ASU's 38-23 win over No. 7 UCLA was arguably the team's most complete game of the year, as its vaunted defense returned to form and kept prolific freshman quarterback Josh Rosen from being a difference maker while the offense lived up to its explosive potential.
Here's what to take away from Saturday's win, which by the way, was ASU's first road win against a Top 10-ranked opponent since toppling No. 6 Oregon in 2002.
1.) D.J. Foster's record-setting night
In the second Sun Devil drive of the game, senior running back D.J. Foster caught a pass for the 45th consecutive game, a program record formerly held by John Jefferson. He also moved into a tie with Jefferson for second place all-time in career catches later that night.
Foster had four catches for 57 yards, and stepped up to become the reliable veteran target for quarterback Mike Bercovici, who appeared to initially struggle to develop chemistry with his younger and newer wideouts.
The most impressive highlights on Foster's reel were an explosive 28-yard catch and an 11-yard touchdown grab on which Bercovici threaded a needle through double coverage that gave ASU the 19-point cushion it needed to hang on when the game tensed up in the waning minutes.
2.) A special teams renaissance
Yes, Tim White did fumble the ball – twice – on the same play he returned a kickoff for 63 yards to give the Sun Devils fantastic field position. The redshirt junior was electric in the return game and came through in the clutch at receiver to finish the drive that he started off so well with a 12-yard touchdown catch.
Zane Gonzalez did miss a third straight field goal (a 44-yard attempt) going back to USC last weekend, but redeemed himself later on from 31 yards out.
Punter Matt Haack was exceptional, pinning UCLA inside its own 20 five times, including a booming 63-yarder and a tactically perfect 46-yard boot that bounced about five yards away from the near sideline and rolled out of bounds inches away from the goal line and eventually forcing the second safety of the game.
3.) Todd Graham is 26-1 when leading at the half – that's pretty good, yeah?
Graham was irate with his defense at halftime after surrendering a late field goal to allow the Bruins to narrow the ASU lead to five points – so much so that defensive coordinator Keith Patterson got heated to the point Graham thought he was going to punch him.
Few coaches can touch Graham's level of success when his team holds a lead at the half. Jim Mora is one of them.
Mora is 25-0 at UCLA when leading after the first two quarters of play. In fact, most games UCLA has gone on to lose most of its games in which it didn't hold a halftime lead, most notably at home against Utah.
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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