Sometimes all it takes to get going is a punch in the mouth — or a shot to the helmet.
After two muffed punts, an interception, and going down 16 points while missing its best wide receiver and special teams ace, ASU football reeled off 20 straight points in the second half to edge UTSA 32-28 in San Antonio.
The Sun Devils (3-0) started off slowly, but rebounded on both sides of the ball after some lackluster special teams play.
ASU was propelled by the heroics of junior running back Kalen Ballage, who scored a late touchdown out of the Sparky formation when he took a direct snap into the end zone from two yards out with 3:15 to go in the fourth quarter.
Kalen Ballage, Sparky formation TD. ASU goes ahead 32-28 with 3:15 to go. Sun Devils have reeled off 20 unanswered pic.twitter.com/NuGHIsOHJk
— Stefan Modrich (@StefanJModrich) September 17, 2016
Ballage's ninth touchdown of the year gave ASU the decisive edge over the Roadrunners, who were more than 20-point underdogs prior to Friday night's showdown.
The Roadrunners got out in front by two scores thanks to a 75-yard drive, as junior quarterback Dalton Sturm found JaBryce Taylor for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
A misplay by junior running back Kalen Ballage on a punt by senior Andrew King gave UTSA the ball back at ASU’s 14-yard line.
The Roadrunners promptly cashed in on the turnover when sophomore running back Jalen Rhodes made a diving touchdown catch on an 11-yard pass from Sturm, as his momentum carried his body away from the play.
Senior kicker Zane Gonzalez had a busy night, knocking a career-long 54-yard field goal through the uprights on ASU’s first possession and hitting three of his next four attempts. Gonzalez broke the career Pac-12 scoring record with another 54-yarder after redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins led the first Sun Devil drive of the night that exceeded 50 yards with the Sun Devils trailing 14-3.
Wilkins had an inconsistent first half, though he put himself in vulnerable positions as a runner and absorbed a few giant hits. He also threw an interception to junior safety Nate Gaines and missed his targets on big plays downfield.
However, Wilkins did his best to earn back the confidence of skeptics by completing a 39-yard pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Cameron Smith and a 27-yard touchdown pass to freshman N’Keal Harry with three seconds to go in the half.
Another look at the @NkealHarry15 TD at the end of the half.
— Stefan Modrich (@StefanJModrich) September 17, 2016
UTSA 14, ASU 12 (failed 2-point conversion.) #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/jAkNPdg9hK
Wilkins finished 15 of 31 with 264 passing yards and two touchdowns, rushing for 47 yards on nine carries.
Wilkins made several impressive plays in the second half, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior Freddy Gammage that brought the Sun Devils within three points with 11:40 in the fourth quarter. The other was 34-yard completion to a wide open Smith on third and nine that would help milk the clock and set up Ballage for the game winner as ASU marched deep into UTSA territory.
Manny Wilkins to Cam Smith for 34 yards – his second catch of 30+ tonight. pic.twitter.com/VE7rp7ddkR
— Stefan Modrich (@StefanJModrich) September 17, 2016
Harry stepped up with redshirt senior wide receiver Tim White out for the first half with ankle sprain and was the leading Sun Devil receiver on the night with three catches for 58 yards.
In what was perhaps the most unsung moment of a tight game, Harry dove on top of a Ballage fumble with under five minutes to go in the third quarter. The heads-up play resulted in three more points from Gonzalez that would have been erased if a Roadrunner had come up with the ball, forced out by UTSA freshman defensive tackle King Newtown.
ASU head coach Todd Graham elected to go for a 2-point conversion to tie the game, but the attempt failed and the Sun Devils trailed 14-12 at the half.
UTSA junior quarterback Dalton Sturm gave the Sun Devils fits all night with his legs, rushing for 82 yards on 15 carries and also spread the ball around to eight different receivers for 229 yards.
But the ASU defense came up huge in crunch time, holding UTSA to four straight three-and-outs to seal Graham's third straight road opener victory.
The Sun Devils open conference play at home against California on Saturday, Sept. 24th at 7 p.m.
The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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