Sun Devils use strong defense to stun No. 5 Huskies

BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Manny Wilkins completed 29 of 41 passes for 245 yards, Arizona State’s defense smothered Washington most of the game and the Sun Devils stunned the No. 5 Huskies 13-7 on Saturday night.

It was the highest-ranked team the Sun Devils (3-3, 2-1 Pac-12) have beaten since they defeated then-No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 21, 1996.

Washington (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) lost at Arizona State for the seventh straight time and hasn’t won in Tempe since 2001.

The Huskies were the fourth top-10 team to lose this weekend, joining No. 2 Clemson, No. 8 Washington State and No. 10 Auburn.

Washington entered the night averaging 43 points per game but struggled all night against the Sun Devils.

Huskies freshman Van Soderberg missed field goals of 27 and 21 yards, the first one wide left, the second off the right upright.

Washington finally scored with a 14-play, 71-yard drive in the fourth quarter, Jake Browning sneaking in from the 1 to cut Arizona State’s lead to 13-7 with 5:32 to play. Tristan Vizcaino replaced Soderberg for the conversion kick.

The Huskies never got the ball again. On fourth-and-three at the Washington 37, Wilkins connected with Ceejhay French-Love for a 30-yard gain to the 7-yard line. Wilkins took a knee three times to run out the clock.

Arizona State scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game and got field goals of 52 and 25 yards from freshman Brandon Ruiz to lead 13-0 at the half.

Browning had only been sacked six times total in the first six games but he was under duress most of the night, often because the Arizona State secondary blanketed his receivers.

Trey Adams, Washington’s 6-foot-8, 327-pound left tackle who was first-team all-Pac-12 last season, left the game in the first quarter with what appeared to be a right knee injury.

In a drive that chewed up 8:03 of the first quarter, Arizona State went 63 yards in 16 plays — no play longer than eight yards — and took a 7-0 lead on Kalen Ballage’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Curtis Hodges blocked Joel Whitford’s punt on the first play of the second quarter to set up Ruiz’s 52-yard field goal, matching the longest of his young career.

Later in the second quarter, Arizona State drove from its 44 to the Washington 7 and settled for Ruiz’s 25-yard field goal that made it 13-0 with 5:40 left in the half.

Coach Chris Petersen’s Huskies had gone 21-2, including 9-0 on the road, since its 27-17 loss at Arizona State in 2015.

TAKEAWAY

The loss was a blow to Washington’s national playoff hopes. It knocked the Huskies into a tie with Washington State and Stanford for the lead in the Pac-12 North.

Arizona State picked up one of its biggest wins under coach Todd Graham, who entered this season on the hot seat after a 5-7 season a year ago.

UP NEXT

Washington has a bye next week and next plays at home against UCLA on Oct. 28.

Arizona State plays at Utah next Saturday.