SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 6, 2014
No. 16 Arizona State 58, New Mexico 23: D.J. Foster ran for 150 of his career-high 216 yards after the break and Taylor Kelly accounted for three touchdowns as the Sun Devils pulled away from the host Lobos in the second half.
Kelly threw for 192 yards and two scores while also running for 84 and another touchdown for Arizona State (2-0), which rolled up 423 rushing yards to improve to 23-5-1 all-time against New Mexico. Kalen Ballage added a pair of short rushing scores as the Sun Devils tallied 29 of the game’s final 31 points.
Freshman Lamar Jordan finished 7-of-11 for 130 yards and a touchdown in his first career start for the Lobos (0-2), who have not defeated the Sun Devils since 1942. Teriyon Gipson paced New Mexico with 73 yards rushing and 65 yards receiving, including a 32-yard TD reception that pulled the Lobos within 29-21 late in the first half.
Kelly broke loose for a 52-yard run on Arizona State’s first play from scrimmage to set up Deantre Lewis’ 1-yard touchdown and the Sun Devils recovered New Mexico fumbles that led to quick scores on each of the next two possessions to race out to a 22-point first-quarter advantage. Ballage’s second short TD run made it 29-7 with 9:26 left in the second quarter, but the Lobos rallied within eight points less than five minutes later on a Crusoe Gongbay 5-yard score.
Arizona State managed to add a 29-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez right before the break and Foster gashed the Lobos for a 49-yard run on the first play of the second half to set up Kelly’s 24-yard scoring strike to Jaelen Strong. The Sun Devils recovered another fumble on the ensuing drive and Cameron Smith hauled in a 41-yard TD pass one play later before Foster made it 51-21 on a 1-yard plunge with 7:07 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Foster became the first Sun Devil to rush for over 200 yards since Delvon Flowers had 226 against Oregon State in 2001. … New Mexico forced its first turnover in nine games on a fumble by Kelly with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter, leading to Gongbay’s touchdown. … All nine of the Sun Devils’ scoring drives lasted less than three minutes. In two-plus years under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell and coach Todd Graham, 128 of Arizona State’s 171 scoring drives have been completed in three minutes or less.