As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first half and the ASU football team ran through The Inferno into its locker room, the mood in Sun Devil Stadium was one of concern and disgust, with the fans having witnessed their team play a slow, uninspiring 30 minutes of football.
The Sun Devils (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) outscored Cal 41-17 in the second half to win their fourth game in a row, 51-41, at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday.
In the first half, ASU sang a familiar refrain, looking lackadaisical at times and relying on field position to keep it in the game.
Senior punter Matt Haack and redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins pinned the Golden Bears inside their 15-yard line four times in the first half, making Cal drive the length of the field.
But ASU could not take advantage of the opportunities given by its special teams, managing just 10 points and seven of those came with under two minutes left.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins, who was just 5 for 10 through the air for 62 yards, put the offensive struggles on his shoulders, praising his skill players and promising to get things right.
"First half, that’s on me, I just have to get things rolling a bit quicker," Wilkins said. "But we’ll be good."
In the second half, he was just that.
Wilkins took the Sun Devils 75 yards in 11 plays to cut into Cal's lead and restore some hope in the Sun Devil faithful — who seemed listless in the first half.
The two teams then traded field goals to bring the game to the fourth quarter with just a touchdown separation.
That's when ASU took over, scoring five times in the final 10 minutes and keeping the Cal offense at-bay.
"I am proud how they fight back and proud of the heart they show and how they find a way to get it done," ASU head coach Todd Graham said. "We wanted some takeaways and 100 percent ball security and we did that."
The most impactful of those turnovers came with the Sun Devils up by three with about three minutes remaining.
The Sun Devil defense took the field ready to make a play, and redshirt senior Laiu Moeakiola stepped up, cutting in front of a pass and taking it back for a touchdown to give his team a two-possession lead and essentially icing the game.
ASU's defense forced three turnovers in the second half, reinforcing its reputation as a big-play unit and clinching the game.
“Just buckling down, getting guys settled and reminding one another to just do your job," Moeakiola said. "It’s not doing your assignment, guys trying to make plays outside the system, so the biggest thing is just doing our job on the team as an individual, and no doubt we will come out with a victory every time.”
Despite the win, some can point to the fact that ASU came out of the gates slow or that the Sun Devils allowed 637 yards.
To those critics, Wilkins has just one thing to say:
"4-0."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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