West Virginia Mountaineers vs Arizona State Sun Devils Match Player Stats On Jan 02, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Jan 3, 2016

PHOENIX -- West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard set Cactus Bowl records with 532 yards and five touchdowns in the Mountaineers' wild 43-42 victory over Arizona State on Saturday at Chase Field.

Howard's 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Sills with 2:19 remaining was the sixth lead change in a game that featured a Cactus record for 950 yards passing and nine touchdown passes by the two teams.

Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici passed for 418 yards and four touchdowns, but his fourth-down pass with 1:32 remaining was tipped and fell incomplete and West Virginia ran out the clock.

The Mountaineers (8-5) reached eight victories for the first time in four seasons in the Big 12, an emphasis entering the game, with their first bowl victory since the 70-33 thrashing of Clemson in 2012 Orange Bowl.

Daikiel Shorts Jr. had two touchdown receptions, and Shelton Gibson and Gary Jennings had one piece. Shelton had 143 yards receiving and Ka'Raun White had 116.

West Virginia attacked Arizona State's defense at its most vulnerable point. The Sun Devils had allowed an average of 383.6 passing yards per game.

Bercovici's 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Chambers with 4:36 remaining gave Arizona State (6-7) a 42-36 lead before the Mountaineers scored on their next drive.

West Virginia tipped its hand early. They had 237 yards in total offense in the first quarter but had to settle for three Lambert field goals and a 9-3 lead after their drives stalled at the Arizona State 4-, 14- and 10-yard lines. Howard had 191 yards passing in the quarter.

Arizona State, which had 42 yards of offense and one first down in the first quarter, turned an interception by linebacker Salamo Fiso into a Zane Gonzalez 37-yard field goal.

The Sun Devils took their first lead when wide receiver Devin Lucien caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bercovici with 9:59 left in the second quarter.

Howard beat single coverage with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Gibson for a 16-10 lead with 6:02 remaining in the half.

Gonzalez kicked a 19-yard field goal to make it 16-13 when Arizona State could not score on two running plays from the 1-yard line.

Howard's 10-yard pass to Shorts with 20 seconds left in the half made it 22-13, but the Sun Devils blocked the extra point attempt and returned it for a two-point score.

Gonzalez kicked a 35-yard field goal with one second left in the half to make it 22-18.

NOTES: Arizona State played in its fifth consecutive bowl game, a school record. Coach Todd Graham is the only coach in Sun Devils history to reach a bowl in his first four seasons. ... Graham and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen coached against each other in the last Backyard Brawl in 2011, Graham's only season at Pitt. The Mountaineers won 21-20. ... West Virginia played in its 13th bowl game in the last 14 seasons, missing only after 2013. ... The Sun Devils won the only previous meeting with West Virginia 42-7 at home in 1979. ... Mountaineers All-Big 12 junior CB Daryl Worley did not play for academic reasons. He had six interceptions. ... Arizona State sophomore LB D.J. Calhoun made his first start of the season in place of the injured junior LB Laui Moeakiola. Calhoun was second on the team with 6 1/2 sacks during the regular season. ... Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell did not coach during bowl preparation after being named head coach at Memphis on Dec. 3.