Sun Bowl 2014: Game Grades, Analysis for Arizona State, Duke

The Arizona State Sun Devils hung on to narrowly defeat the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 36-31. True freshman Demario Richard tied a Sun Bowl record with four total touchdowns. The ASU youngster caught two touchdowns and ran for two more. 

It was a valiant effort by the Blue Devils. The two-man show on offense featured running back Shaq Powell and wide receiver Jamison Crowder. Powell accounted for more than 160 yards of total offense, and Crowder was by far the most dynamic player on the field Saturday afternoon. 

This piece will provide game grades for both teams, as well as analysis for each position unit. A full box score can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com.

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	B	A
Pass Defense	B+	B
Rushing Offense	A	B+
Run Defense	B	B+
Special Teams	D	D
Coaching	B	C

Arizona State Sun Devils Analysis

Passing Offense

Much of Taylor Kelly's success early came off play-action throws to Jaelen Strong on the perimeter. Once Duke started to press Strong close to the line of scrimmage, Kelly took a shot deep and hit Strong for a 49-yard gain. 

With ASU having productivity running the football, Kelly wasn't asked to drop back and sling the ball down the field a ton. With that said, he was efficient in his final game as ASU's quarterback. He finished 24-of-34 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown tosses came on short throws to Richard out of the backfield. 

Pass Defense

Credit ASU for defending against the pass well. The defensive backs pressed Duke's wide receivers at the line of scrimmage, and safeties Jordan Simone and Damarious Randall did particularly well in coverage down the field. 

In the second half, Crowder began to gain his footing. He was able to elude defenders in space and also made a big play down the field for 43 yards. Crowder did finish with more than 100 yards receiving, but the Sun Devils also held him without a receiving score. 

The interception in the end zone by Kweishi Brown with less than a minute remaining sealed the victory for ASU. 

Rushing Offense

Both Richard and D.J. Foster were able to gash the Blue Devils offense. The line in particular did a nice job of setting the tone up front by opening holes for the stable of ASU running backs. Foster led the team with 79 yards on only 11 carries. The unit also helped to spring Richard for two rushing touchdowns of his own. 

From a protection standpoint, the line did well in terms of giving Kelly time to throw the ball down the field. Rarely was he pressured by Duke's front seven. As a result, the ASU gunslinger completed passes at a high clip. 

Run Defense

The run defense had a solid effort. It wasn't able to attack Duke quarterback Anthony Boone much from a pressure standpoint, but it did a nice job of containing the big play. Duke's longest run only went for 14 yards, and ASU held the Blue Devils to a 3.8 yards-per-carry average. 

Truthfully, the biggest problem was Boone's ability to scramble for yardage. He picked up three first downs using his legs on both draws and broken plays.

Special Teams

Kicker Zane Gonzalez converted on all of his attempts. Despite this, the unit was abhorrent on the afternoon. Crowder's 68-yard punt return for a score gave Duke considerable momentum heading into halftime. 

The 30-yard throw on the fake punt was also a huge turning point for the Blue Devils. Duke ultimately went ahead late in the game after the conversion. 

Had it not been for Kalen Ballage's immense 96-yard return to set up the game-winning touchdown, ASU would have received an "F" in the special teams department. 

Coaching

Arizona State got outcoached in this game, plain and simple. 

From a defensive standpoint, the Sun Devils got burned multiple times on quarterback draws and runs by Boone. After the first two occurrences, there were questions as to why a spy wasn't inserted to account for the signal-caller.

Head coach Todd Graham also took responsibility for calling a punt block on the fake punt conversion by Duke punter Will Monday. 

Offensively, Mike Norvell called a strange game. The fourth-down call in the second half was bad, and it was perplexing as to why he went away from running the football. ASU is at its best when it runs the ball to set up the play-action pass game. The Sun Devils had success doing that. However, Norvell's play-calling was a bit choppy throughout the contest. 

Credit ASU for winning, but it was not by any means the cleanest game from the coaching staff.

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	C-	C
Pass Defense	B	C
Rushing Offense	B	B
Run Defense	C	B
Special Teams	A-	A-
Coaching	B	B+

Duke Blue Devils Analysis

Passing Offense

Boone struggled immensely in the early portion of the game. He missed open receivers, bounced throws and even had one slip out of his hands. Nerves definitely got the better of him in the first half. 

He settled down considerably in the second half. Boone started to connect with Crowder on both short and deep throws, and he also utilized Powell in the screen game effectively. Unfortunately for the signal-caller, an interception with less than a minute remaining in the end zone ended any hopes for the comeback win. 

Boone finished the game 15-of-31 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. 

Crowder was fantastic with his agility and pure, unadulterated speed. He led the team with 102 receiving yards on seven grabs. On the other side of the proverbial coin, Issac Blakeney had a rough afternoon. He did catch a touchdown pass (from Crowder) but also dropped what would have been a big play; in addition, he was stripped of the ball at the ASU 7-yard line. 

Pass Defense

ASU hit the Duke secondary for two big plays, which included the 49-yard pass to Strong and then a 28-yard pass to Foster out of the backfield. Beyond that, Duke did a nice job of keeping everything in front. 

Credit the Blue Devils for tackling well in space. The unit did a nice job of blowing up quick throws to the perimeter. Secondary members were able to get off blocks and not allow the Arizona State receivers to accrue yardage after the catch. 

Rushing Offense

Duke stood steadfast with its running game. It wasn't garnering a ton of success earlier in the contest, but the Blue Devils started to open up some holes in the second half. 

Powell was an absolute workhorse on the afternoon. The Las Vegas native had a career high in both rushing yards (117) and receiving yards (52). He picked up the tough yardage and got the Blue Devils in manageable situations. 

Most impressively, the offensive line kept Boone upright. He was sacked only once on the day, which is a considerable feat when taking into account the propensity in which ASU blitzes. 

Run Defense

The defensive front didn't generate much pressure on Kelly and the ASU offense. At times, the front seven was stymied by ASU's efforts up front. The likes of Foster and Richard did pick up chunks on the ground, and Kelly was also able to impact the game on zone-read situations running the football. 

As a whole, it wasn't a poor effort. The unit held ASU to 152 yards on 35 carries, which equates to a respectable 4.3 yards-per-carry average. 

Special Teams

Duke nearly received a perfect grade in this department. 

The individual effort on the punt return for a touchdown by Crowder was brilliant. Executing the fake punt pass from Monday to Johnell Barnes was also exceptional. 

However, the breakdown on coverage late in the fourth quarter on Ballage's 96-yard return led to the eventual game-winning touchdown for the Sun Devils. This one play prevented an "A-plus" for the Dukies. 

Coaching

Yes, Duke lost the game. Normally speaking, the winning coach would have an upper hand on the losing one. 

However, there needs to be some context when speaking about this game. Compared to ASU, Duke is undermanned from both a depth and talent standpoint. The Sun Devils were clearly the more physically talented football team. Down 20-3 in the second quarter, it would have been easy for Duke to fold up and get blown out (especially considering the bowl history of the program). 

However, the Blue Devils never quit. David Cutcliffe made great calls on offense with misdirection on throws, and he also dialed up the terrific fake punt call. The pass from Crowder to Blakeney was simply outstanding.

Defensively, the unit struggled early to keep up with the pace of ASU's offense. As the game progressed, it was able to adjust accordingly and did force ASU to settle for three field goals inside the red zone. 

Alas, Duke is still searching for its first bowl win since 1961.