Arizona State vs. Duke: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2014 Sun Bowl

In one of the most exciting bowl games of the season thus far, Arizona State held on for a 36-31 victory over Duke in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. 

The day before the game, Arizona State head coach Todd Graham talked about how special this 2014 team is, via Amrith Ramkumar of The Chronicle:

"

It is a very special football team to me. In 28 years, this is probably the best team I've ever coached from a character standpoint, from a work ethic standpoint. We haven't had any minimum standard issues. This group of [11] seniors have meant a lot to me and have helped us tremendously to be able to change the culture. I love these kids and I love this football team.

"

The Sun Devils rewarded Graham's praise with a win, though it was not without drama. 

Early on, this game looked like Arizona State was going to roll towards a victory. The Sun Devils were up 20-3 midway through the second quarter, but their shaky defense and special teams gave up two quick touchdowns before the half to keep Duke in the game. 

One of those Blue Devils scores was a 68-yard punt return touchdown from Jamison Crowder with less than two minutes to play in the first half, making it a 20-17 game. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Crowder's touchdown also set a new Duke record:

Doug Haller of AZCentral.com noted Graham had a discussion with his punter about the execution on that punt return:

That wasn't the last time special teams would come into play for Arizona State. There were three big plays on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter that seemed to put Duke in the driver's seat.

The first came courtesy of Blue Devils quarterback Anthony Boone, who took the snap and appeared as if he was going to run before dumping the ball off to Johnell Barnes for a 14-yard touchdown, via The Chronicle on Twitter:

On the next Arizona State drive, Graham went for it on a short fourth down that Duke stopped to regain possession at its own 40-yard line. 

On Duke's ensuing possession, head coach David Cutcliffe decided to get tricky. On a fourth down at the 50, the Blue Devils faked a punt with Will Monday completing a 30-yard pass to Barnes that had Duke's football Twitter account on edge:

Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated proclaimed his admiration for Cutcliffe's gutsy call in that big spot:

Duke's final magic act came on another fourth down play from the Arizona State 12-yard line. Crowder took a handoff on a sweep, but stopped and threw a touchdown pass to Issac Blankley to give the Blue Devils a 31-30 lead with five minutes to play. 

As Bleacher Report's Dan Hope noted on Twitter, Duke was trying to end its bowl drought in a blaze of glory:

However, the good feelings wouldn't last. On the ensuing kickoff, Ballage atoned for the failed fourth-down opportunity with a 96-yard return to Duke's four-yard line to set up a Demario Richard touchdown. Arizona State missed a two-point conversion, so the lead was 36-31. 

Richard's touchdown was his fourth of the day (two rushing, two receiving), tying the Sun Bowl record, per Dr. Saturday of Yahoo Sports:

Duke did drive down the field, getting to Arizona State's 14-yard line, but Kweishi Brown intercepted an Anthony Boone pass in the end zone with 45 seconds left to seal the victory. 

For Boone, the bowl-game heartbreak will unfortunately overshadow what has been a terrific career. He threw two picks in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M last year in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl to help ignite the Aggies' comeback. 

Even though the Blue Devils are still searching for their first bowl win since 1960, this does mark the first time in school history they've played in three consecutive postseason games. 

In his final college game, Arizona State wideout Jaelen Strong went out as you would expect. The junior had 103 yards on seven receptions, including a 49-yarder to set up a field goal in the second quarter. 

According to Haller, Strong ends his Arizona State career with at least 100 receiving yards in nearly half of his games played:

The win sends Strong into the NFL on a high note and provides history for Arizona State. This marks the first time since 1973 that the Sun Devils have won at least 10 games in consecutive seasons. Graham won his second bowl game with the program and he'll get more recruiting momentum heading into the offseason. 

Duke's still got work to do before becoming a consistent presence in the Top 25 rankings, but Cutcliffe has done a masterful job with this program in seven years. The Blue Devils' 19 wins since 2013 are the most in a two-year stretch for the school.