38 yards, TOP 0:55
NU 7, ASU 31
ASU - Herring, Keegan 5 yd run (Ainsworth, J. kick), 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:25
NU 14, ASU 31
NU - Herbert, Shaun 5 yd pass from Basanez, Brett (Howells, Joel kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:30
NU 14, ASU 38
ASU - Burgess, Rudy 15 yd pass from Keller, Sam (Ainsworth, J. kick) 6 plays, 83 yards, TOP 2:19
NU 14, ASU 45
ASU - Miller, Matt 30 yd pass from Keller, Sam (Ainsworth, J. kick) 9 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:43
NU 21, ASU 45
NU - Ward, Rasheed 12 yd pass from Bacher, C.J. (Howells, Joel kick) 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:17
NU 21, ASU 52
ASU - Miller, Brent 7 yd pass from Carpenter, Rudy (Ainsworth, J. kick) 14 plays, 76 yards, TOP 7:56
