Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Arizona State Sun Devils Match Player Stats On Nov 08, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 8, 2014

No. 12 Arizona State 55, No. 8 Notre Dame 31: Taylor Kelly threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns, and the Sun Devils dominated on defense to turn away the visiting Fighting Irish.

Damarious Randall and Lloyd Carrington each returned an interception for a touchdown while Demario Richard collected a rushing and a receiving score for Arizona State (8-1), which entered the week ranked ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings. Cameron Smith and Jaelen Strong each caught a touchdown pass, and Kelly put the game away with a 2-yard score in the final minute.

Everett Golson went 22-of-41 for 446 yards and a pair of TDs but was intercepted four times and lost a fumble as Notre Dame (7-2) saw its playoff hopes take a big hit. Cam McDaniel delivered a pair of 1-yard scoring runs and William Fuller had six catches for 95 yards and a TD for the Fighting Irish, who fell into a 31-point hole in the first half before battling back to within a field goal.

Golson threw his third interception on the opening drive of the third quarter, but the Notre Dame defense held and the offense finally began to hang onto the ball as McDaniel busted in twice from short yardage. Golson completed a pair of long passes, the second a 25-yard TD to Amir Carlisle to chop the deficit to 34-31 before Kelly marched 75 yards in five plays for a score, and Golson’s final pick was taken back 58 yards for a TD by Carrington as Arizona State put up 21 points in the final 4:29.

The teams traded field goals before Golson’s turnover barrage began to create some separation, with his lost fumble becoming a 13-yard, one-handed TD catch by Strong one play later. Golson was intercepted on the next play and Arizona State needed only three plays to turn that into a TD before Randall ran an interception back 59 yards for a 24-3 lead, and it swelled to 34-3 before Golson’s 9-yard TD pass in the final seconds made it a 24-point gap at the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arizona State improved to 23-0 when leading at the half under head coach Todd Graham. … Golson has thrown at least one interception in each of the last six games while totaling 11 in that span. … The Sun Devils improved to 7-3 against ranked teams in the last two seasons.